The beef is tender and toothsome. The carrots are huge and sweet. The noodles are silky. The onions and scallions add crunch. But it’s the broth that’s the star of this Vietnamese comfort dish, which is really more of a soup than a stew. The broth is nectar of the gods—a sublime mixture of slightly sweet, slightly salty and other elusive flavor elements that can’t be adequately described in words. You must partake to understand. Alesia—a fixture on the west end of St. Pete’s Central Avenue—offers seating indoors as well as outside in a charming courtyard. alesiarestaurant.com
This article appears in Best of The Bay 2023.
