THE BEST: Vietnamese

[Rachel Perlow]

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

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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?

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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 December 3, 2004 by peter_nyc (log)

[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.

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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.

[Pan]

Anything else people like at Pho Nha Trang besides the Pho and at Pho Viet Huong besides the grilled pork chops? What about favorite flavors of Pho? I remember liking the Beef Stew Pho at Pho Nha Trang Centre a couple of years ago.

[jogoode]

Anything else people like at Pho Nha Trang besides the Pho and at Pho Viet Huong besides the grilled pork chops? What about favorite flavors of Pho? I remember liking the Beef Stew Pho at Pho Nha Trang Centre a couple of years ago.

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I like Ba Xuyen (4222 Eighth Avenue, Brooklyn 718.633.6601) for banh mi. One of the best bangs for your buck this side of Dumpling House. But today I tried the "classic" at Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches (150 2nd Street, East Village) and was very impressed.

I'm happy to see this thread. I don't typically seek out Vietnamese in NY, because I've never heard an unequivocal rave. (Can't afford to be a trail blazer.) I used to like a little Vietnamese place near my college, in Poughkeepsie, NY. It's called, surprisingly, Saigon Cafe.

[Pan]

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

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I presume so.

There are two branches, one on Centre and Walker and one on Baxter between Canal and Bayard.

[mascarpone]

Does Saigon Grill (620 Amsterdam Ave @ 90th St., 212-875-9072) fall into the "not authentic" category? I think they also do Sushi. . . .

[Pan]

I believe someone (perhaps Laksa?) reported that the personnel there are actually Cantonese, though that's not conclusive evidence for lack of authentic cookery in another style.

Do you recommend the place? How does it compare to Chinatown Vietnamese places like Pho Thai Son and Pho Nha Trang, in your opinion?

[mascarpone]

The last time I was there was a year and a half ago, therefore my recollection of Saigon Grill is foggy at best.

I should refrain from answering do to lack of information. At the time I was avoiding the Pho and other noodle dishes while leaning towards low-carb beef cubes and pork chops (delicious).

I do remember that it was very busy as the food was relatively cheap and tasty.

How does it compare to other Vietnamese restaurants? Beats me.

[Todd36]

The last time I was there was a year and a half ago, therefore my recollection of Saigon Grill is foggy at best.

I should refrain from answering do to lack of information. At the time I was avoiding the Pho and other noodle dishes while leaning towards low-carb beef cubes and pork chops (delicious).

I do remember that it was very busy as the food was relatively cheap and tasty.

How does it compare to other Vietnamese restaurants? Beats me.

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Real salty, not my speed. Anyone been there recently?

[Josh]

Real salty, not my speed.  Anyone been there recently?

It's still a regular haunt of mine on the Upper West Side (and sometimes Upper East, too). I think their pho, bo luc lac, bun dishes and grilled dishes are wonderful, and the varied menu can suit almost any crowd. Come to think of it, I've never taken anyone there who was unhappy with their meal... The price-point is excellent, and their newly expanded UWS digs are pleasant. Certainly one of the best asian choices on the UWS, in my opinion.

Salty? Hmm... Yeah, I guess it is salty. But I haven't found it to be more so than other asian places.

Is it "authentic"? I think the answer to that question is that it can be, if you wade through the menu and order right. True, they stay away from the entrails and intestines that you'd find at a place like Nha Trang and that "Americans" generally wouldn't go for (personally, I can't stand the stuff so it's absence bothers me not!). And yes, since the expansion of the UWS location, they now have a sushi bar, but it doesn't impact how I judge their other offerings anymore. I've never eaten sushi there, but dining companions have said it's decent.

[Dryden]

For UWS vietnamese, Monsoon is pretty excellent - the hanoi cellophane noodles in particular are truly wonderful.

[phaelon56]

I always had better food at Little Saigon in Nutley NJ (pre fire) than I found in NYC but for NYC Nha Trang on Centre was one of the better that I tried when I was still living in that area. I was singularly unimpressed with Viet-Nam, as was my date. We had excellent summer rolls and some outstanding mussels with green curry at Nha Trang.

Is Saigon Grill the lace on 9th Ave at or near 49th? It's a decent moderately priced ethnic option if you're in the area and I once had a very tasty green papaya salad there but was not impressed enough to make it a destination - it was just convenient if in the area is all.

And the iced coffee with condensed milk (cafe sua da) was nothing special at all three. Now I'm stuck back up here in the boondocks of Syracuse NY where we have three Vietnamese restaurants in a small city - one formerly good and now declining, another is not bad and the third, new Century, is among the best Vietnamese I've ever had. And their coffee rocks.

[Mayhaw Man]

And the iced coffee with condensed milk (cafe sua da) was nothing special at all three.  Now I'm stuck back up here in the boondocks of Syracuse NY where we have three Vietnamese restaurants in a  small city - one formerly good and now declining, another is not bad and the third, new Century, is among the best Vietnamese I've ever had. And their coffee rocks.

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OK, CoffeeBoy, what makes it great? I know it when I have it (I had some at lunch at my favorite pho joint, Pho Bang, here in NO), but just what sets it apart from run of the mill? I have several of the little rigs, and I have tried and tried to get it right at home, and I can't. In fact, this is the wrong place for this, so I will go over to your fabulously informative forum and start a new topic on this important subject

[Kim D]

Based on recommendations here, my husband and I had dinner at Monsoon on Tuesday and Nha Trang (Baxter St.) on Wednesday.

