Pasteur and Present
The Return of Pasteur in Edgewater

You love a good comeback story.

You’d love one more, however, if it ended with you spreading foie gras on crusty baguettes and/or slurping a big bowl of pho.

Tonight... it will.

Please welcome back Pasteur, restoring French-Vietnamese grandeur to its original Edgewater location after a five-year hiatus.

Word of warning: things are not quite what you remember. Oh, sure, those potted palms are there. A few rattan chairs. Patio-tile floors. But what seemed like 1930s Saigon now looks more like present-day Paris—white tablecloths, icy colors, art moderne light fixtures and long, sexy banquettes where you and any number of dates can clink your syrah glasses and eat shrimp spring rolls.

Now that you’ve been warned of sexier seating, let’s focus on the food. Pasteur’s original chef will be in charge of your catfish steaks and clay pot ginger chicken. Acclaimed local knife-for-hire Eric Aubriot, however, will oversee the French end of the equation. It’s a power-sharing arrangement in which everyone wins, particularly your boeuf au vin.

Yet you’re left wondering about one crucial, unresolved matter: the proper cocktail to toast a momentous occasion. Your answer: a Hanoi Cocktail, which is bourbon with hints of anise and Thai basil, inspired by traditional pho.

Though raising a bowl of pho is also acceptable.