Preface: PELLET EATS SAN JOSE: Taqueria Eduardo #4

Written by Pellet
Photography by Kayoko

Dakao is about a block away from one corner of San Jose State University. It’s on Third and San Salvador and they have great Vietnamese sandwiches. I like to get the regular chicken sandwich, or the ham, headcheese sandwich.

Get a few of their pork/shrimp fried eggroll balls too if you can, and make sure shrewd, little old Vietnamese women don’t cut in front of you, because they will if they let you, and they’ll totally buy all the fried pork/shrimp fried eggroll ball thingies, leaving you fried pork/shrimp fried eggroll ball thingieless, which is a terrible state to be in.

Delicious, heavy avocado shakes and desserts as well.

Taro dessert soup with tapioca and taro chunks.

Che dau trang: Coconut milk pudding with black eyed peas and sticky rice.

I’ve been going here since 2000, and their quality hasn’t deteriorated a single bit. I did come here with a girl once and told her that the death of the lead singer of Sublime was a step forward for American music, which, in hindsight, was a dickish thing to say. She disagreed, and unlike Dakao’s sandwich quality, our friendship totally deteriorated.

I’ll bet she has a nautical star tattoo on her neck now.

Many thanks to Tam Ngo for her rigorous dissection of the dessert names and descriptions.