Right off the bat, this was not authentic congee. The rice was clearly scooped into the bowl with some broth, as opposed to cooking the rice in the broth to make that lovely porridge-like consistency. If you just let go of the idea of authenticity altogether, this is still a tasty bowl of food. It was basically a small bowl of kicked up chicken soup with rice (which reminds me of this!), topped with shredded white meat chicken, sweet crispy shallots (which, incidentally, turn not-crispy in the soup) and chopped green scallions. The broth was very flavorful, though perhaps a little too heavy-handed with the msg. But, at just $3.44 for a 16 oz portion, you can’t really go wrong. You can, however, order more food for that price! Next time I’d definitely add a couple of summer rolls to my order ($2.76 each) or try the steamed buns ($3.44).

Boi Noodles, 240 W 40th St (btwn 7th and 8th ave), (212) 575-0088

The other day, I was feeling under the weather and in need of some hot soup. After perusing various menus, I settled on Bao Noodles (on 2nd btw. 22+23rd), which Clay recommended back in August for their lunch specials. Unfortunately, I ordered this meal on Seamless, where apparently the lunch special is not offered (so long, free starter). But I settled on Saigon Style Egg Noodle Soup (Mi Saigon): egg noodles with slices of pork, squid, quail egg, shrimp, garlic, chives, and bean sprouts in chicken broth ($9.95).

The meal came with the broth in one container and the additions in another, which I appreciated greatly. I think the pork may have actually been chicken in my version, but all of the ingredients came together well, and it ended up being a huge portion (enough for 2 meals). The noodles were springy, the seafood was tender and not overcooked, and the quail egg was an interesting addition that I don’t normally expect in noodle soups.

This soup warmed me up and immedately alleviated my cold symptoms (helped along with a generous squirt of sriracha), definitely recommend for a sick day.

Bao Noodles, 391 2nd Ave (btw. 22+23rd), 212-725-7770

As you might remember, a couple of weeks ago, I passed by a deli called Taz. This is the kind of place that ML readers would most likely never frequent, except that there were signs for Vietnamese food heavily advertised outside and in the back of the deli. Excited, I made a mental note to return, but when I did, the workers there were perplexed, because Mr. Vientamese food didn’t show up for work on day two.

The past couple of weeks have been supremely annoying, because the more I returned to try the food, the less the guy showed up for work. It’s almost like I dreamed up the whole thing, except I am in possession of the original menu.  Anyway, according to the workers who do come in for work, it seems that during the first week — which, I would like to point out was Thanksgiving – they didn’t sell enough Vietnamese food (maybe because Mr. Vietnamese food didn’t show up!), so the guy has given up the whole idea. Oh well!  Back to the drawing board.

On Monday, I walked by Taz, a generic-looking deli on 45th street, and noticed signs for Vietnamese food. Well, hello! Sure enough, in the back there were offerings of bun, congee and more. Unfortunately for me, I had already acquired my Thanksgiving-inspired lunch, but I was excited for a return trip.

When I returned yesterday workers at the establishment seemed bewildered, because Monday was the first day for the freshly made Vietnamese fare, and yesterday the guy just didn’t show up! I guess only one dude knows the recipes? Obviously, I’ll be checking back next week, but did anyone get a chance to try it out on Monday? To be continued …

Taz, 19 W. 45th St. (btw 5th & 6th Ave.)

My classic bánh mì ($5.95) was much improved this time around, and the quality of the pork pate and terrine had been upgraded. Additionally, they’d remembered to add cilantro, and a smattering of raw jalapenos brought a good amount of heat. I picked up a lot of black pepper, which may not appear in traditional bánh mì flavors, and mayonnaise played heavily into the overall flavor profile again. Also, it was hefty enough for a complete meal, though hungrier lunchers may want to add on a satay or two for extra filler.

However, the baguette was on the verge of being stale, and I missed the crackly crunch that a baguette made with rice flour would have had. It also needed a good deal more acid, as the cured carrots and cucumbers had been introduced to sugar, but little to no vinegar.

While I disagree with Kenji’s opinion – I still think Baoguette’s bánh mì is better than Bai Cha’s – they seemed to have settled down from their opening week miscues and improved the quality of their food.

