You can measure the maturity of an immigrant group by the distance that their restaurants stray from their traditional enclaves. In the last decade, there's been an upshot of such 'crossover' restaurants that are delivering Vietnamese food to non-Vietnamese people in locations outside of typical Little Saigon neighborhoods.
Journalist and author Andrew Lam invited me to write about how Vietnamese food and cooking are impacting America for New American Media, the nation's oldest ethnic media organization. I spoke to three seasoned restaurateurs -- Khanh Tran in Bergen County, New Jersey; Eric Banh in Seattle, Washington; and Stephanie Dinh in Westminster, California. Here is the piece for you to peruse:
- Moving Vietnamese Food Forward (New American Media, 7/31/07)
For information on these restaurants:
- Saigon R and Mo Pho (Khanh Tran)
- Monsoon (Eric Banh)
- S Fine Dining (Stephanie Dinh)
Jane says
As you mentioned, it is always good to hear that an immigrant group has successfully integrated into a new society - however, although the fusion cuisine is appealing towards the younger generations, I found that the older will always compare it to their native lands. I actually found that they look for authenticity even if its labeled as a fusion dish. Have you had these encounters? If so, I was hoping you could give a tip or two a daughter or a man who grew up in Vietnam!
Andrea Nguyen says
Jane, that's a very good point. The older generation will always compare it to the past. But what I've found in talking with my mother (who is in her 70s) is that many of her friends have forgotten what good cooking is. Vietnamese food is inherently fusion food and authenticity is hard to capture. My bottom line is this -- does the food taste good? If it does, that's great. If it doesn't, then whether it is fusion, modern or traditional Vietnamese food, it's bad food. I do not own a restaurant b
Laurent says
Hi Andrea,
I'm a big fan of your cookbook and had a quick question for you on the restaurant topic: what is your favorite Vietnamese restaurant in New York and what are the others you would suggest to try?
Thanks,
Laurent
Andrea Nguyen says
Hi Laurent,
Gosh, I'm not great with restaurant recommendations because Viet restaurants tend to be inconsistent. For example, someone went to one of my favorite pho places recently and reported that there were flies everywhere. Another person visited a Viet restaurant that I thought was nice and found hair in her rice. So what's a girl to do? I root for home cooking. You know the ingredients and your tastes. Sometimes when you need someone else to do the cooking, though. That's when you just ha
Laurent says
Andrea,
I sometimes dine at Omai in Chelsea. I like their rolls and bun cha while my wife really appreciated their pho. Other dishes tend to be more inconsistent or way too spicy for my taste. Really cheap for Manhattan in a simple yet nice decor. I'm not sure it matches the best Vietnamese restaurants though (you would know better obviously).
I heard a lot of good things about Nicky's Vietnamese Sandwiches in East Village and their banh mi but never had a chance to try it. As far as banh mi, I
Andrea Nguyen says
Laurent,
Thanks for the tip on Omai. I've heard good things about Nicky's too for banh mi. Another place I heard of recently is Saigon Banh Mi in Chinatown/Little Italy. It's in the back of a jewelry store. The thing is that their bread is not like a hoagie type of roll, more like a class Viet baguette. I'll be in the neighborhood this coming week and will give it a try at:
Saigon Banh Mi
138 Mott St (between Grand St & Hester St)
New York, NY 10013
212-941-1541
Also, this place is supposedly go
Laurent says
Hi Andrea,
I was unable to make it for the Vietnamese food panel at the Asian Society in NYC. Sure it must have been a terrific event. I hope your week end was rich in culinary discoveries and would be happy to hear about your experiences with respect to Vietnamese restaurants. Thanks.
Andrea Nguyen says
Hi Laurent,
The Asia Society event was indeed good. It was crowded. You're lucky to live in NYC. I explored Chinatown in Manhattan, as well as ventured into Elmhurst and Flushing. I went to Momofuku Ssam bar, and one of the things we ordered was David Chang's take on banh mi. Not one of my favorite renditions -- the bread was too crusty and hard and the flavors didn't pop like they should.
A.
Andrea Nguyen says
P.S. Laurent -- what a wonderful blog you have at
http://aioliandco.blogspot.com/
When I was in that part of France in 2000 (my last trip to Europe), a Toulouse chef was playing around with lemongrass. How are Asian ingredients working their way into French cooking these days?
Laurent says
I'm so sorry you didn't like Momofuku's banh mi that much. Hope you liked other dishes at least.
As far as French chefs (or chefs working in France), they have definitely been influenced by Asian cuisines over the last decade. Jean-George Vongerichten makes no mystery of his passion for Asian flavors and spices and has also written a book and opened restaurants dedicated to those. Alain Senderens, Michel Bras or Thierry Marx have also been inspired by Asian cooking and strive to spend each year
Andrea Nguyen says
Don't apologize for David Chang's banh mi. He's a smart restaurateur and I enjoyed the restaurant tremendously. I learned lots from going there.
Someone showed me a cookbook purchased in France this year that was full of Asian-inflected recipes. As I recall, there was a lot of star anise. I think that's splendid -- the bidirectional influences. (Actually, they're more multi-directional.) The Italians are doing more with foreign ingredients too. We're eating and living in interesting times.
I'm s
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