- Munchy Monday: East Borough -

Escape the busy city and eat street food style at East Borough's original location in Costa Mesa.

Vermicelli noodles with grilled pork ($10)

Jasmine Iced Tea 

Located at the CAMP compound, East Borough's original location provides a glimpse into what life in Vietnam looks like. With it's open outdoor seating surrounded by vines, beaten up tables and chairs, rustic wooden floors, and the finest silverware of plastic forks and spoons, East Borough offers an authentic yet modern twist to Vietnamese food. The menu is a simple piece of paper, front and back, that lists Banh Mi sandwiches, Vermicelli noodles, spring rolls, rice dishes, and refreshing salads. I only ever find myself here on super hot days [Tip: Come later during the day or early evening during hotter days], so my go to is always the Vermicelli noodles ($10) since it's a cool and refreshing dish even with the grilled pork in it. I'd definitely recommend it, and if you are vegetarian you can choose tofu instead of pork. Other meats available for that dish are chicken and shrimp, with the shrimp costing an extra $2. The Beef Stew Baguette ($9) is also a good choice, but I'm not sure that you can really go wrong with anything here. The drinks I've gotten here are the Jasmine Iced Tea and Lychee Soda, with the iced tea ranking number one. The iced tea was a bit sweet for my taste but still tasted good and most importantly, it quenched my thirst in the almost 100 degree heat.

Service here is kind of minimal due to the small space, but it's still amazing. The way this location is set up is you wait in line to order your food at a cashier and your food is either delivered to your table or your name is called out. I guess it just depends on who brings your food out and if he or she will take the time to bring your food out to you. The workers I've had the pleasure of encountering are super friendly and love to share their menu favorites. I'd say the patio seats about 15 people but the CAMP offers open bench seating around the compound - it's actually really cool because visiting the CAMP is an event in itself. Parking is free, YAY, but the lot for the CAMP can get very crowded, especially on weekends. Only outdoor seating is available since this location offers more of a casual, street food facet of Vietnamese food, but the Culver City location is supposed to have a more developed menu and classic restaurant style. One big plus about the all outdoor seating though is that it makes them a dog friendly restaurant, and you know me and my love for any restaurant that lets my pup dine with us. I'm super excited to try their second location in LA and will of course be sharing my thoughts and photos with you when the time comes.     

$

   
Address:

2937 Bristol Street

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

 Hours:

Tuesday-Saturday: 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM

Sunday-Monday: 11:00 AM - 5:00 AM

 

Best For:

All ages
People with dogs
Small groups

Overall Review:
This is a must try for all Vietnamese food lovers! I'll be going back for many years to come and will be trying their sit down location soon.

Happy eating!

Love, 

Jessie