The best places to find 10 essential Vietnamese dishes in the Twin Cities area

“It’s my new favorite soup,” a co-worker said after I introduced her to bún bò Huế when dining at a Vietnamese restaurant in the north suburbs. If you like pho, I often recommend this spicy, lemongrass-forward beef rice noodle soup as a next step. But compared with its counterpart that goes all-in on beef, bún bò Huế typically uses both beef and pork bones. And rather than a neutral broth, the dish starts spicy, courtesy of an annatto chile oil paste that’s also responsible for its red hue. The main proteins are a tender beef shank or brisket that then might get accented with bone marrow collagen, shrimp balls or other enhancements, depending on the chef. Rather than the flat, linguine-type rice noodles used in pho, these are round — the bucatini of Vietnamese rice noodles.

The best bún bò Huế I’ve had in my life is in Hue — it’s a must order whenever visiting the central Vietnamese city where the dish originated. There’s no lack of places that serve the dish, each taking pride in building the broth just as pho artists do.

Locally, the House of Hue at Eat Street Crossing tastes most like I remember from my travels. The chef is originally from Hue, so it’s not surprising that he cooks it up in authentic fashion. Bonus: House of Hue also ladles up a great vegetarian version. The one at Pho 400, which I recently discovered, is also now one of my favorites, served a bit spicier but with a bone broth that has just as much delicious depth.

Bun cha: There’s a famous episode of “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” Season 8 in which the chef shares a meal of bun cha in Hanoi with former President Barack Obama. It’s a must-try dish when in the capital city, where the dish is believed to have originated. The smell of charcoal grilled pork patties is the best, and it’s served in a bowl of vinegary, citrusy and sweet broth. To eat, dunk just enough vermicelli noodles and herbs served on the side into the broth to coat and take a few bites. Add more noodles and herbs into the bowl and repeat, dipping in broth as you go.

There’s no lack of this famous dish at restaurants or sidewalk stands in Vietnam. I ate at the Bourdain restaurant, Bún Chả Hương Liên in the Old Quarter on this most recent trip, and it lived up to its hype. Locally, I’ve found the dish more elusive, but the menu at MT Noodles offers a culinary tour of different Vietnamese regions with dishes you don’t come across every day, such as bun cha. 8459 W. Broadway, Brooklyn Park, mtnoodles.com