Thai Son- Chinatown Vietnamese delights

The first advice I have for anyone looking for good Vietnamese food is to abandon New York and move to Pittsburgh where they can have a one armed man feed them a variety of noodle dishes on holiday themed plastic table cloths while his son-in-law unloads fresh groceries from the Lexus. The man at Tram's Kitchen knows food I tell them, you cannot find good Vietnamese food in New York. Give up while you're ahead.

But after six years of trial and error I may have actually found Vietnamese food in New York that tastes like... Vietnam.

Despite its poorly chosen name, Thai Son is unexpectedly authentic. We chose it because it was almost completely full at dinner time, with not a white person in sight (I did find one later, hidden in a booth in the corner), and getting the same old thing at Pho Pasteur next door was getting... old.

Al looked around and ordered the dish he saw most often: Pho with Beef, $5. It was huge. And since the menu had few chicken items, and I fear vegetarian dishes in Chinatown, I sprang for the vermicelli noodles with grilled shrimp and lettuce, $6. It was perfect. In fact, it reminded me of Tram's.

The vermicelli was thick, white, and round, cut into three inch segments, tossed with shredded lettuce, basil, scallions and the classic salty sweet fish sauce that so many other restaurants fail at getting just right. A perfect spring dish, the noodles were cool and refreshing next to the shrimp warm off the grill. Thai Son may not be the last New York Vietnamese restaurant I try, but it will certainly be the yardstick by which I will measure all others.

Downtown Bakery- East Village

I could live without chicken, but not without tamales smothered in chipotle sauce.

While in truth I was too intimidated by the cracked window and graffiti covered tables to try Downtown Bakery the first year I lived in the East Village, after I finally tried my first burrito I was hooked. I now eat there at least once every seven to nine days. They know me by name, by address, and have been known to identify me by my order when I call on the phone.

My two favorite things at Downtown Bakery are the rice and bean burrito con todo, and the slightly dry chicken tamales paired with homemade chipotle sauce, closely followed by the chipotle chicken burrito, the bean and cheese tacos, the chicken fajita platter (feeds 2.5ppl!), and the pollo desmenuzado platter. Even their shrimp are surprisingly good given the sketchiness of the locale. The only thing I would suggest avoiding is the veggie tamales, unless you like green peppers, a lot.



Photo credit Food_in_mouth: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foodinmouth/2070100891/

Rush Hour, Burger Bar- LES

I have a soft spot in my stomach for gourmet turkey burgers. It probably all dates back to when I was a little girl and still ate beef and I wouldn't eat my dad's homemade hamburgers unless they were topped with tiny chopped onions like McDonalds'.

Fortunately, down on the Lower East Side, tucked among bars and drunken hipsters, Rush Hour serves their hot little brioche burger buns anyway I like.

To begin with, beef is not the only thing for dinner at Rush Hour, aside from sandwiches and several incarnations of fried potatoes, diners have their choice of six different veggie, meat or poultry fillings for their burgers, paired with cheese, lettuce and tomato, or one of the 18 different signature toppings. (If I didn't fail grade school math that's 120 different burger possibilities).

Toppings vary from French themed goat cheese and caramelized onion (amazing!) to Brazilian mango and swiss cheese or Old Lady style pesto and mozzarella-- warmed individually a pannini press. In the end there is little to complain about, beyond the difficulty of deciding, and the ironically slow speed with which the food is served, even when there are only two people in the restaurant.


Photocredit Roboppy- http://www.flickr.com/photos/roboppy/226922998/

Ashbys- work lunch in Chelsea

Love at first bite. It may just be me, but I have an immediate respect for places that make 8 or more homemade soups each day, particularly the ones that let you taste their array before you buy.

Though I am a longtime fan of Union Square's Cafe Medina, Ashby's is just a little closer to work (22nd and 6th), cheaper, and possibly, faster too.

Somehow the catering/cafe managed to squeeze a juice bar, a salad bar, a sandwich spread, and an array of soups into what must be a 200 sq ft space. There is nowhere to sit, so line up, order and get out. The sandwiches look a bit uninspiring, but the store is clean, prices are fair, service is nice, and all ingredients are listed in detail on the backs of each food label.

Their salty chicken noodle soup ($4.25 for a large) was so tasty that I even detoured from my original path to Eisenberg's Diner on 5th ave for their matzoh ball soup.