Apparently the last burst that brought Echo Park establishments like El Prado and Stories was far from final. Mooi is another recent arrival, and last week, Jose Sarinana and wife Thien Ho opened Xoia Vietnamese Eats. The former paint store at 1801 West Sunset Boulevard now features a casual indoor-outdoor café with wooden two-tops, shiny floors, banquette seating and white walls lined with Sarinana’s art. Xoia [SOY-yah] is named for the couple’s daughter and is also a nod to Ho’s favorite dish, sticky rice, known in Vietnam as xoi.
Sarinana grew up just across the 101 from Echo Park and attended Belmont High School. Until recently, he was a sculptor and painter, but after cooking for fellow artists at Skowhegan School of Art Residency, he experienced an epiphany and decided to switch to food. He said the food is Vietnamese, but his Mexican heritage ended up permeating a couple dishes. Pho beef tacos ($5.75) - pho-infused beef on corn tortillas with typical taco accoutrements and a salsa of chile de arbol and guajillo - resulted from having leftover pieces from cooking. Sarinana said that in his art career, he would also have leftover pieces and would figure out ways to transform that into “art.” There’s also talk of birria noodle soup, another nod to his heritage.
The menu currently features options like Banh Xeo ($6.50), vegetarian crepe with shrimp, pork and bean sprouts served with fresh herbs, lettuce for wrapping and a peanut dipping sauce. The Pho/Noodle/Soup includes Pho Tai Nam ($8.25), rice noodle in beef broth with brisket and rare steak, served with fresh cilantro, bean sprouts, basil and jalapeno. There’s also Chicken Curry Banh Mi ($6.50) featuring lemongrass-infused chicken. A Hoi An specialty is Mi Quang ($9.25), yellow rice noodles with shrimp and pork, fresh mint and sesame cracker chips in a shrimp and pork broth. To drink, look for Vietnamese iced coffee ($3), house-made mint lemonade soda ($3) and bottles of Mexican Coke ($3). Sarinana said the menu will expand.
