In the mood for some tasty Vietnamese food in Downtown Phoenix? Well, good luck finding a spot. Your options might be pretty limited, but at least we have Rice Paper!
From tasty beef soup (easily big enough for two) at $9 to a full arrangement of spring rolls ranging from $3.50 to $4.75 or a decent sized side of garlic noodles for just $6 -- everything on Rice Paper's menu is relatively affordable for the quality of food coming out of the kitchen.
My lunch date and I wanted to taste a couple dishes, so we decided to share a plate of fresh chicken and basil spring rolls, a bowl of fragrant pho, and a side of the savory garlic noodles. Rice Paper doesn't skimp on their portions. Everything was huge, and we had more than enough food for the two us. The pho was packed full of fresh veggies, the broth was almost as good as my favorite hole-the-wall Vietnamese pho houses, and the tasty garlic noodles had just the right amount of garlicy kick and could have almost been a meal in itself. The spring rolls, which are made by an ex-sushi chef, were my favorite part of the meal. Crisp lettuce and basil hugged the flavorful pieces of chicken, and the curry hoisin sauce was an interesting complement to the roll.
It may be a bit of a stretch to eat by yourself for under $10, but if you bring a friend who likes to share, you can definitely get out of Rice Paper for under $20 (excluding tip and drinks). I ended up paying around $18 for a 3 course lunch for two, and my date and I both left full and satisfied.
