100 Favorite Dishes: Pho 79's bò cuốn lá nho

As a countdown to the Best of the Twin Cities 2010, coming this spring, Hot Dish is serving up a hundred of our favorite local dishes. Send your own nominations to hotdish@citypages.com.

No. 80: Pho 79's bò cuốn lá nho

The next time you go for Vietnamese, just pause a moment. Instead of doing your tired, faux scan of the apps and reflexively ordering those spring rolls, set yourself up with some bò cuốn lá nho, or Vietnamese-style dolma. Pho 79's petite, beef-stuffed grape leaves possess the best qualities of spring rolls -- a chewy tug with each bite, a bright carrot crunch, a nice peanut sauce for dipping -- but go even further than the most favored of Vietnamese starters. They've got a smacking slick of oil burrowed in among and on top of the leaves, giving them a moisture that lacks in spring rolls. The firm, little plugs of meat, spiced up with onion and red pepper, provide a firmness and depth of flavor that exceeds spring rolls. They're like individually-wrapped mini-meatloaves. Ka-ching! You can thank us later.

Hungry for more? The dishes in our countdown thus far are linked below:

No. 100: Volcano Salad at Tiger Sushi
No. 99: Eclair at Butter
No. 98: Moussaka at Gardens of Salonica
No. 97: "Flappers" at Colossal Cafe
No. 96: Bento Box at Obento-Ya
No. 95: Sausage, salami, onion, and green olive pizza at Black Sheep
No. 94: Crab Cake at the Kitchen
No. 93: Passion fruit cake at Pardon My French
No. 92: Kafé 421 Signature Dips
No. 91: Lutefisk at Landmarc Grill
No. 90: May Day Cafe Croissant
No. 89: Dowjic at Babani's
No. 88: Osso Bucco at the Modern Cafe
No. 87: Chef Shack Hot Dog
No. 86: Adult Mac & Cheese at Good Day Cafe
No. 85: Ropa Vieja at Victor's
No. 84: French Toast of the Dead at Chino Latino
No. 83: Uni at Origami
No. 82: Bagel at Common Roots
No. 81: Jasmine Deli's bánh mì