First things first. The food was phenomenal. I don't care what these few low star ratings say the service and food was absolutely amazing. For those who are saying that all the people who are leaving five star reviews because of their ethnicity shows just how much privilege they carry on their shoulders. This place has great flavors great food and Even pho on special days of the week. Not only was my service amazing but when my child decided not to eat their grilled cheese (because she's a pain LOL) they gave me a scrambled egg on the house just so she could eat. So once again regardless of what these elitists say about what the food is and isn't supposed to taste like it's great, this place is great , and I highly recommend coming here.
The everyday menu here is fantastic. The sandwiches and rice bowls are unique and an awesome meal to break up the usual food around here. However, the magic happens on the weekends. The weekends is when they do their specials from pho to noodle bowls. The southern style noodle bowl exceeded anything I’ve had there before and was probably one of the best meals I have ever had in Tyler, Texas. The broth was jaw droppingly delicious paired with the braised pork, shrimp, quail eggs and tripe.....and only $10! I cannot recommend this place highly enough.
WhatSub is a relatively new Vietnamese eatery that I kinda like…no, I really like. I've been there twice and only learned of them recently. I will be back more…I promise! They primarily focus on Banh Mi - the Vietnamese sandwich, that is not any other sandwich you ever eaten…multiple layers of flavors and textures, placed inside a Bahn Mi roll…which I might add is made right there on the premises. Tonight's meal was the weekly special for this week…The Vietnamese Dip. Similar to the French Dip Sandwich, this was a roasted beef brisket Banh Mi with all the trimmings and a cup of concentrated Pho (pronounced 'Fuh')…a Vietnamese soup…(we'll talk more about Pho in a minute). WhatSub's other specialty is their Rice Bowls which consist of a meat, rice (white or brown), some veggies and a fried egg (sunny-side up) on top, with two different kinds of sauces to dip stuff into (a soy sauce-based sauce and a fish sauce-based sauce). Both are delicious but I tend to lean to the fish sauce for dipping meats and veggies into and I sprinkle some of the soy sauce on my rice. Earlier this week, I ate their roasted pork rice bowl and it was killer good…my wife Janice had their chicken rice bowl and I had a bite or two of it and found it to be excellent also.
One of the things I like about the business concept of this place is the weekly special…which is usually something really good but you can only get it for a week and it might be weeks or months before it rolls around again. I like this because you don't tend to burn yourself out on a good thing. As for their Pho (a noodle based soup with meats and veggies of varying flavors and textures in a hearty concentrated broth)…that is one of the items they make that rolls around as a special…one time it might be a Beef Pho , a few weeks later maybe a Chicken or Shrimp Pho and so on…like next week they're making a different kind of noodle soup using a different variety of noodle (from another province of Viet Nam) with different kind of texture and flavor than regular Pho noodles…I'm hoping to get some of that. I'm a fan of Pho and all kinds of Asian Noodle Soups…especially if they are hot and spicy! Bring on the Sriracha!
You may have noticed that I didn't refer to WhatSub as a restaurant…instead I called it an Eatery and did so because the decor and atmosphere is relaxed and simple. The kind of place that I love to eat in…a place you can put both elbows on the table and dig in! There are a couple of round tables that will seat 4 folks each and two really long picnic-type tables (15-20 or more feet in length.) The color selection is a really deep and dark kinda sea green (I think)…I don't know what Sherwin-Williams would label it as, but I like it…lends a nice mellow feel to the place.
Then there is the staff…Ryan and Trac…what can I say - INCREDIBLE! Ryan usually has the front end when we've been there and he is friendly, helpful and very sociable. He takes time to explain their foods and how to eat this and how to dip that. He's not only a food-based Eatery-King kinda guy, but he's an educator also, and with me, that goes a long way. I've been around the world a couple of times and I wish I'd had him waiting on me in a lot of places that I've eaten in the past.
All-in all, I really give this place 7 stars out of 5! They are over the top. If you eat there and don't like it, it's because you have no taste buds in your mouth!
WhatSub ROCKS the Free World! Welcome to the Tyler Food Scene!
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