86 replies to this topic

[Fat Guy]

We were discussing the best Vietnamese in Chinatown, but it's not as though New York has such an embarrassment of riches when it comes to Vietnamese -- so I figured it might be best to open it up to the whole area.

Has anybody tried O Mai in Chelsea or Bao 111 in the East Village?

Also, what's the deal with the thing in the Museum of Natural History?

[Lyle]

Also, if possible, could someone tell me where in Manhattan are there large concentrations of Vietnamese restaurants/businesses? In greater NYC?

[tommy]

Bao 111 used to be Vicala, if i'm not mistaken. same owners, similar idea. i found Vicala to be the typical slightly-upscale vietnamese/french blend. mrs. tommy returned from Bao 111 the other night, proclaiming it slightly better and more focused than Vicala. i'll have to give it a shot.

this thread is bound to produce a diverse and iffy list. for example, some people will no doubt mention "viet nam" as one of the best in the city. while i used to like this place, i've found it horrible in the last 5 years. and if anyone suggests L'Annam, i'll just lose all hope.

[scamhi]

My standard in Manhattan in Nha Trang.

Recently we went to Truc Mai 6102 7th Avenue and about 61st Street in Brooklyn. Food was very good to excellent. Mostly vietnamese diners. If you aree still hungry there is a good Banh Mi joint across the street Ba Xuyen 6011 7th Ave.

[LESider]

Here's a short list by food item of my fave Vietnamese dishes in NYC

Pho:
Pho Bang at 5 Pell St
Pho Bang (Mott/Grand))
Cong Ly (Hester/Chrystie)

Grilled Pork Chop:
Green Bamboo (Mott/Canal)
Nha Trang

Bahn Mi:
Bahn Mi (Forsyth/East Broadway)
Bahn Mi (Broome/Mott)

was recently at Vietnam on Mott below Canal. pork chops were ok and grilled fish was good but not recommended overall...

[Pan]

Has anybody tried[...]Bao 111 in the East Village?

I was trying to figure out why I hadn't heard of this place. This is why:

Bao 111
111 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009
(212) 254-7773

Yep, Av. C and 8th. I don't walk on Av. C that often. The question for me is, since it's a 20-25 minute walk to Chinatown (alright, maybe 30 minutes for Baxter St.) and would probably take about 10 minutes for me to walk to Av. C, what's the cost-benefit analysis?

[tommy]

The question for me is, since it's a 20-25 minute walk to Chinatown (alright, maybe 30 minutes for Baxter St.) and would probably take about 10 minutes for me to walk to Av. C, what's the cost-benefit analysis?

it's more upscale than your average chinatown place. has a decent wine list. service is probably a bit more polished. dishes are probably a bit different, as they are not strictly "authentic" vietnamese (which of course does not mean it's better, just different). seems like this place can coexist with the places in chinatown, as they are different animals meeting different needs.

Edited by tommy, 04 June 2003 - 02:49 PM.

[cdh]

I've enjoyed Nam Phuong in Tribeca... 6th b/t Walker and White if I recall rightly... or maybe 6th is still Church down there... not sure.... anyway, it is immedaiely west of the monstrous AT&T ziggurat.

Anyway... very good pho and other soups, and quite tasty entrees... excellent summer rolls and other wrapped pre-dinner nibbles. Jackfruit shakes are also memorable.

[danger_doug]

I'm with Scamhi! Nha Trang is consistently delicious. Just yesterday I had their barbecued beef cubes which were simply remarkable, and their squid with chili and lemongrass singlehandedly put my faith back into squid dishes...

