Good Girl Dinette

Once upon a time, one seeking an authentic calzone was tasked with journeying to the Italian sector of a city to find it. Ditto for latin fare and everything in between. And for a delicious dive into Vietnamese cuisine, a trip to a city’s version of Chinatown was required. The times have changed, and our palates are fortunate enough to have been born in the greatest era of culinary crossover.

At Good Girl Dinette (Highland Park, Los Angeles), Diep Tran is continuing a family legacy. Raised in restaurants, Tran has established a fusion that sits well in any community-a seamless marriage of Vietnamese comfort food and the traditional American greasy spoon. Good Girl Dinette is a microcosm of the flourishing neighborhood in which it resides. The interior is a minimilist collage of rustic crimson wooden benches and lemon/ lime hued chairs; the walls a throwback, exposed brick that lends a certain homey charm. The front window is modest and simple-an artistic lean, sans pretense. It is, essentially, Highland Park.

The menu is a culmonation of many global neighborhoods. It is a lesson in brevity, a clinic in appropriately distributed flair. Good Girl Dinette has porridge, though this is no fairy tale. The hungry gourmand with carniverous tendencies faces many decisions;Galangel Chicken and Pork Confit amongst them. The herbivore, tired of salads, can choose such options as Vegetarian Curry or Pot Pie. And of course, they do have vibrant salads for those sticking with the leafy stuff. And forget the usual sugar water suspects-at Good Girl, they make sodas from scratch.

Good Girl Dinette is bringing the melting pot of our nation into their kitchen. The American dream tastes so good.