Rose VL Deli

For some obsessives, the day you finally try that last rotating daily soup from Southeast Portland’s legendary Ha & VL is akin to what a vinyl nerd must feel when she locates the first stereo pressing of the Beatles’ “”Please Please Me””—rich and proud. But then, it’s followed by existential emptiness: What’s next?
Rejoice! The original owners of Ha & VL, Ha Luu and William Vuong have returned to the game with a 4 pm to whenever-they-sell-out soup spot. There are many Ha & VL favorites ($9.50 each), like Monday’s shrimp cake noodle soup that contains multitudes, and the fantastic Vietnamese turmeric yellow noodle soup, available on Saturdays. (Don’t try to get soup on a Tuesday at either restaurant. That is the day of soup rest.)
Collectors will be there for new rarities: Sunday and Monday’s fish noodle soup—now with a tom yum-inspired broth—all tartness and pop with fish cakes, white fish fillets, tomato, pork, and vermicelli noodles. VL special noodle soup is an inspired kitchen sink of ingredients: shrimp, fish balls, ground pork, sliced pork liver, and sliced barbeque pork with rice noodles and (moar!) pork broth on the side. There are also banh mi and even a few rice-based daily specials. They’re good, but you know why you’re really there: soooouuuppp.