St. George 30-Year Restaurant History 101: From the famous Dick’s Café on the Boulevard and 100 East (your basic cowboy and hardhat coffee and dine-out in St. George back in the day), to The Trafalga Restaurant (a bus stop and restaurant for many years, on the Boulevard and 100 West, which attracted a colorful crowd of locals as well – now home to IHC’s fund-raising thrift store), St. George dining out has come a long way.  When we moved our family to St. George in 1980, it seemed a glorified truck stop (with all due respect to all of you whose families and ancestors struggled to set down roots and bring water all the way from Pine Valley Mountain to settle the town and eke out a living here).  St. George contained the aforementioned restaurants, a couple of motels, maybe two gas stations and a traffic light.  There were white-bread sandwiches, white shirts and white people, and that was that.  But that was 30 years ago. Today, all that is history.  Washington County has welcomed a variety of cuisine from all over the world.

The first Mexican style restaurant (Paula’s) was the only “ethnic” restaurant of any kind in St. George, and it is still alive and well just up the hill off North Bluff Street.  Some of you may remember the Mushroom Farm in the 1980s, built by owners Tom and Betsy Prevost up on the Red Hill, now home to the Panda Garden (which currently offers Chinese food).  It was the first attempt to lift our little town from burgers and fries to something a bit more sophisticated, run by a formally trained chef.  Little by little, our restaurants have evolved over the years.  Some folks may remember that Sizzler and Golden Corral were right on the Boulevard too.  Since that time, intrepid entrepreneurs have courageously entered the food service arena, one by one.  Chinese rice and noodles, Mexican food palaces, Italian pizzerias, a Greek café, Japanese sushi, very elegant European offerings, not to mention health spa cuisine. Benja brought us a taste of Thailand, and now even East Indian foods are tempting our palates locally these days.

Over time, southern Utah has seen a broadening of taste in music, art, and theater. And happily, St. George is becoming more culturally diverse gastronomically and otherwise – not that there is anything wrong with meat and potatoes or even Caucasian people; it’s just nice having some diversity.  Wouldn’t you agree?  So you might want to try the latest dining adventure: Ah’sya (pronounced Asia) Vietnamese Cuisine.  The owners had their first restaurant in New York City before moving here, and it shows.  They have created beautiful and comfortable surroundings, have a knowledgeable staff, and a good basic menu.

APPETIZERS

Appetizers include fresh spring rolls (veggies and shrimp wrapped in rice paper served with a terrific peanut dip), and delicious crispy egg rolls (Cha Gio), served very hot, deep fried with pork, shrimp, mushrooms, vegetables and tangy dip on the side.  The half-moon crepe (Banh Xeo) is a Vietnamese pancake fried to a crisp golden crescent, filled with shrimp, pork and bean sprouts.

BEEF NOODLE SOUP & RICE DISHES

The beef noodle soup section on the menu offers 14 variations, and they are generally large enough portions for two to share.  Next, the rice dishes offer a plethora of pork, chicken, shrimp, beef or fish which are marinated and grilled and served with a portion of steamed rice.

SALAD & RICE STICKS

If you order a salad from a Vietnamese restaurant, it may look quite different from those you make at home, but you will love it.  I tried the grilled chicken with cabbage (not on the menu; you must ask for it), but there are ten other salad choices you may try.  Finally, there are Vietnamese rice stick lettuce wraps (Banh Hoi) which feature grilled or barbeque pork or shrimp on a stick, usually served with rice vermicelli and fish sauce.  Bring your appetite, as all of these dishes are generous and filling.

For my beverage, I tried the Ah’sya special honey green tea with slice of lime, which was very cooling to my taste buds.  It is best to ask your waitress if certain items on the menu are spicy hot or cool to the taste, since some items can have a lot of heat that we “nambie pambies” (thanks, Boston Legal, for that phrase) may not be used to.  I personally drank all of my green tea and two glasses of water with my meal after trying a pretty spicy dish, though not all of the food is that hot.

Things I really liked at Ah’sya Restaurant included the clean and friendly environment, our waitress patiently answered our questions about each dish, and the spring rolls and egg rolls were divine.

Things I did not like included the #18 char broiled chicken (not recommended). Also, when dining with a friend, it is nice for both people to have their food served at the same time...as the great jazz drummer, Bubba Friedman, used to say, “Timing is everything, Baby.”  To be fair, this family-run restaurant just opened and usually, with experience, this sort of thing irons itself out.

Location and directions: 2654 Red Cliffs Drive #C, St. George. From St. George Boulevard and Red Cliffs Drive, go north on Red Cliffs until you see the Texas Road House.  Turn right and drive Behind the TRH and you’ll see a mini mall where Ah’sya Vietnamese Cuisine is located.

AH’SYA VIETNAMESE CUISINE Hours: Monday-Saturday 11:00 am-9:00 pm, Phone (435) 627-1272