Lam-Son Le-Tien owned a sushi restaurant in Montreal, but left that behind almost a decade ago when he moved to Vermont, where his now-wife lived.

He felt the itch to get back into the restaurant business and did so June 6. That’s when Burlington’s newest Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Son, opened on College Street in the space recently abandoned by Bueno y Sano.

The owner calls what he does “Vietnamese street food,” as it’s meant to be fast and fresh. But the menu at Pho Son has what fans of Vietnamese food would expect and want – pho, the titular noodle soup; the multi-flavored sandwich banh mi; and refreshing bubble tea.

“My philosophy is very simple. I really, truly believe in the quality of food,” Le-Tien said. “If I’m serving food, I want to eat that food.”

Flavor of Vietnam in Vermont

Le-Tien owns Pho Son with his wife, Jennie Yee, who also owns Jennie Nail & Spa off the Church Street Marketplace at CityPlace Burlington. Le-Tien considered opening a sushi shop but thought cuisine reflecting his heritage would be in more demand in Burlington. (He was born in Vietnam and emigrated with his family to Canada in 1978 when he was 3.)

The restaurant is compact, with seating for just under 50 inside and another half-dozen at three small café tables on the sidewalk. Le-Tien borrowed from his sushi-restaurant past with an open-kitchen concept, while aiming for local comfort with classy Vermont wood trim offset by colorful signage.

A bowl of pho and a banh mi bo

I had lunch twice at Pho Son soon after it opened. The first time I began with chicken spring rolls that crunched on the first bite but grew satisfyingly soft inside. It was a cool early-summer day, so a bowl of pho ga (noodles and broth with chunks of chicken breast) seemed in order.

The big, steaming bowl in front of me was just what I needed. A few discs of scallions and slices of onion floated among the other ingredients, but a bowl of pho like this doesn’t need much else. I added a few leaves of Thai basil, a handful of bean sprouts and fresh lime juice provided on the side tray and a couple of squirts of hoisin sauce but felt like the broth, noodles and chicken chunks alone did the trick for a perfect lunch.

I went back three days later and began with a soothing cup of wonton soup packed with succulent dumplings. I ordered the banh mi bo, and the waitress happily thanked me for ordering in Vietnamese rather than by the more-pedestrian designation, grilled-steak sandwich.

The banh mi arrived as a crispy baguette filled with a fun blend of flavors and heat thanks to pickles, seasoning and hot peppers. (I’m not a cilantro fan so I picked most of those stalks off.) The banh mi was sweet, sour, spicy, savory and crunchy all at once; that’s a lot going on in one seemingly simple sandwich.

Looking to improve his Vietnamese restaurant

Le-Tien said business has been good. “I’m so grateful so far that people love it,” he said, noting that many diners are repeat customers. (The dining room was busy both weekdays I was there.)

He’s still adjusting a few things to make sure the service, kitchen and menu are better tuned.

“We have a lot of improvement to do. I’m not perfect,” Le-Tien said. “The day that you think your restaurant is top-notch you’re wrong.”

Restaurant openings:

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at 660-1844 or bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com. Follow Brent on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BrentHallenbeck.