I have only recently discovered Vietnamese food and I'm not sure of the proper names of the dishes so I'll give the American descriptions.

At Monsoon, we had Sugarcane Shrimp, Monsoon Rolls, Beef Cubes and Hanoi Cellophane Noodles.

At Nha Trang, we had Crispy Squid, Deep Fried Spring Rolls, Shrimp in Salt and Pepper Sauce and Beef Cubes.

The difference in price was less than $10. IIRC, before tip, Monsoon was right around $40 and Nha Trang was $32. IMHO, the food at Monsoon was far superior. Even though we hated the Sugarcane Shrimp - weird spongy texture. The beef cubes were outstanding. Juicy. Charcoal grill flavor. The beef cubes at Nha Trang were bland. The Monsoon Rolls are served with three sauces - Wasabi/Jalapeno (only mildly spicy), Mango and something that was red. We loved these rolls. Great harmony of flavors.

The one highlight at Nha Trang, was the crispy squid. Which is surprising to me as I originally didn't like them at all because they were not what I was expecting. I was expecting something moist. More like Italian calamari. But they're chewy. And that grew on me.

Even though I prefer Monsoon, I'm glad we tried Nha Trang. It was nice to have something to compare and my husband and I enjoyed talking about it over a root beer float and a sundae at the Shake Shack.

- kim

[herbacidal]

The one highlight at Nha Trang, was the crispy squid. Which is surprising to me as I originally didn't like them at all because they were not what I was expecting. I was expecting something moist. More like Italian calamari. But they're chewy. And that grew on me.

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I believe that to be a difference between Asian and non-Asian tastes.

I don't like calamari because it's not chewy.

In my experience, most non-Asian friends I know don't like chewy foods.

I do, as do many Asians, as long as I'm not chewing the same food for 10 minutes.

The best salt baked squid is, in my opinion crispy and chewy, and not too soft and mushy.

[herbacidal]

I believe someone (perhaps Laksa?) reported that the personnel there are actually Cantonese, though that's not conclusive evidence for lack of authentic cookery in another style.

Do you recommend the place? How does it compare to Chinatown Vietnamese places like Pho Thai Son and Pho Nha Trang, in your opinion?

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Many Vietnamese restaurants in Philly, and probably NYC because the population base is similar, are opened by Cantonese and/or Cantonese-Vietnamese who grew up in Vietnam.

[Laksa]

I've never been to Saigon Grill so it probably wasn't me who made that observation. (I did, however, make that observation about Sumo Sushi, near the U.N.)

I've met ethnic Chinese Vietnamese who speak Cantonese, and even some ethnic Vietnamese who can speak Cantonese (and other Chinese dialects).

So hearing Chinese spoken in a Vietnamese restaurant tells me....those folks can speak Chinese!

Edited September 15, 2005 by Laksa (log)

[jeanki]

I've never been to Saigon Grill so it probably wasn't me who made that observation.  (I did, however, make that observation about Sumo Sushi, near the U.N.)

I've met ethnic Chinese Vietnamese who speak Cantonese, and even some ethnic Vietnamese who can speak Cantonese (and other Chinese dialects).

So hearing Chinese spoken in a Vietnamese restaurant tells me....those folks can speak Chinese!

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Saigon Grill is adequately tasty (not great) and serves its purpose, but doesn't taste particularly authentic to me, at least not like the joints in Chinatown like Nha Trang or New Pasteur or other places in other cities I've been to. The UWS location is better to me than the UES one. I find Saigon Grill overrated in general (especially the overly sweet stir fried entrees).

Bao 111 is sort of a fusiony take on Vietnamese but in a unique and homestyle way; I love it. I usually don't love Asian fusion joints, but I think Bao succeeds on its own terms. It's not really 'watered down for american tastes' fusion, it's more the chef creating his own riffs on Vietnamese. I actually think it's moderately priced for the overall experience, and isn't really something to be compared directly to the Chinatown joints. I think places like Miss Saigon or L'annam though are another matter entirely (more overpriced and watered down).

Edited September 16, 2005 by jeanki (log)

[raxelita]

Robert Sietsema pronounces Pho Grand "The Best Vietnamese Restaurant in Town."

http://www.villagevoice.com/nyclife/0547,s...a,70178,15.html

The beef dishes alone merit a visit. In addition to butter-sautéed beef, there's bo luc lac ($7.50), a salad that deposits nuggets of smoky barbecued beef on a glistening morass of ripe tomatoes and crisp romaine, so that the meat juices mix with the tart vinaigrette. If you crave spicy, pick bo xao sate, a sauté of luscious beef strips with onions and dried red chiles. Nearly its equal is bo kho ($5.25), a hearty beef stew featuring potatoes and hunks of meat with trailing integuments. The menu describes it as curry. Really, it's more like beef bourguignonne. As further proof of its Frenchness, the bowl comes with a demi-baguette, which magnificently soaks up the midnight-brown gravy. Dip away.

[lostmyshape]

hey... i'm in NYC tomorrow and was hoping to find a good Bahn Mi. any other recommendations out there?

[Pan]

I recommend Banh Mi Saigon Bakery

More information on New York banh mi places here.

[LESider]

Robert Sietsema pronounces Pho Grand "The Best Vietnamese Restaurant in Town."

Pho Grand is pretty good. I eat there quite a bit as I live on Grand St. Not sure if the Pho is the best . Its consistently good though. I have to say the place that's got my Pho vote is the dingy Pho Bang on Pike Street/Allen St near East Broadway. The place lacks ambience in a big way but their Pho is something.