Occasion: Pho for Cinco de Mayo! Umm.... yeah.... The crew included Melissa and Tony, Sung and Mike, Alicia and Robert
Location: Nam Son on Grand between Bowery and Chrystie
Edibles: spring rolls; summer rolls; lemongrass noodles with beef and onion; bird's nest stir-fry; a giant burrito-like thing; three orders of pho with "everything" (assorted meats and tripes); spicy noodles; rice crêpes with ham; a colorful shaved ice dessert
Musings: All that and assorted beverages, for an amazing $17 per person after tip and tax. Thanks to Robert for sharing his pho place, and introducing us to many other Vietnamese culinary delights besides. (The restaurant recs were really flying! My fellow diners could teach a class on where to get good Southest Asian food in NYC. Mike and Sung, it was great to meet you and I can't wait to try Wondee Siam #1.)
My favorites were classics: the spring rolls, wonderfully crunchy and piping hot, and the pho. On the pho, don't be fooled by the bargain basement price of $6.25 - the bowl is absolutely HUMONGOUS and more than enough for three or more to share. The broth was great, and though I couldn't positively identify all the animal parts I fished out, hey, that's the spirit of adventure.
The lemongrass noodles with beef were good - I'd get them again, with a group. The flavors and textures in the rice crêpe dish struck me as kind of odd; it might be an acquired taste. I'd pass on the bird's nest stir-fry, which struck me as pretty ho-hum. But, all in all, it was a fantastic meal. Two thumbs up. [Postscript: I woke up the next day, still full.]
The carnage:
Your posts always make me hungry! I'm definitely going to have to use your blog as a reference when I plan my first trip back to NYC -- in October if not before. And you've inspired me to seek out some pho this week in Vancouver. I'm still on the hunt for the perfect bowl.
ReplyDeleteUnfortch, my two pho places in Vancouver both closed - Lemongrass in Kerisdale and Pho Bich Nga on Kingsway (and yes, that's the real name of the place - a clever blogger titled his post "Who Are You Calling Pho Bich Nga?")
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