【Cleveland, OH】食★ Bắc Asian American Bistro & Bar ◘

[Overview]
Restaurant Name: Bắc Asian American Bistro & Bar
http://www.bactremont.com/
Cuisine Type: Pan-Asian and Fusion
Price Level: $$$$$
Quantity (Lunch): Medium
Date of Visit: Thursday. June 6th, 2013
Time of Visit: Lunch time
Address: 2661 W 14th St, Cleveland, OH 44113
Number: (216) 938-8960
Hours of Operation:  Mon-Thurs (11am-10pm); Fri-Sat (11am-11pm); Sunday CLOSED
Others: ☞Lunch Hours (11am-3pm);
            ☞Weekday Happy Hour- Mon-Fri (4pm-6pm). Feature $5 food and cocktail specials. Discounted beers and martinis.
Recommend Items: Avocado Green Curry, Sweet Potato Tempura Fries
Avoid Items: Crispy Orange Chicken

About two weeks ago, I went with Mr. M to Ohio because he had to look for an apartment that is near the Cleveland area and needed my opinion. He will be moving to Ohio and start working close to the end of June. I went with him in the early morning and literally didn't get any sleep. :( Super exhausted. When the time approached noon, I was extremely hungry so we decided to take a break and food hunting. We were at Euclid, Ohio at first however there wasn't anything look appealing. Mr. M ended up driving to Cleveland (It was a 20 min drive). I am usually that type of person who conduct research before going out to eat. But unfortunately my phone was close to dead because I played too much game on my phone on the way to Ohio... (My fault). We didn't have any way to figure out directions for the reason that his phone was also out of battery. We at first was trying to reach this restaurant called Americano that I looked up by using the last bit of battery. When we finally found that place, someone there told us this restaurant doesn't open until dinner time. T_T Therefore, we drove without having any idea for 10 minutes and then saw this restaurant on the street. We were too hungry so we decided to just go eat inside. (I didn't have much battery so I only took a few photos of the food. So I'm going to use some pictures online to have you guys know what inside and outside of the restaurant look like. :))

This is the outside look of the restaurant.

As you can see, there are some outdoor seating. I was actually a little bit doubting when I went to this place because it doesn't look popular. Only until I went inside will I see some guests. When we walked inside the restaurant, the first thing I saw was that there is a small bar. There was someone eating there as well. The decoration inside is pretty simple and they use green as their theme color. I guess it's probably because they use bamboo as their logo. The tables and chairs are not particularly special. They are just simple furniture. The atmosphere is quite casual. I would define it as a casual restaurant and probably targets on students (though I have no idea whether this place is close to any campus on Ohio). I did see a few customers look like students. 

Inside look (partial)

Bar

The dining area is somehow divided into two parts. We were sitting at the area that's not next to the bar. As what I have previously mentioned, we came here without knowing. We were lucky that it was still within the lunch special time. The lunch special options are about 20 different kinds. The selections are mostly identical to the dinner menu, but I believe, in smaller potions, like all the other typical restaurants in the U.S. Here is a snapshot of the lunch menu (partial). If interested, check on their website. I've put up the link at the top of the page.

Lunch menu (partial)

Some of the food selections are pretty interesting and I've never seen it anywhere else, such as, Coconut Milk Crepe and Mango Yellow Curry. They also have lots of vegetarian options. We ordered Sweet Potato Tempura Fries as an appetizer, Avocado Green Curry and Crispy Orange Chicken as entrees, and Fried Vanilla Ice Cream with Fruit and Whip Cream for dessert. I don't have the dessert picture because my phone died before it got on the table. Sweet Potato Tempura Fries is pretty good. I remembered that we added as a side and it's lunch special. I think it only costs us $3. Most of the entrees are around $10, which is normal pricing. Avocado Green Curry is really delicious. I guess I am a little biased because I am personally a huge avocado fan (and they add guacamole!!! <3). The waiter claimed that it's going to be spicy but I honestly don't think it IS at all. And for your reference, I can't handle that much spicy food. The Crispy Orange Chicken was actually ordered by Mr. M...hahaha. But I guess he didn't know. It tasted horribly. I've never had such a terrible experience with an Orange Chicken dish...It's not crispy, not flavored (like sauce is sauce and meat is meat), and the sauce tasted just not good at all. As for dessert, I forgot how much exactly it was. But I really wouldn't recommend. It tasted okay but it doesn't worth the price (I think it costs about the same as those fancy restaurants). You could have gotten something better if you go to a different restaurant and pay for the similar price. So what to order? I would say definitely try Avocado Green Curry. Also, the chef/owner is a Vietnamese American, so I believe anything Vietnamese would probably be a good choice.

Sweet Potato Tempura Fries

Avocado Green Curry

Crispy Orange Chicken

In general, the service was standard. Mr. M asked for another bowl of rice and he didn't charge us. The waiter was a little bit slow but we were fine with that. After I came home, I read some reviews about this restaurant online and it seems like people rated them as a pretty good restaurant. I guess it deserves a try; however, make sure you order it right! Bon appetit!! ^_^

Thanks for reading! -Mira*