The Slanted Door

August 18, 2014
In 1995, Chef Phan opened his small Vietnamese restaurant, The Slanted Door, in a former kitchen cabinet store in San Francisco’s Mission District. Nineteen years, several menu expansions, and two relocations later, the eatery is now a 175-seat anchor of the Ferry Building Market, serving oysters, organic meat and poultry, and over 80,000 spring rolls per year. It’s a success story that is hard not to love, especially given Phan’s warm and straightforward prose that recounts the hard work involved and good luck that came his way. He also has a nice way of spinning funny anecdotes, such as the tale of his first attempt at buying wholesale produce, and the story of the day Bill and Chelsea Clinton decided to stop in for a bite. If the narrative is heartwarming, the more than 100 recipes are mouth-watering and, at times, tongue-burning. Appetizers include pork and shrimp wontons with spicy chili oil, and Nem Nuong, which are meatballs seasoned with fish sauce. Main dishes run the gamut from steamed halibut with ginger-lime sauce, to wok-charred eggplant, to a Vietnamese quiche made with ground pork, crabmeat and, preferably, duck eggs. And, affirming his place in the city’s craft cocktail culture, Phan shows off 20 mixed drinks. Most, like the Filibuster, which balances rye, lemon juice and bitters with a blast of dark maple syrup, have more than a hint of sweetness.

Starred review from September 15, 2014

The Slanted Door, a modern Vietnamese restaurant in San Francisco, has won numerous accolades, including the 2014 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant. Considering this, it's hard to believe that two decades ago it was a fledgling business precariously financed on 16 maxed-out credit cards. In this elegant and focused cookbook, executive chef and owner Phan (Vietnamese Home Cooking), writing with journalist Hu, uses chronologically ordered recollections and recipes to present a compelling history of the restaurant, which has relocated twice since 1995. Phan's cooking, though grounded in Vietnamese flavors, incorporates influences from many cultures and individuals. Consequently, readers can expect to see dishes (many doable, some not) such as spring rolls, roasted dungeness crab, and caramelized chicken clay pot alongside distinctly American and French cocktails and desserts. VERDICT Coffee table and armchair worthy, this restaurant cookbook belongs in most regional and professional collections.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2014
Immigrant Phan studied architecture and design after leaving war-torn Vietnam for San Francisco, but he never lost his affection and skills for the cooking of his native land. This passion led him to open a restaurant in what was then a grimy neighborhood. Word spread very fast about the young Vietnamese chef who was creating outstanding dishes. Continued fame provoked a move to the city's famous Ferry Building, enough space for both locals and tourists to appreciate his cooking. Phan's cuisine illustrates the synthesis that is Vietnam's culinary heritage: Chinese ingredients and traditions blended with French techniques. The Slanted Door's bar also mixes extensive lists of innovative cocktails, and these, along with Phan's cooking, are here documented. Both rice paperwrapped spring rolls and Vietnamese quiche vie for attention with tamarind-sauced rack of lamb and braised oxtail stew. Mexico's jicama becomes a salad base. Most anyone living near a Vietnamese market can reproduce Phan's celebrated foods.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)