A. Scattergood

a Golden Deli cupcake

There are myriad reasons to stand in the seemingly permanent line that fills the San Gabriel strip mall sidewalk outside of Golden Deli. There are the cha gio, or fried spring rolls, which function as magnets for certain neighborhood foodists. There is the glorious pantheon of phở, which is happily catalogued on the menu pages, like CliffsNotes to a masterwork. And there is now something so incommensurate that it took two recent visits for some of us to really believe it exists. What is the last thing you'd expect to find in a San Gabriel phở palace? Guess. Guess again. Cupcakes.

Yes, for the last few months, Golden Deli has been serving cupcakes. Not a few cupcakes, not one or two that might reasonably pair with your order of bánh hòi , but, at last count, FIFTY SIX flavors of cupcakes. That's in caps so you know it's not a typo.

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An Family

Cooking at Crustacean

Are you a jazz fan who hasn't made New Year's Eve plans yet? Have you bought yourself a Christmas present yet? Have you bought us a Christmas present yet? If any of those apply, we've got a delicious suggestion. The very talented and magically charming Jeff Goldblum and his jazz ensemble will be playing at Crustacean and reservations are being taken, now. Roasted garlic crab and a tall drink of musical water to ring in 2013? Yes, please. Happy New Year to us everyone!

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G. Snyder

Bun Mam at Ha Tien Quan

It begins innocently enough: You have your first taste of pho somewhere like Golden Deli, the noodle shop on the outer reaches of San Gabriel, where the fragrant, stunningly clear broth is as famous as the crunchy egg rolls. Like any proper gateway drug, you soon begin to run the gamut of chintzy pho parlors up and down Valley Boulevard, which in turn reveals the less common, more intense style of cooking from central Vietnam -- the harder stuff -- spicy, sour bowls of bun bo hue, and the smoky, banana-leaf bound meatballs called nem nuong.

Somewhere down the road you end up at Ha Tien Quan, a former Cantonese noodle shop converted so recently, its owners haven't had time to swap out the posters of Hong Kong nightlife lining the walls. The specialty -- or dac biet -- here is a dish called bun mam, a hyper-regional creation known colloquially as "Vietnamese gumbo," most popular in the country's southwestern tip, where the Mekong River fans out into countless little fingers and forms an ultra-fertile swampland equal to the size of Switzerland.

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Flickr/saucesupreme

Bánh Mì at Buu Dien

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4) -- and probably beyond, at this rate -- we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes.

41: Bánh Mì at Buu Dien.

For such a seemingly humble sandwich, the Vietnamese bánh mì stirs up a surprisingly high level of debate. Some swear by the drive-thru variety at Lee's, others the buy-two-get-one-free deal at Banh Mi Che Cali chain, and even more by the sandwiches sold alongside lottery scratchers at Banh Mi My Tho in Alhambra. Our favorite -- if you happen to catch us on a particular day -- is the tiny sandwich shop Buu Dien, hidden in Chinatown mini-mall.

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G. Snyder

Bun Rieu at Nha Trang

When San Gabriel's Nha Trang opened a larger shop in nearby Monterey Park earlier this year, it was cause for excitement. While the original location was celebrated for its deeply flavored, complex versions of Central Vietnamese soups, it measured about the size of a doctor's waiting room, could seat fewer people than the average minivan and ran out of a good portion of its menu items well before most people had clocked out for their lunch break.

At its sleek new location in Monterey Park -- which used to be a passable Thai restaurant called Magic Noodle -- the waitresses are about 20 years younger, the music is decidedly hipper and louder, the tables at least 10 times more plentiful and the stock of fragrant soup sufficient to last until its twilight closing time. Nha Trang Part II, as it might be called, is a noodle shop for the modern era.

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G. Snyder

Roast Catfish at Quan Ca My Van

If not for the dozens of banners advertising its Wednesday special of roasted catfish, Quan Ca My Van in Little Saigon would be nearly impossible to find. The restaurant is located in the rear food court of Saigon Supermarket, a sprawling warehouse filled with live fish, exotic vegetables and more variations on rice cake than you can shake a chopstick at. To locate the restaurant you first climb a set of stairs, then walk past an all-occasions portrait studio, an impromptu dance hall filled with aspiring teenage Biebers and a few other small Hue-style restaurants (including one that serves a pretty memorable banh cuon), until you reach the end of the hallway, where a neon blue sign reads Quan Ca My Van.

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Anne Fishbein

Phở

It's a little unfair how Vietnamese beef soup is dispersed in L.A.: Too many outlets in the San Gabriel Valley, and too few anywhere west of the 10/710 interchange. Indeed, South El Monte's Garvey Avenue is to phở as Sawtelle Boulevard is to ramen: You probably can make a best-of list based just on this boulevard of phở alone.

The best phở have similar characteristics: Slippery but firm rice noodles. A hot, beefy broth laced with cloves, cinnamon and charred ginger. Fine meat that stands up to the broth. A wild forest of herbs and bean sprouts, served on the side. Surely at some point the law of entropy will prevail and L.A. will see more phở joints that focus less on bad puns and pale broths and more on simple, strong bowls of phở. Until -- or even if -- it gains a foothold in L.A. proper, these 10 places for phở will do.

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Hope Lee

Pho at Happy Veggie

One of the many things you don't think of when you hear the words "South Bay" is awesome vegan food, but maybe you should, because Redondo Beach's Happy Veggie serves a pretty damn good animal-less pho.

Obviously, the best part of the dish is the meal itself. Served with tofu, shallots, roasted ginger, soy chicken (which, by the way, is amazing) and what the menu claims are "10 healthy herbs and spices simmered to perfection," this pho also comes with a side plate comprised of fresh bean sprouts, basil, lime and jalapeno. As with many traditional pho, these accompanying foods are meant to be added to the soup for some sort of food orgy fornicating in a vegetable swinger's lounge. However, the sprouts are fresh and tasty while the other ingredients provide enough of a taste explosion that the pho doesn't suffer without them. So, in reality, it's a soup and salad combo.

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G. Snyder

Bun Bo Hue at Nong Lá

Nong Lá Café, the latest addition to the strip of Sawtelle Boulevard often known as Little Osaka due to its concentration of Japanese eateries, is offering something a bit different than most of its neighbors -- instead of ramen and yakitori, diners will able able to get a taste of Vietnamese specialties like pho tai, cha gio, and thit noung (grilled pork skewers).

Of course, a Vietnamese restaurant opening may not mean as much to those on in the SGV, Chinatown, or down in Westminster's Little Saigon, but for those on the Westside a place without a title involving a number or a soup-based pun (Pho Show, we're looking at you) is something of a godsend. Nong Lá owners Victor and Elaine Phuong are intent on showcasing the family recipes they grew up with in nearby Monterey Park, and based on the amount of interest the sleek and modern space has generated since it's grand opening last week, things are looking up for the brother-sister duo.

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T. Nguyen

Bowl of phở

You know you're hungry. You know you want Vietnamese food. But that's all you know -- you're all set with no place to go. Well, with our handy flowchart, you don't have to be paralyzed with indecision. As long as you have a general idea of the type of Vietnamese food you're craving (phở, bánh mì sandwiches, neither), just follow the arrows on the chart, and they'll point you to just the right place. It's your decision-making, processed.

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