First of, before you read this post, please note that I am not a food connoisseur. On the very contrary, people always complain that with the exception of Japanese food (to which I always have a craving), I consider food as chemical substances required for the functioning of my metabolism and survival of my self.
So anyways, the talk of the town is this new fancy-dancy Vietnamese restaurant in Mountain View downtown called Xanh, so I dragged a bunch of co-workers to check it out this week. I really wasn't expecting anything spectacular given that it seems like Asian fusion, but actually the food was much better/more authentic that I thought (at least compared to other nice Vietnamese restaurants). Sure it might not beat real authentic Vietnamese food, but it's definitely more authentic than expected.
However, what impressed me the most (and why I think you guys should try it out at least once) is definitely the setting, decoration and impressive presentation. My non-Vietnamese co-workers that I invited to lunch were quite impressed (little do they know how dirty real Vietnamese restaurants can really be, hehe). There is so much detail put into a lot of things at Xanh, from the blue/green decoration, the blue lights behind the picture frames, the artwork of three women in ao dai (representing the mother and her two daughters who run Xanh), the blue M&Ms on the table, the green walls and flowers, etc. Heck, even their menu and their website is impressive-looking. It's so refreshing to walk into a Vietnamese restaurant and not see a fish tank for a change, or where you trip because of the greasy floor. Food was served on very nice dishes and presentation of the food is quite impressive, very cute. It looks like it comes straight out of the Food Network Channel or something. The waiters (who are funny to listen to with their pronunciation of Vietnamese foods without accents) even mix the food in front of you, since the rice/meat/sauce/canh come nicely separated on your dish.
Food is a bit pricier than usual, but the "Power Lunch" for $12 includes quite a lot. Overall, I compare it to the Tamarine at Stanford (which is one of the nicer/fancier Vietnamese restaurants down here in the South Bay). While Tamarine has more of a romantic/date setting, Xanh seems more of a professional/take-your-workers-to-lunch setting, which is what exactly I did (and we got lucky as the owner gave us some nice complimentary desserts as well, yay)
Enjoy!