Paul Finley, Jeff Owens, Jerry and Sally Hogan, Shari Benyousky and Charlie Wagner enjoy lunch as Lady Apsara.

Text and Photos
By Shari Benyousky
Guest Columnist

Column Note: This is the 33rd column in the Diners and Dives series in which a small group of Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club members and their guests road trip to explore the restaurants of Kosciusko and the surrounding area.

WARSAW — On Friday, Nov. 10, the day before Veterans Day, we drove north of downtown Warsaw to a yellow house with blue trim and some inflated donuts hanging on the railing. The tiny restaurant doesn’t look like a diner or a dive, but it’s worth plunging into.

If you blow by 2043 N. Detroit St., intent on getting to Walmart, you’ll miss the new Vietnamese and Cambodian restaurant with the small sign out front.

Lady Apsara shares space with the Oasis café, so a stop will assuage your caffeine and sugar deficit with donuts and coffee or your veggies and noodle desires later in the day. Or both.

Becci, Owner Mary and Huoy or mommy pose with the menu.

Lady Apsara bills itself as a take-out restaurant. Most of its customers place orders and pick them up. But they have a small dining room, and they kindly pushed tables together so we could eat and ask questions when the steady stream of customers slowed down.

By the way, an apsara is a celestial being like a nymph or a fairy that can be described as an elegant shape-changing being interested in dance and art. I suppose it’s ironic that we showed up at Lady Apsara to celebrate Veteran’s Day, but the combination of guests, food and grace hit all the right notes.

“Pho Get Yourself and join us for Diners and Dives,” Jeff’s invitation to our wildcard guests read. Pho is a common Vietnamese soup of bone broth, rice noodles (more tender than ramen noodles), and thinly sliced beef or pork with fresh herbs and garnishes. It’s simple but astoundingly delicious. Wildcard Jerry Hogan ordered a giant bowl.

Veterans Day

Jerry Hogan shows a picture of himself as an enlisted officer.

“My first question, out of the gate,” said REMAX Jeff Owens as he greeted wildcard Jerry Hogan who was studying the Vietnamese and Cambodian menu carefully. “Is where did you serve in Vietnam?”

Out of politeness, Jerry had removed his Semper Fidelis hat, but his red shirt still had the USMC Marines Logo. “I was there on the last day of the evacuation of Saigon,” he told us soberly. Jerry graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in the class of 1973. He told us that about 15% of graduates chose the Marines and the rest the Navy. “I went to Fort Sill Oklahoma after that. I had decided to turn in my air guarantee because I loved the artillery.”

Veteran No. 2

Builder Charlie Wagner, current president of the Warsaw Breakfast Optimists, showed us a picture of a handsome man with an impressive mustache. “My father Francis L. Wagner, gunnery sergeant USMC, enlisted 1957-1989,” Charlie told us proudly. Several of us nodded our thanks and added details about our own family veterans. No matter our other disagreements, we all felt lucky to benefit from such sacrifices.

The Food

While we got to know each other, our hostess Becci with the wide, contagious smile brought us a strawberry crumble cinnamon roll — that’s a cinnamon roll topped with cream cheese frosting and strawberry crumbles.

The entrees at Lady Apsara are authentic, but behind the counter are trays of doughnut creations, swirls of blue frosting on sugar cookies, and even gluten-free sweetbread options. Remember the restaurant shares space with the Oasis café, so you can be creative.

Lady Apsara has a regular menu, but also daily specials. Check out their box orders here.

Jerry Hogan as an enlisted man. Photo provided by Jerry Hogan.

I ordered the bahn mi sandwich, which is an interesting cultural mix of airy French baguette stuffed with slices of pork and pickled carrots and radishes, cilantro, mayo and jalapeno slices. Mine came with pork egg rolls and sweet and sour sauce. If you’re thinking of mass-produced soggy egg rolls, you have a treat coming.

Sally Hogan, Jerry’s lovely and vivacious wife, ordered the enormous spring rolls filled with shrimp, noodles, romaine and herbs. They arrived with homemade peanut sauce. She also showed us her Band-of-Brothers T-shirt. The two had recently returned from the 12-day tour in Europe. They told us that each day they would watch clips of Band of Brothers and then tour the spots from Normandy across Europe to the Eagle’s Nest in the Bavarian Alps.

How Jerry Met Sally

“We were in the same first grade class in Warsaw,” Jerry told us. “But they put me in the dumb kid’s class. That’s what we called it anyway. And she was in the smart kid’s class until I got moved over.”

“I don’t remember him from elementary school actually,” Sally winked. “But we re-met at our 25th High School Reunion. He was the emcee, and I told my friend that I thought he was pompous. When I tried to rattle his chain, we ended up talking for like three hours.”

But the relationship languished. “I remember the day two years later when I decided I would write to her.” Jerry grinned. “I was swimming the breaststroke. In fact, I was underwater. Then I wrote her a note every day for 365 days straight.”

The Mysterious Sauce

Charlie Wagner shows his dad as an enlisted gunnery sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps.

As we finished up, the owner, her mother, and Becci finally all had time to breathe so they came out to answer our questions. “Mary Srun is the owner,” Becci introduced her. “It’s Mary’s mother Huoy that cooks on the weekends. She makes this homemade golden sauce that is so good I would drink it.”

Of course, Jeff wanted the secret recipe and asked Huoy her secret. Huoy emigrated from Vietnam to Thailand where she lived in a refugee camp for 10 years before making it to Fort Wayne and finally to Warsaw. She learned to cook and run a food truck in the refugee camp.

Huoy merely smiled at his request. REMAX Jeff frowned. “Well, fine,” he acquiesced. “But could you just tell us how you start?”

The owner Mary Srun shook her head with a smile. “Make sure you come back and try my mom’s special Red Moon Curry sometime.” It’s to die for. The three put their aprons back on.

Gratuitous Fight (For the Pictures)

As we ended our amazing visit and celebration of Veterans Day, Sally and Jeff couldn’t help but bring up pickleball which several of us play. Instead of telling you which of us is the best player (not me), I asked Jeff and Sally if they could act out a fight for me to photograph for the article. Check out the photos to see who won.

Whatever your inclinations towards neon green wiffleballs or vegetables, make it a priority to try Lady Apsara Restaurant soon. Say hello to Becci, Mary, and Huoy.

TIP — If you get the Golden Sauce Recipe, it might get you a spot on a future Diners and Dives Lunch.

Do you know of an interesting place, restaurant, nonprofit, or person that you’d like to see featured in Dives and Diners or in Profiles behind the scenes someday? Send SB Communications LLC an email at [email protected].