Pho Tau Bay: Vietnamese Classics

Many in the New Orleans area overlook this diamond in the rough because of its location in a strip mall, but don't let that fool you. Pho Tau Bay on the Westbank Expwy. is a cheap Vietnamese eatery offering classics like the Pho Ga, Pho Dac Biet, and potent Vietnamese coffee.

A favorite, the beef pho, is only about $7.25, and the half order of vegetarian or pork spring rolls with different sauces are a huge hit, only $3.75. Xoi Ga Lap Xuong, sticky rice with shredded chicken and Chinese sausage, is a little known menu item but all the same, delicious.

The restaurant also has an interesting back-story. Thu Cao opened Pho Tau Bay with her sister and her sister's husband, Karl Takacs, a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. Cao's father sold pho to soldiers in Saigon during the war, so she continued the family tradition by bringing the classic all the way to New Orleans. Now, it's touted as one of the top pho spots in the whole state of Louisiana.