Viet CITRON Burlington

Việt CITRON in Burlington opened just before the pandemic started, closed, then reopened for takeout only with limited hours. They are now back to normal with indoor and some outdoor seating.

They are conveniently located near H-Mart and Market Basket. There is a light for the left turn into the plaza. There is parking in the shared plaza and a lot of takeout traffic. I tend to park away from the door.

There is limited seating inside. Takeout was flying out the door.

Sirloin Kimchi Banh Mi (Tues - Fri Only) ($14.50). "Banh Mi w/ grille sirloin, house mayo, kimchi, cucumbers, cilantro, and jalapeno". The freshly baked baguette is delivered daily. All the veggies are pickled in-house. It was impossible to get a good picture of the sandwich, but it tasted way better than what it looks like here. The chargrilled beef was super tender, and everything melded together to produce a fantastic tasting Banh Mi. It had some heat from the jalapenos. The addition of kimchi was brilliant, but I might be biased since I'm a big fan of kimchi. 07/28/21

Banh Hoi Bowl ($13.50). "Square rice noodles, lettuce, fresh herbs, cucumbers, pickles, scallion oil, ground peanuts, a side of chili garlic fish sauce, and choose a protein". Here shown with Crispy Pork Belly (+$1.50) and Grilled Prawns (+$4.00). Instead of the noodles being a lump on the bottom, they were nicely separated into rolls. That's brilliant! Here the pork belly really shined. Tender with a super crispy crackling that was really tender. The garlic grilled prawns were HUGE! The fish sauce was excellent, as it should be since this is a scratch kitchen where everything is made in-house. When I complimented Tran on the excellent pork belly, she said: "It should be excellent as it takes us three days to make it". 07/28/21

For this, I was invited as a media guest, but all opinions are my own.

I had to go back and try the Pho! Dac Biet | Ballerz Special ($15.95). "Ultimate bowl of beef pho: 48 hrs rich beef bone marrow broth, rice pho noodles, topped w/ beef shank, sirloin, eye round cut, tripe, beef tendon. Comes with a box of fresh veggies, hoisin and siracha". No hoisin in the box. As you can see, I added oxtail (+$3.50). The oxtail was good but could have been seasoned more when cooked. The beef shank was so excellent that the next time I'll go for just the shank version. The tripe was soft, but I would have liked it with some crunch. The tendon was good, and for once, there was enough tripe and tendon to keep me happy. Most places seem to think that they are not for white guys. Or they might be saving money. The broth! The broth was fantastic, rich, and well seasoned. This is a real pho broth. Don't add anything to the broth until you have tasted it. 07/31/21

Address: 47 Middlesex Turnpike, Burlington, MA 01803 Phone: (781) 739-3655

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