Blue Hen Vietnamese Kitchen

Fresh Spring Rolls filled with organic chicken:

You know that gentrification of a neighborhood is almost complete when a trendy Vietnamese restaurant moves in. I love how one can order a banh mi (Vietnamese sammie) that is hardly stuffed with anything for nearly $9 in Eagle Rock or Silver Lake, yet in San Gabriel one can order a huge banh mi overflowing with meat and vegetables for a whopping $2.75 max. Is it that the rent is so much more in trendy areas or is it that they figure that trendoids don't know the difference?

But Blue Hen has a Slow Food philosophy that I like. Blue Hen supports local farmers and organic farming principles. When you read their menu you always see organic chicken, tofu, and dairy products. They also have many vegetarian and vegan choices as well. Even though the restaurant is very small it was a very comfortable space to dine in.

Above is my Blue Hen Sandwich with chicken and cilantro mayo on a baguette. The sandwich was ok, I've had much better banh mi, and I felt for the price it was kind of a screw considering how little chicken was actually in the sandwich (all of the chicken was on the edge of the sandwich so you could see it but once you bit into it you realized that it definitely needed more stuffing.) Also, the baguette was a little stale.

But let's talk about those fries! To the left of the sandwich are the hand-cut Tumeric Fries which were simply divine. Ducati Dude was sitting across from me and he got the fries too and we both looked at each other and nodded in agreement, "these fries got it going on!" Passport Dining Queen had this agile arm/hand movement and was stealing DD's fries but luckily she is Mrs. Ducati Dude so I don't think he minded that much.

Mama Luu's Tofu with a scallion dressing:

Blue Hen Vietnamese Kitchen

1743 Colorado Blvd.

Eagle Rock, CA 90041

www.eatatbluehen.com