To try and decide each week where and what to eat in and around the basin can be a challenge – there are so many amazing choices. In this feature we’ll dive into dishes that will surely satisfy those hunger pangs and leave you wondering where to go next.

As the weather heats up, so do the world-focused seasonal offerings at Tahoe National which complement their everyday menu staples. This season, the sweet, salty, spicy, sour, and umami tastes of Vietnamese cooking will have your mouth watering and taste buds tingling. Here is a sneak peek.

Fried Spring Rolls: A supremely crispy, yet light and airy combination of chicken, shrimp, cabbage, mung bean noodles, jicama, mushroom, and carrot, rolled up and fried then served with a nuoc cham inspired dipping sauce.

The house made dipping sauce is slightly tangy with a touch of heat that effectively balances out all the loaded ingredients and the filling to wrapper ratio is about as close to perfect as you’re going to get.

Coconut Curry: This Vietnamese-style chicken curry is loaded with potatoes and carrots, served over rice, then garnished with fried shallots, cilantro and green onions.

Talk about a dish that exemplifies depth. It gives you wave after wave of flavor that is highlighted by the tender and ultra moist chicken. The coconut flavor does not overpower but lends a nice backdrop to the veggies and rice. Just mix and enjoy.

Lemongrass Chicken Tacos: Marinated and kissed on the charcoal grill, lemongrass chicken is folded into corn tortillas along with onion, cilantro, lime, pickled carrots and daikon, and fried shallots before getting topped with a coconut lime sauce.

Bursting at the seams, these tacos are loaded with succulent thigh meat. A squeeze of lime enhances the brightness and the char from the grill heightens all the other flavors.

Banh Mi: This traditional Vietnamese sandwich is anything but in the hands of Tahoe National. A bread roll is stuffed – and I mean stuffed – with pâté, mayo, pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber, jalapeno, mint, cilantro, and Thai basil. Then you have your choice of protein between a chili crisp tofu, lemongrass chicken, shaking beef, or smoked pork belly.

I had the shaking beef and wow. Fresh and tender with a little heat, it’s complemented by the freshness of the herbs and veggies. And if you can’t tell by the photo, this sandwich is about the size of those small Nerf footballs. But the only place I wanted to toss this was directly in my belly.

Tahoe National Brewing Company is located at 840 North Lake Blvd in Tahoe City. For menu and additional information visit them online at tahoenational.beer or reach them by phone at 530-807-1031.