Saigon

The Sapphires: Full of Easy Pleasures

Sad You Aren't at SXSW? Here's What You Could Be Missing...

Awwwww, I know it is a shame you aren't here with us at SXSW in Austin. I can only imagine the aching and longing in your heart for walking aimlessly and standing in long lines for no reason, and sweating through your cardigan to see a band you heard on one of the Twilight soundtracks. You don't w ... More >>

January's Openings and Closings

In New York City, only the strong restaurants survive. Or the ones with amazing food, cult followings, lots of great press, and a whole slew of other factors. For those keeping tabs, here's a list of restaurants that opened and closed in January.

Marquee Reopens in Chelsea, Milk and Honey Moves to 23rd Street

Marquee, the Chelsea club that closed for renovations last year, reopened this week. After a decade and offshoots -- Las Vegas and Australia locations -- owners Noah Tepperberg and Jason Strauss gutted and revamped the entire space. Eater reported that some of the walls even feature scratch-and-sni ... More >>

100 Reasons to Eat and Drink Downtown Today (and Tomorrow, and the Day After That)

Last week, we did a lot of reporting on restaurants operating in the dark, doing whatever they could to provide light and food to those who needed it. We checked in on our review restaurants, both of which happened to be in blackout zones, and found one had stayed open all week, while the other floo ... More >>

Talde: Pan-Asian in the Pan

A Top Chef-er takes his toque to the Slope

Five Reasons Why XXL's Freshman Class Issue Is Going To Be A Yearly Ritual For A While

As traditions go, XXL's annual "Freshman Class" issue is neither all that time-honored or worthwhile. The magazine's been putting rappers it calls freshmen on its cover since 2008, but hasn't exactly been kingmaking or future forecasting in doing so: 2008's list featured Crooked I and Joell Ortiz, h ... More >>

Saigon

There's a New Pho Parlor in Town - and It's Pretty Good

​A bowl of Xe Lua pho at Pho 88, flanked by giant fresh basil leaves, sprouts, and the usual arsenal of flavorings (chiles pastes, hoisin, etc.) to be added in. The make or break of any full-service Vietnamese restaurant is its pho. While this beef noodle soup originated as street food in F ... More >>

Les Nubians+Saigon+Hasan Salaam

Pix from the V-Nam Cafe

​The pho is simpler than you sometimes find, with only two kinds of beef, while the broth is light and elegant, in the Saigon style. Throw in the sprouts, herbs, and chiles. In the current Village Voice, my review of the East Village's V-Nam Café appears as a cartoon strip. The place ... More >>

No. 15: Bun Bo Hue at Thanh Da

​The bun bo Hue at Thanh Da presents a dark tempest of a beef broth. Let's enumerate the ways bun bo Hue -- named after the city of Hue (pronounced "Way") in Central Vietnam -- differs from the signature noodle soup of Saigon, pho (pronounced "FFFah"). First off, the noodles are wheat instead ... More >>

Saigon's The Greatest Story Never Told Is Out Today; Go Congratulate Him In The Bronx

​Long-suffering NYC rapper Saigon, whom non-rap fans might recall from his brief stint on Entourage, has a new record out, The Greatest Story Never Told. Which is remarkable in that he's been waiting nearly half a decade for someone to type that sentence -- here is a Nah Right post touting a r ... More >>

Battle of the Dishes: Vegetarian Banh Mi Brawl

Victoria BekiempisSaigon's version, with rubber band "extra" removed.​ Banh mi has quite a rep -- for being a gutbuster on the mean streets of Saigon and New York. Pickled carrot and radish slivers, cilantro, cucumber slices, pâté, grilled meat, and occasionally cheese burst out of a French ... More >>

Hearts and Minds

Posts of the Week

Without further ado, a backward glance at the last five days ... Our 10 Worst Foodie Xmas Presents. The Early Word on Saigon Shack. Top Chef: "There's a fine line between homage and parody."

Saigon Shack Promises Banh Mi and More

tenka.comInside Saigon Shack.​The banh mi remains the sandwich trend that refuses to die, and giving it further life is Greenwich Village's Saigon Shack, which opened this past Sunday.

Q&A: DJ Premier on Where Rap Went Wrong and How to Fix It

​If New York hip-hop has a spiritual gatekeeper, it's DJ Premier. Along with being part of definitive '90s rap duo Gang Starr, Premier has balanced crafting songs for certified rap royalty Jay-Z, Biggie, and Nas with supporting the city's more varied and underground scenes. His upcoming label ... More >>

Rouge et Blanc - Not Cinq à Sept - Coming Soon to SoHo

Stendhal would approve.​Rouge et Blanc, the new French-Vietnamese restaurant by Thomas Cregan, a former sommelier at Chanterelle and Beacon, is gearing up for a November launch. The restaurant, originally christened Cinq à Sept, was renamed to refer not only to the wines of France but also th ... More >>

Red Dust

What's Up With the Vietnam War Allusions When Talking About Vietnamese Sandwiches?

Sarah DiGregorioHanco's and Henry's banh mi.​ What is it about banh mi or banh mi-like sandwiches that moves people to make tasteless allusions to the Vietnam War? Today, Midtown Lunch takes a look at Cer Te's "The Fall of Saigon," a vaguely banh mi-ish cocoction with buffalo chicken julienned ... More >>

In a Crime-Free City, How Does a Young Gangbanger Represent?

An Early Look at Banh Mi Zon in the East Village

Banh mi #1: Pork roll, shredded pork, liver pate, and the fixings​ As the journalism business flounders, the banh mi trade booms--no one knows this better than Tai Dang, who was reportedly fired from his job as a photographer for Newsweek, and decided to return to his native Saigon to learn to ... More >>

Let's Cast The Miss Saigon Movie

​So producer Paula Wagner is starting to prepare the inevitable movie of the Broadway smash Miss Saigon--the most popular bunch of wet Saigon noodles in history--and Precious director Lee Daniels reportedly might direct.

Incredibly Cheap Eats--Com Suon Bi Cha at Thai Son

Fork in the Road is on a Vietnamese binge, scrambling through fields of banh mi and among lakes of pho. Somehow, in all this enthusiasm, everyone has forgotten the rest of the menu. We're not talking about spring rolls and summer rolls, buns (rice noodles) or eggy crepes. The heart of the ... More >>

Owl and the Sparrow

From the Archives: Richard Goldstein on the Genius of Clay Felker

Yo Majesty Tonight at the Highline

From Talking Heads to Dancing Bear

It's another strong Doc Fortnight at MOMA

Why Do Rappers Keep Quitting?

Status Ain't Hood Podcast 12

The Quarterly Report: Status Ain't Hood's Favorite New Singles

Seen Acting in Concert

The Hip-Hop Cops materialize in the West Village

Stuff You Need to Know This Week to Avoid Cultural Ostracism

The Summer of Haight

Recommendations by R.C. Baker

Gettin' Dibi With It

West African boite expands the Senegalese menu

Postpunk Heroes Reheated, But Still White-Hot

A Conversation Between Just Blaze and Alchemist

Both Sides Now

From the underground to the chart tops, Just Blaze aims to save New York hip-hop

50 Cent Needs to Shut Up

Music

Finning Off the Viet Cong; They're Still Here, One's All Gone

Keepin' It Unreal

$elling the Myth of Bla¢k Male Violen¢e, Long Past Its Expiration Date

The Thermobaric Bomb

Ordeal by Beef

Roads to Hell

The Year in Terror

Conspirators of Pleasure

Crossed Cultures

Vietnam Lore