Dishin': Food Bowl 2: The Signature
Build it, and they will come.
That's the advice we'd like to give to The Signature, the new Vietnamese restaurant that replaced Moxie in Lower Queen Anne.
It's a family-run operation, with friendly folks who are working seemingly endless hours to bring some new dishes (with an emphasis on freshness) to this part of town.
But we're not sure whether the soup bowls are an indictment on the restaurant, or its customers.
The pho ($8 small, $9 large) broth isn't bad, though we can travel and get something better for half the price. (We won't name names this time, as we don't want to start pho wars.) And those bowls will include choices that go beyond rare beef, well-done beef, and beef meatballs. Where's our tendon and tripe, providing textures and tastes that we love in pho?
Then there's the bun bo Hue, which The Signature calls "spicy beef rice noodle soup" ($10). Again, it's got good flavor, and we've seen other customers enjoying it. But we miss the congealed pork blood cubes and pork feet--or at least a hock--that make this bowl beautifully special. (And that we can enjoy by driving to the south of Seattle.)
The Signature says that they fear people won't eat these soups as they're meant to be served. We say that omitting these key ingredients is dumbing the dishes down, and not allowing people to discover a bowl of dreams.
What say you?