Bai Cha, 710 9th Ave (between 48th & 49th). 212-315-9667

The question of ‘Who makes the best phở?’ is a hotly debated topic – NoVa versus Seattle versus NorCal versus SoCal – it’s a showdown with an impossible conclusion. But I doubt that I’d get too many dissenting opinions if I proclaimed New York’s pho joints to be generally mediocre, with even lousier options in Midtown Manhattan. But we should work with what we have. After multiple visits to the newly opened Cha Pa’s Noodles and Grill (on 52nd btw. 8+9th), I’ve found that the quality of the food and maturity of the service has markedly improved. And they serve, in my humble opinion, one of the best bowls of phở that I’ve tasted in Midtown.

Not only is it a very adept version of phở, but it’s relatively one of the better lunch deals in the area. For $7.95, you can choose from a small lunch menu of Vietnamese standards (phở included) and a side of chả giò (fried spring roll) or a side salad. The phở has all the hallmarks of a good version – slightly raw and pliant vermicelli noodles that soften up as the meal progresses and filament thin shavings of raw beef that are slowly cooked by the steaming hot broth. The broth is proficiently brewed, assertively beefy, appreciably onion-y, and lightly astringent from a steep in coriander, star anise, and cardamom and ginger.

The complimentary side of chả giò was also quite good – crackly crisp exterior and exceptionally juicy pork in the interior. And if a bowl of phở doesn’t completely fill you up, you could grab a side of shrimp chips ($1.50) or a fresh baguette ($1.50) and still remain under the $10 mark.

Proclaiming Cha Pa’s to have one of the best bowls of phở in Midtown is an assertive statement and I’d like to hear contrasting opinions – you know, for future research. This discussion is at least less volatile than the ongoing argument of how to actually pronounce the stuff.

Related:
ChaPa’s is Open for Lunch and Will be Serving Banh Mi

At long last, the enigmatic ChaPa’s Noodle and Grill (52nd between 8th & 9th) has opened to the public. Until only yesterday, the actual theme of the restaurant (aside from being about “noodles and grill”) was a mystery, and when we found out that these noodles and grilled food would be Vietnamese, we got really excited. So excited that I sloshed through some seriously crummy weather to check it out after work. I was, for the most part, pleased with what I saw and tasted. However, since this was their first night of operation, it would be unfair to comment on the food. Instead, here’s a preview of what you might get for lunch.

I found out from the floor staff that the owner of the restaurant had been previously involved with Pho Bang on Mott St, as well as Boi Noodles, so the focus of the menu should be familiar to anyone who’s been to either venue. The lunch menu easily meets our $10 litmus, and there’s even bánh mì to be had! Unfortunately, they didn’t have them available for dinner, but you can be sure that I’ll be back to try it for lunch.

Each of the lunch specialty items (with the exception of the bánh mì) come with your choice of a single gỏi cuốn (salad roll) or chả giò (fried roll).

As a Midtown West luncher, I’m definitely excited to see what these guys can do going forward. The area is a virtual desert of Vietnamese food, and although the price and quality won’t come close to Chinatown or the outer boroughs, I think ChaPa’s shows a lot of promise. They also offer delivery and take-out, such as my midnight snack of bún thịt nướng (grilled pork over rice vermicelli) pictured above. I’ll certainly be back for another bowl of warming phở bò, and definitely for a bánh mì. In the meantime, early adopters, please let us know what you think in the comments.

Update: I called the restaurant to confirm that they’ll be opening for lunch, and unfortunately, they won’t open until around 2pm today.

You can follow ChaPa’s on Twitter, Facebook, or on their website.

Despite the terrible name, I’ve become a little hooked on Foodie (44th btw 2nd+3rd). Everything close to my job has gotten a bit stale for me, so when Boi became Foodie earlier this month it allowed me to enjoy the quick lunch again. I have been especially looking forward to their dumplings, which weren’t available until last Friday. And not only do they have dumplings, they have dumpling soup! I know it’s just dumplings in broth, but it’s more than that to me-it’s the first time I’ve gotten respectable dumplings for lunch in Midtown in a long time.

