Bambuza: It's a Yes for Me.

Last Friday Night. June Restaurant Group. Vietnamese Cuisine. South Waterfront. Bambuza.

Wherein we discovered: Deciding which boat to get on can be a metaphor for other really important life decisions. What we think about the pending construction projects in Northwest Portland. Laura got hit on by a guy named Steve with a bottle of Snapple. And I mitigated inappropriate email disasters at work. But before all that, there was the food. And the food was just as good as the conversations.

I think there was a garden on the plate. That's what it looked like, anyway. Bunches of fresh herbs piled on a plate with crepes. I didn't taste that one - no, I was too busy with my own dinner. But it was so beautiful and fresh - I couldn't stop looking at it.

The crispy fried spring rolls, filled with tiger prawns, carrot, pork and taro root were so flavorful and hearty. And the fresh spring rolls were so beautiful, with lettuce at the top, the prawn shining through the rice paper - truly picture perfect. If only I had brought a camera.

I had the lemongrass flank steak noodle bowl - which was so fresh and delicious. The steak was juicy and melded flavors with the herbs with harmony.

The fresh lime juice was sweet and delicious, so lovely with my dinner.

The service was good - always had a full glass of water. And they told me before we even started that they could only take two forms of payment for the 12 of us. That was nice, even though we had planned for that ahead of time, that he warned us. And. They let us sit there and chat for almost an hour after their closing time (we lost track of time!)

I really wanted to try dessert, but I was much too full. I'm definitely headed back there sometime soon - it's right by my house, so easy access to comfort for me. Jealous? (Oh no. That reminds me of the Christmas I was stuck in Logan, Utah going to the movies all day with two friends. As Helen Hunt emerged from the tub naked, my soon-to-be-ex-friend Mike turned to me and said: "Jealous?") Therefore, I withdraw my query and replace it with this one: Join me at Bambuza for lunch?

As they say on So You Think You Can Dance, "It's a yes for me."