Mai Village

Mai Village has been an anchor of University Avenue's Asian food scene for more than 20 years. It used to occupy the site down the street where you can now find Little Szechuan. Several years ago, Mai Village's owner took a chance--building a new building at 394 University that accommodates about as many people as any restaurant I can think of on University. But while the sheer size of Mai Village is striking, the gorgeous details of its interior are truly memorable.

Once inside, patrons enter the restaurant on a bridge over a koi pond, with a stunning wood sculpture on the wall next to University. The interior is filled with dark wood imported from Vietnam. The restaurant feels remarkably cozy for such a large space. It can accommodate groups, but there are plenty of small tables, too.

With no interest in fighting day-after-Christmas shoppers, we opted instead for a Mai Village lunch with our friend Craig. The crowd on this day was a little lighter than what you'd see on a non-holiday. And you can usually count on Mai Village to have plenty of politicians, lobbyists, and other St. Paul mover-and-shakers on hand (to the extent that St. Paul moves and shakes...).

My past experience--confirmed today--is that Mai Village's food is dependably good. There are restaurants with entrees that are more unique or zestier, but Mai Village offers a wide assortment of solid, fresh-tasting, generous dishes. Christian and I tried old favorites: noodle salads, also known as bunh (Christian's contained eggrolls, and mine had sauteed chicken). Craig had the beef curry, requested to be medium spicy. Not much kick to the curry, Craig said, but he enjoyed it a lot. As I sit here recalling the sauteed chicken bunh, I could go for another large bowl of it right now. Mai Village offers a variety of reasonably priced Vietnamese fare: soups, fried rice, chow mein, lo mein, and many meaty or vegetarian entrees.

But, again, Mai Village's true contribution to University Avenue is its atmosphere. It offers a great place for conversation, or to sit by a window and watch life go by on University Avenue, or to overhear wonks at an adjoining table planning some future reform of the health care system.