Family-run for decades, Kim Tài is one of the few remaining original Vietnamese restaurants in Midtown. The kitchen is still manned by the husband and wife team. While it may appear scrappy, and it may take a bit of time for your meal to arrive, the food is fantastic. The tiny teal and wood-paneled dining room and even tinier kitchen holds a gold mine of rich phở, overstuffed bánh mìs, and bánh bột chiên egg omelets with crispy fried rice cakes. Everything arrives lovingly plated, as though your grandparent made it special just for you. Pull up for lunch and you’ll see every Midtown character dining right alongside you, as though you somehow stumbled into a downtown waystation. Kim Tài does feel conjured from a Houston history wormhole, but that’s one of the many reasons why we like it.

photo credit: Richard Casteel