[Pan]

The question for me is, since it's a 20-25 minute walk to Chinatown (alright, maybe 30 minutes for Baxter St.) and would probably take about 10 minutes for me to walk to Av. C, what's the cost-benefit analysis?

it's more upscale than your average chinatown place. has a decent wine list. service is probably a bit more polished. dishes are probably a bit different, as they are not strictly "authentic" vietnamese

You know how they say good reviewing helps people to make decisions based on descriptions? This may have helped me make a decision. The place you're describing sounds like Cyclo, on 1st Av. between 13th and 14th. I'm not interested in paying $6.50 for ordinary brisket pho without omosa and tendon, rather than $3.50 for tastier pho with omosa and tendon in Chinatown, just because the restaurant has fancy decor, serves creme brulee for dessert, and tones down the spices (which toning down is not desirable to me). And a wine list is the furthest thing from my mind when I'm eating Vietnamese food, even though I could hardly say it's completely "inauthentic," given the French influence on Vietnamese food (and is this place really serving French food with Vietnamese accents?). But give me some good tea anytime with Vietnamese food. So I think that I'll be walking to Chinatown or going somewhere else in the neighborhood, unless the food is just unusually good at this place, in which case, I might be willing to suspend my disbelief in fusion and try it once. I was underwhelmed by Vong the only two times I went there, but that's more Thai-influenced, and I'm not sure that a French-Vietnamese fusion couldn't be made to work better than a Thai-French fusion. Count me as doubtful, though.

[tommy]

Count me as doubtful, though.

duly noted.

[bpearis]

I'm with Scamhi! Nha Trang is consistently delicious. Just yesterday I had their barbecued beef cubes which were simply remarkable, and their squid with chili and lemongrass singlehandedly put my faith back into squid dishes...

thinking of going here tomorrow before a show at bowery ballroom. what else do you guys reccomend there?

[Mistinguett]

Must try the seafood soup - the one without the noodles. I could have that every day.

I didn't have a disappointing dish there so I'd say go with with whatever you're craving at the moment.

[Stone]

Also, what's the deal with the thing in the Museum of Natural History?

It has a belly-button now.

[scamhi]

I'm with Scamhi! Nha Trang is consistently delicious. Just yesterday I had their barbecued beef cubes which were simply remarkable, and their squid with chili and lemongrass singlehandedly put my faith back into squid dishes...

thinking of going here tomorrow before a show at bowery ballroom. what else do you guys reccomend there?

The satay flavor pho
cold beef salad
crispy squid
Lemongrass chicken
when will it ever be summer rolls
iced coffee with condensed milk

[Pan]

The last time I was at Pho Nha Trang (Centre St.), I got a beef stew pho that I was happy with. It's been a while, though.

[bpearis]

Viet-Nam is no more. It is now Doyers Street Vietnamese Restaurant. They had a Grand Opening sign up on Saturday. Didn't go in.

[tommy]

Viet-Nam is no more. It is now Doyers Street Vietnamese Restaurant. They had a Grand Opening sign up on Saturday. Didn't go in.

that's pretty big news! i suppose we need to find out if it's new owners/chef/etc.

[Blondie]

Nha Trang on Baxter Street is undergoing renovations. According to the permit they are upgrading the HVAC, but they've torn out much of the dining room as well.

New Pasteur next door is a longtime favorite of mine.

[Aquitaine]

OK, coordinates for Nha Trang, please? (And is it the same as Pho Nha Trang?)

[Pumpkin Lover]

Okay. I've never had pho before. Or bahn mi (I want to try it after the Levine piece in the NYT). I'm confused by the names of places that people throw out. And there doesn't seem to be a comprehensive list of Vietnamese places in the forum.

Tell me:

1) The name of your fav Vietnamese restaurant
2) The address (I'll go anywhere, so list Queens and Brooklyn places also), and
3) What it specializes in, like pho or bahn mi.

I will be indebted to all of you for your help.

[alacarte]

Annan -- 3rd Ave. and 28th st (approx.)

There may be better ones out there, but Annan is reliably good and it sure does smell divine.

[rozrapp]

Annan -- 3rd Ave. and 28th st (approx.)

There may be better ones out there, but Annan is reliably good and it sure does smell divine.

