New York City has everything you can ever want, imagine, or need. From multiple sports teams, to all night diners, clubs and bars for every interest, and food from just about every ethnicity you can think of…except Vietnamese. I know what you are thinking: “You live in NYC, you have tons and tons of stuff all around, so stop complaining.” Yea, I hear you, but that still doesn’t bring a warm bowl of Pho to me somewhere in Manhattan. Now I’ve heard that a few places in Queens has some good soup, but really what has me curious is, why is it so hard to find a good bowl in Manhattan??
A few months back, I traveled to Orlando for work, and while I was there, I sought out a Vietnamese enclave of restaurants and had Pho there. It was delicious and quite authentic…in Orlando! I might be acting a little harsh as I will say that I’ve had a few bowls of soup that are good, but not great. But when it comes to other Vietnamese dishes, its really been an epic failure. For some reason, there just isn’t a large enough population of Vietnamese in NYC to have opened some truly tasty restaurants. I will soon venture to Queens for my cravings — or just visit my hometown, Washington DC, and travel to Northern Virginia for the tasty bo luc lac and pho bo.
I get that this entry is mostly a complain session and I’m ok with that. Even using Yelp and Chowhond, I’ve only really come across one highly rated Vietnamese joint in Queens. At least Banh Mi are available and delicious. Despite this small issue with Pho and Vietnamese food, I’ve eaten at some amazing restaurants, including Union Square Cafe and Le Bernardin (just named the 3rd best restaurant in America), so I really should tone down my whining and bickering. I should just be happy that I live in a great city with The Vegetarian and my dog Finny.
And now, some linkage:
- Pickled turnips 3-ways from The Kitchn
- Crunchy chicken salad sandwiches w/ Bacon, mmm bacon (Serious Eats)
- Baked curry sweet potato fries from Joy the Baker
- Ceramic Knife reviews from Cooking for Engineers
- Serious Eats’s Food Lab for Tater Tots
- More than Meats the Eye: Top 25 blogs to help you go Vegan