Their soup comes in two sizes: small, 5 pieces, $4.36; or large, 9 pieces, $7.30. Dumplings can be either the pork or chicken variety, and the broth is shrimp-based. Between the cold and my hunger, I went with the large. The dumplings have a nice thick, hearty skin-one could say doughy, but not in a bad way-that tries its hardest to stand up to the hot broth. A few of mine didn’t make it and one squeeze with the chopsticks made them fall apart. Didn’t matter to me, I enjoyed my pork dumplings immensely even when they’d been dunked. The meat filling is pretty well-seasoned, and on par with some of the better dumpling places in the city. They’re not stingy with the filling either- the nine dumplings were ample enough food to keep me going through the afternoon. I didn’t really care for the cilantro bits floating around in my broth, but it did add a different flavor contrast. Also, said broth is one of the hottest I’ve had in a while, a container of this will definitely stay warm on the walk back to the office.

Foodie, 246 E. 44th Street (btw 2nd+3rd), 212-681-6541

The Boi restaurants were at one point a God-send for those of us in Midtown East: pretty decent Vietnamese, only slightly overpriced for what it was. Plus, Boi To Go was one of the first places to offer the elusive banh mi in Midtown; granted it wasn’t Chinatown-cheap style banh mi, but we take what we can get here, don’t we? For a while they’ve been going through some changes, beginning with Boi To Go shuttering back in August which wasn’t a huge shock considering that Boi Sandwich is practically identical and one avenue over.  But when we heard yesterday that they had closed Boi Restaurant, their slightly upscale Vietnamese flagship (on 44th btw. 2+3rd), that was kind of surprising.  Even more surprising? The new name. Ladies and gentleman, meet “Foodie”.

Click on images to enlarge

Yes, Foodie. I don’t know either.  The menu seems to be  modeled after Boi Noodles (on 40th btw. 7+8th), with build your own lunch boxes, 9 different soups, dumplings. “small dishes” and (of course) banh mi.  The set up is similar to the former Boi Sandwich, just in a much larger space. Tables in the front, you order in the back, and check out a few food cases in between. For this visit, I went with the classic Banh Mi “Saigon”.

The fresh baguette is literally overflowing with carrot and daikon, leaving little room for the meats (ham, Vietnamese ham, BBQ pork, and Pate). It tastes exactly as before, but I did note that there seemed to be much less pate than the last time I had them. My banh mi experience has increased only slightly since that last time, but this struck me as a good beginner banh mi for those of you out there hesitant to try one. And for a $7 sandwich that’s as big as my forearm, it’s not a bad deal either.

Sandwiches are still made to order, so expect to wait at least a few minutes, and those said food cases were empty when I was there. I plan on stopping back in soon to try out their handmade dumplings, another Chinatown offering sorely lacking in our neck of the woods.

Foodie, 246 E. 44th Street (btw 2nd+3rd), 212-681-6541

As far as chains go, I’m not a Pret hater. Yes, their sandwiches tend toward the pricey. But they do use good ingredients and they are always switching up the menu with new items. Case in point this their new “Vietnamese Baguette” which to my way of thinking is their dummy’s way of saying bánh mì.

The Pret Vietnamese Sandwich consists of Murray’s Grilled Chicken, Sweet Chili Dressing (tasted like sriracha mayo to me), roasted red peppers, daikon radish, and cilantro on a Pret baguette.

Upon inspection it appeared that there was also some pickled carrot action as well. The sandwich itself is a far cry from the classic bánh mì đặc biệt (aka the combo bánh mì that most people are familiar with) which is typically made from cold cuts, head cheese, pâté and pickled carrots, cucumbers and radish.

Lunch’er MTFoodie recently posted about this very sandwich in the forums:

I tried it out and was happy to see it chock full of cilantro, carrots, and what appeared to be pickled radish? Offensively, it also contained chicken instead of pork, and for some unknown reason, grilled red peppers. More offensively, I think I really enjoyed it.

The roasted red peppers (WTF?) were definitely distracting. Maybe it’s a product of my childhood surrounded by Italian relatives, but when you slap roasted red peppers on a sandwich it’s going to taste vaguely like an Italian sub to me. If you take off the peppers and eat them separately you get more of a Vietnamese vibe and overall this was actually a pretty tasty sandwich. If you’re expecting an authentic bánh mì you’re going to be disappointed and if you’re used to Chinatown pricing you’ll be especially disappointed when you see the $6.89 price tag. But if you like the sound of a bánh mì-inspired sandwich, there’s a lot to like here.

I stand with you, MTFoodie.

Pret a Manger, Multiple Locations (website)