We recently tried the new Basilic Vietnamese Grill in East Boca, and I'll admit it: I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was.
We'd eaten at Basilic's old Broward restaurants probably 14 years ago and thought they were pretty average. Important distinction: the Boca operators aren't related to those previous owners. They bought the Basilic name, but this is their operation. If that's where your impression of Basilic came from, reset your expectations.
The restaurant is small, bright and modern, with beer and wine plus bubble tea and milk tea.
We tried a pretty broad spread. The grilled beef summer rolls were much better than the chicken version, with enough seasoning and char to stand up to the noodles, vegetables and herbs. The green papaya salad with grilled shrimp was excellent--crunchy, herbal and bright.
The spicy chicken lemongrass was one of the best dishes we ate: chicken, mushrooms and onions in an intensely savory lemongrass sauce with some serious chile heat. They'll make it without the chile if that's not your thing.
We didn't order pho but sampled all three broths. Beef was easily the standout, with deep bone-broth flavor and the aromatics you want from pho. The vegetable broth was surprisingly good. Chicken was the weak link; to me it tasted heavily of commercial chicken base. I'd stick with beef or vegetable.
The seafood yellow curry wasn't particularly photogenic, but it was very good--thick, rich and somewhat reminiscent of a Thai massaman, though much milder than the lemongrass chicken.
Finally, the grilled pork bánh mì was excellent. Crisp Vietnamese baguette, flavorful pork, pickled vegetables, cucumber, jalapeño and cilantro. I'd happily grab one for lunch.
I went in skeptical and came out impressed. East Boca has been short on legitimate Vietnamese options, and this is a very solid addition to the local Asian dining scene. I'm looking forward to going back. read more