Oh man oh man, do I ever love pepper. When I was a kid I would go to a local Italian deli and get sliced lunch meat. My favorite was Cotto Salami with those little nuggets of black pepper just waiting to wake you up.

Now I’ve found the Vietnamese equivalent and boy am I happy about that. I’ve been going to PhoTastic on Brookhurst in Huntington Beach for a while now, but I’ve noticed that the food is getting better and better. If you haven’t been in for a while, you should stop by and try it out.

So I was starting at the menu trying to figure out what to get and I picked the “Beef Spring Rolls.” Now I know you are thinking steak and even I was thinking steak, but it’s not steak. I’m not even sure it’s “beef” but I do know that it’s damn good. The beef is infused with lime, has a nice garlic flavor and is randomly studded with these punch you in the tongue bits of black pepper. It’s one of the best spring rolls I’ve ever had that don’t employ the “add a bit of fried something for crunch” trick.

I’ll be back.