That would be L'Annam. We ate there only once not long after it opened, and that was once too often because I thought the food was mediocre.

Also nearby is Anh, on 3rd Ave., b/t 26th & 27th Sts. But a couple of meals showed it to be rather inconsistent.

Our fav in that neighborhood is the never disappointing -- at least, for us -- Bao Noodles, on 2nd Ave., b/t 23rd & 24th Sts. My favorites there are vegetable spring rolls, green papaya salad with shrimp, stir-fried chicken with lemongrass, and spicy beef stew with carrots & daikon.

[Lochina]

Nha Trang--2 locations in Chinatown. Yummy and cheap!

[Pan]

Lochina, do you have a preference for the Centre St. vs. the Baxter St. location, or vice versa?

[Rachel Perlow]

2) The address (I'll go anywhere, so list Queens and Brooklyn places also), and

If you are willing to go to the outer boroughs, you should be willing to go to NJ too. Take the bus to Fort Lee or Englewood (NJ Transit schedule), and go to Mo'Pho or Saigon R. Actually, they are owned by the same people, and Mo'Pho is easier to get into and to get to from NYC, so go there:

Mo'Pho Noodles
212 Main Street
Fort Lee, NJ
201-363-8886

Neither of these places do the sandwiches though. We've talked to the owner about it, it's just not cost effective for her to offer them as not enough people order them. But she does the most amazing pho and other soups. Click the above links for pictures.

[Mistinguett]

Lochina, do you have a preference for the Centre St. vs. the Baxter St. location, or vice versa?

Not Lochina but as I like Nha Trang also, my vote goes to the Center St. location. I have a Vietnamese friend and she likes the Baxter St. one - just that we gave it a few tries from time to time and went back to Center. The food is more flavorful and the service is better. We go so often that we have "our own waiter" no matter where we're seated, his name is Leslie (if he spells it differently I apologize).

Favorites: the "seafood and vegetables soup", the pho, the beef cubes with spices and the salt and pepper shrimp. The only thing I tried and didn't like was the scallion pancake, a little on the greasy side.

[peter_nyc]

I'm still holding my breath for a great Banh Mi joint to pop up in NY. This past summer I visited Little Saigon in Orange County CA and sampled the most delicious Banh Mi at this chain called Lee's Sandwiches. Truly a transcendental experience. And completely authentic (so I'm told).

There was a piece in the NYT the other day about new ethnic sandwich shops in NY, but from what I gathered it seemed like they were compromising on authenticity in order to cater to the western palate. I hope it's not true.



:edited to add mouthwatering photo:

Edited by peter_nyc, 03 December 2004 - 10:25 AM.

[nixienox]

2) The address (I'll go anywhere, so list Queens and Brooklyn places also), and

If you are willing to go to the outer boroughs, you should be willing to go to NJ too. Take the bus to Fort Lee or Englewood (NJ Transit schedule), and go to Mo'Pho or Saigon R. Actually, they are owned by the same people, and Mo'Pho is easier to get into and to get to from NYC, so go there:

Mo'Pho Noodles
212 Main Street
Fort Lee, NJ
201-363-8886

Neither of these places do the sandwiches though. We've talked to the owner about it, it's just not cost effective for her to offer them as not enough people order them. But she does the most amazing pho and other soups. Click the above links for pictures.

The specialty is pho, and it's reachable by Path train.

Saigon Cafe
(201) 332-8711 
188 Newark Ave
Jersey City

[Jammin]

i'll add my vote for nha trang, centre st. i find their pho to be good in general, but it seems to get better in the evening, presumably as the flavor of the broth deepens.

for banh mi, i like saigon banh mi. it's a TINY storefront at 88 east broadway right next to where the chinatown buses pick up for boston, philly, d.c., etc. and the line seems always to be about 7 or 8 people out the door.

the other vietnamese dish i get constant cravings for is grilled pork chops on broken rice. for that dish, pho viet huong (mulberry @ bayard) seems to have the competition licked.