About 40 years ago, Tina Tran started cooking meals for local families who had just arrived from Vietnam—a tradition called “month of meals.” In her Linda Vista kitchen, she’d make dishes that gave them a taste of home as they adjusted to a new culture, new life. Her food a constant welcome.
It grew so popular that they opened a little shop. Word spread, so did the lines. In 1992, they opened Phuong Trang on Convoy Street. Decades later, it’s been a community gathering space for generations of Vietnamese families, and where a lot of San Diegans got their first taste of pho, of banh xeo, of those sticky-salty-sweet fish sauce glazed chicken wings.
“The amount of people that she was able to please with the month of meals and with the fish cakes pretty much stuck with her,” he says. “That’s what made us so successful, is that these people, these working people, were so supportive. It’s such a blessing. Such a blessing. All I’m trying to do is honor her.”
The dish you have to try is the whole catfish marinated and oven-roasted and then topped with toasted sesame seeds, peanuts, scallions, fried onions, and vermicelli noodles. It’s a signature feast from one of the families who helped bring the food and hospitality of Vietnam to San Diego’s food culture.
