Forrest Parker on the Vietnamese Scene in CHS

The Holy City is home to plenty of restaurants and bars, but there are lots of hidden gems that some Charlestonians aren't unearthing. To guide us to these potential discoveries or at least redirect us to some forgotten favorites, we've enlisted some of the city's food luminaries to share their recommendations for a feature called Dining Confidential.

Forrest Parker, chef de cuisine at Mount Pleasant's Old Village Post House, often seeks out ethnic food or barbecue on his days off. It's no secret that he has a soft spot for Vietnamese cuisine. Recently, he hosted a dinner with Anh Toan Ho, the chef and owner of Mount Pleasant's new-ish Vietnamese place Mi Xao. And while he has nothing but fantastic things to say about Chef Ho, he's also been heading up to North Charleston's Phuong Vietnamese Restaurant, owned by the husband and wife duo who opened the much-praised Pho No. 1 inside H&L Asian Market.

"It's absolutely lovely. Phuong and her husband lived in Belgium, and they worked with a French-trained Vietnamese chef. Their food is very simple and straight-forward. But there's also an element of elegance to it. Of course, Mi Xao is just fabulous, too."

· Old Village Post House [Official, Facebook]