Foot Patrol's Hung Nguyen
Bassist gives thumbs up to Tan My's toes
Alexandra Richmond
In the last two years, Foot Patrol has grown from an amusing novelty starring two guys playing Prince-esque songs about feet into a full-blown funk experience, with the band donning wacky costumes and occasionally giving the stage over to the foot-centric choreography of The Toe Deputy Dance Squad. While Foot Patrol is driven by vocalist/keyboardist T.J. Wade’s lust for the smelliest of arches and heels, it would be considerably less funky without the bass workouts of Hung Nguyen, who—in anticipation of his group’s headlining gig at Scoot Inn’s New Year’s tribute to Minneapolis’ Purplest Jehovah's Witness—recently sat down with Decider over a steaming bowl of pho at Tan My. As it turns out, Wade may be the one who loves singing about feet, but it's Nguyen who loves eating them.
Hung Nguyen: My favorite dish here is the Bun Bo Hue: spicy noodle soup with pig's feet and chunks of coagulated blood. It comes with the condiments of lime, basil, bean sprouts, and shredded purple cabbage. Bun Bo Hue will always have a special place in my heart, and I get excited when I see it available on the menu. It's usually not available.I wouldn't eat this before a show, but I usually end up eating it the morning after. It's like menudo for hangovers. The blood is a good source of iron. What I really like about this place is that it's a mom-and-pop restaurant and not a franchise. It's also tucked away and not in that Asian conglomerate at the Hong Kong market. Oh, and the owner has a great mole ‘stache. Groomed hair growing out of a mole on your face is a distinguishing feature of prosperity and good fortune in Vietnamese culture typically reserved for very prosperous businessmen. Not everyone is lucky enough to have one. My uncle has one, and he's like a millionaire. Plus, this is one of the few places in town that carries this item on their menu. The soup, not the ‘stache.
The A.V. Club: If you could change anything about this dish, what would it be?
HN: I'd take out something. I don't particularly like the beef in it. Isn't pig's feet and blood chunks enough? I'd like a shot of fresh cobra blood and sake as an aperitif on the side, too.
AVC: Would you like it if they named the dish after you?
HN: I would love it if they named this dish after me. How awesome would that be for somebody to come into a restaurant and order the "Hung" with extra blood chunks? The thought of someone slurping my juice is quite enticing.
The A.V. Club: If you could change anything about this dish, what would it be?
HN: I'd take out something. I don't particularly like the beef in it. Isn't pig's feet and blood chunks enough? I'd like a shot of fresh cobra blood and sake as an aperitif on the side, too.
AVC: Would you like it if they named the dish after you?
HN: I would love it if they named this dish after me. How awesome would that be for somebody to come into a restaurant and order the "Hung" with extra blood chunks? The thought of someone slurping my juice is quite enticing.
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