Chip Conrad

Andy Nguyen's Vietnamese Restaurant in Sacramento, California
Aug 6 05

A ten rating simply means no room for improvement, and as any Buddhist will tell you, that would simply be silly. Andy's, as we affectionately call it, is, although, a '10' in many ways. They recently switched to an all vegetarian format in line with their Buddhist beliefs, which was risky business move for a successful omnivore restaurant to attempt. It paid off. The menu is, well, divine, with some choices that seem blessed with a goodness that is close to other-worldy. The dish names, Enlightened Mind Rolls or Patient Existence Clay Pot, taste grand enough to convince you of their namesake. During the first week of their re-opening, you could find a group of us there almost everyday of the week. Since then, the integrity and creativity of their choices has led to a word-of-mouth campaign that has created an army of repeat customers, many of us eating there several times a week.

This isn’t to say Andy’s is ever super busy. There always seems to be at least one table for our party, but we do go at odd times of the day, and their popularity is growing quickly.

Good for them I salute their new and risky makeover, and I encourage everyone, even those pesky meat-eaters, to give it a try. No one I know has walked away unhappy.