Restaurant: Good Girl Dinette
Location: 110 North Avenue 56 (Highland Park)
Type of restaurant: Vietnamese comfort food
We stipulated: Blogger Kid's preschool was holding another "Parents Night Out" event -- which means date night for me and Maria. (Er, more like "Date Night Plus One," as the Blogger Baby joins us on our so-called "Date Nights" these days.) It was also a Friday during Lent -- so no meat for us.
They stipulated: The Good Girl Dinette is BYOB -- yay! -- and most of its signature dishes can come veggie-only if you so desire -- which worked for us that particular Friday. Also, their curry pies take 30 minutes to bake.
What we ordered: House-made pop, $2.25 (parkling water mixed with fresh citrus -- limes, mandarin oranges, or oro blanco grapefruit; we picked the grapefruit); Fresh spring rolls, $6.25 (stuffed with tofu and herbs, served with a peanut sauce); cauliflower curry pot pie, $10 (savory curry pies topped with a homemade biscuit); roasted oyster mushroom baguette, $7.25 (served with pickles, homemade cilantro-maggi mayo, and spicy fries or vietnamese slaw; we picked the spicy fries, of course)
High point: The Oro blanco grapefruit soda was not too sweet, but just right. The banh mi had a nice spice and crunchy bread. And the fries were fantastic -- no ketchup required.
Low point: Wish it didn't take 30 minutes for the pot pie; I could also use more filling inside. But the curry in it is excellent.
Overall impression: The Good Girl Dinette is easily one of our new favorites. The prices are right, the environment is inviting, the restaurant very kid-friendly. And the food is a nice mix of unique, unusual and familiar, comforting flavors. I even love the space: In the ground floor of an older Highland Park building.
Chance we'll go back: We already have, introducing friends with similar-aged kids to the restaurant. Four adults and four little ones sounds a little nuts -- yet it turned out OK on a Sunday evening. And the bill came just as the babies started getting restless. This time out, we also got a chance to try some of the meat dishes -- and I'd now argue that the Good Girl Dinette's galangal chicken baguette may be the best banh mi you'll find within Los Angeles city limits.
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