Last weekend a group of friends and I made the trek up to NYC for a weekend of fun and debauchery. The idea came to us in January as a great way to celebrate all of the April and May birthdays in our group of friends. My friends Mai and Sangeeta did all of the planning, determining where to stay, what to do and most importantly what to eat! We had a fabulous time visiting Central Park, shopping on 5th Ave, touring the Guggenheim and eating all of the amazing cuisine the big apple has to offer.
DC meets New York!
This is my first post with reviews of restaurants but I plan making a habit of it, covering the atmosphere, service, prices, menu variety, and most importantly the taste. The objective of this post was to review four of the restaurants we visited in New York, though reviewing all four at once has proved to be time intensive, so I’ve decided to attack in three parts. I hope that some of the information is useful and inspires you to try some interesting dishes or visit some of these restaurants next time you are in New York!
The gang in Central Park
After arriving via Bolt Bus (a mode of transportation I highly recommend) our first stop was lunch… obviously;) We headed to China Town for Vietnamese food at Nha Trang Restaurant (87 Baxter Street). I was “starving” by the time we got there, and arguably a bit crabby… or so I’m told;), so to my delight the food was delicious and the service was outstanding!
From the moment we sat down and ordered our first appetizer, there was a constant flurry of food arriving at our table. We started with spring and summer rolls, both delicious, though I think the spring were my favorite, especially when wrapped in lettuce with mint and dipped in fish sauce.
Goi Cuon (shrimp rice vermicelli summer rolls)
Cha Gio (vietnamese style deep fried spring roll)
For our main dishes we had Pho Ga (rice noodle soup with chicken), Bo Luc Lac Salad (beef cubes sauteed in spice and onion salad), Ga Xau Sa Ot (chicken with chile and lemon grass sauce), Bau Hu Sauce Nam Rom (tofu with mushroom in oyster sauce) and Tom Rang Muoi (jumbo shrimp in salt and pepper sauce). All of the dishes were tasty but I enjoyed the Bo Luc Lac Salad the most.
Bo Lac Salad (Beef Cubes sauteed in spice and onion salad) and Ga Xau Sa Ot (Chicken with chili and lemon grass sauce)
Lastly for desert we had Vietnamese iced coffee, which was a first for me. I absolutely loved it! It is served, as shown below, with the coffee brewed at the table in a small metal drip filter over a cup with sweetened condensed milk, then poured over ice. The coffee is very strong and often contains chicory, but when mixed with the sweetened condensed milk and chilled tastes like liquid tiramisu, amazing!
Vietnamese iced coffee
Overall review (1=poor-10=excellent):
Atmosphere (5): Quaint but standard
Service (8): We had four waiters bringing food to our table constantly
Price (8): Extremely affordable, we had four appetizers, 6 main dishes and drinks all for about $18 each including tax and tip
Menu variety (8): Plenty to choose from among beef, pork, vegetarian, seafood and pho dishes
Taste (7): Everything was delicious, my favorites being the Bo Tai Chanh (beef), the Cha Gio (spring rolls) and of course the Vietnamese coffee
All and all, I highly recommend Nha Trang and I would definitely visit again. What is your take? Do you have a favorite Vietnamese Restaurant in China Town or your home town? Any favorite Vietnamese dishes or recipes? What other information do you find helpful in a restaurant review?
Next up I plan on tackling Part two: reviews of the Popover Cafe and Bella Blue tomorrow, then lastly Part 3: a review of Elettaria on Wednesday.
