Cyclo Vietnamese Cuisine
Justina Duong’s effusive personality, easy elegance and chic fashion sense could fill a room–and they often did. From the moment Justina launched Cycle on Chandler Avenue, the captivating chef and hostess extraordinaire didn’t just have guests. She had an audience, a throng of admirers (mostly men). She had peeps. Charming, gracious and attractive, the belle femme made guests feel at home, becoming as much a draw as the wonderful cuisine on her menu. I had expected to once again enjoy banter with Justina when visiting Cyclo for the first time in a few years only to learn Justina sold the restaurant four years ago. With Justina no longer there to capture the rapt attention of her guests, I noticed a lot of things. For one thing, Cyclo is much smaller than I had remembered it to be. I wondered if Justina’s larger-than-life personality made Cyclo feel like a larger venue. We noticed new art on the walls. Two lovely Vietnamese women attired in traditional flowing ao dai walked under a flowering Tao tree with a cyclo parked nearby. Mostly what we noticed were the alluring aromas emanating from the kitchen. These mouth-watering sensations have probably been there all along,…