Review: Com Ga Houston in Duluth

By any measure, it was an extraordinary day of eating. In the name of research, I hit three Gwinnett restaurants in a single afternoon — pizza, Korean fried bird and Vietnamese. When I posted photos of the binge on social media, it was the pizza that aroused the most curiosity.

I’ll get back to you on those sexy pies, but, today, I’m going to tell you about the area’s most exciting new Vietnamese restaurant, a place where simple poached chicken with rice (com ga) is the heart and soul of the menu. This supremely satisfying dish was by far the most memorable thing I tried on my Saturday ramble.

Khoa Do, a 37-year-old Vietnam native, who moved to the U.S. as a youngster, launched his restaurant career in 2016 with Blazin Cajun Seafood on Satellite Boulevard. There, he said, his customer base is 90 percent American. With Com Ga Houston, on nearby Steve Reynolds Boulevard in Duluth, the Georgia State University graduate wants to bring traditional Vietnamese food to his community, and thereby honor his heritage.

But, before Do could open Com Ga Houston, he had to convince the owner of the Texas original to grant him a franchise and share her recipes, which he learned during one intense week in Houston. After three visits to Com Ga Houston, I’d say he nailed it.

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Credit: Wendell Brock

Credit: Wendell Brock

Com ga hai nam is to Vietnam what Hainanese chicken rice is to Southern China. The chicken is poached in aromatics, sliced with bones still in, and served cold, beside a scoop of fragrant ginger rice. On the side are fresh and pickled vegetables; a sweet dipping sauce redolent of garlic, ginger, lime, red chiles and fish sauce; and a bowl of comforting chicken broth. This is the dish you must order on your first visit. I want to go back for a jumbo platter, and not share a grain of rice.

I suggest you pair your com ga with a salad (goi) in which poached chicken (or duck) is tossed with shredded cabbage, banana flower (or both), red onion and Vietnamese coriander leaves — and showered with crispy peanuts and fried shallots. Many years ago, I ordered a similar salad from room service at a glorious hotel in the heart of Saigon. I have not seen it since, and I don’t believe you will find it anywhere else in Atlanta.

One thing Georgia has in common with Vietnam is steamy hot weather, and, on a summer day when you are bathed with sweat, this cool, fresh, texturally snappy plate will center you like nothing else. I like the chicken version a good bit more than the duck.

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Credit: Wendell Brock

Noodle heads will find many soups to try at Com Ga Houston. There are egg noodles, clear noodles, udon noodles, noodles with bamboo shoots. I’m pretty smitten with the textbook chicken pho. The rice vermicelli soup with slivers of fresh bamboo is another winner. Like the shredded hearts of banana flower in the salads, fresh bamboo shoots aren’t all that common in Atlanta. The flavor is sweet, vaguely sour, delicate. I implore you to experience it.

Many soups come with pig’s blood, gelatinous cubes that taste (to me) just a little bit like liver. It’s a traditional ingredient — mild and hardly off-putting — that’s worth sampling — though, next time, I’ll be just as happy without it. I’m much more fond of the chicken giblets, which can be added to several dishes for $2.

In a metropolitan area teeming with Vietnamese spots of all kinds — pho parlors, banh mi shops, contemporary restaurants that take liberties with tradition — Com Ga Houston is in a class of its own. The food is impeccable, the service sweet, the dining room bright and inviting. A couple of years ago, Pho Ga Tony Tony (now shuttered) introduced us to exquisite chicken pho. Now, Com Ga Houston comes through with the rice. Game changer.