Kiss That Foo

It’s now a new year, dear hedonists.

Know what that means? Chinese food – a New Year’s Eve tradition for many families (including mine).

Which brings me to Victoria’s Foo Asian Street Food (Foo for short), which hosted your Hedonista not too long ago. Opened only 4 months ago – on September 9, 2009 – this former liquor store site is run by co-owners Sterling Grice (GM) and Patrick Lynch (Foo Chef, formerly of Hugo’s Brewpub at the Magnolia Hotel).

What’s more, they’ve got the KISS acronym (keep it simple stupid) down to an art form: good, simple food, just like the cart or street food you get in Asia … but with a Western fusion twist. As you can imagine, Foo is very casual, very accessible dining, complete with very low overhead – savings that Sterling and Patrick then pass on (in part) to the customers: their chef-driven dishes (about a dozen fixed, plus daily specials) range in price from $6.00 to $12.50. A few tasting notes:

Green Papaya Salad - made with green papaya, cilantro, mint, spiced peanuts & lime chili dressing, this fresh dish serves as a nice balance to the heat of the other dishes.

Vietnamese Ginger Caramel Chicken – good; nice bite with heat at the end.

Pork Potstickers – steamed and then fried, these crispy pork and scallion dumplings with pomegranate and black vinegar sauce are an absolute must-try.

Beef Short Rib and Broccoli Chow Mein – My absolute fav: melt-in-your-mouth beef short ribs, with broccoli in a ginger black bean sauce over stir-fried chow mein noodles. Savory rather than spicy, making it pure comfort food.

Overall, a tasty (re)treat; what’s more, Foo’s formula works; Foo gets nearly 200 “Fooistas” gracing its door daily.

So the next time you head over to Vic, be sure to KISS that Foo.

(You don’t even have to wait until the New Year to do it!)

Note: In order to comply with FTC Act 16 C.F.R. 255, Heed the Hedonist would like to disclose that it does receive media “comps” and/or media discounts – but not in exchange for favorable coverage, or for withholding unfavorable coverage, of the given venue/meal/performance/product/service.