Vietnamese Cuisine: Saigon Grill - Affordably Delicious
Written: Dec 01 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Delicious Food. Excellent Prices. Quick Service.
Cons: Cramped Dining Room.
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| coldsteel7's Full Review: New York |
I was on the Upper East Side of Manhattan looking for a good place to find a hot meal. While walking along Broadway in the 80's (2381 Broadway at the corner of 87th street), I stumbled upon a Vietnamese Restaurant called Saigon Grill. I enjoy Vietnamese cuisine, and decided to give it a try.
The first thing I noticed was that Saigon Grill does a tremendous lunch business. There were around 60 seats or so, and the place was very crowded. The decor was simple, not even close to fancy. However, the prices adequately reflect the decor. In fact, you get so much food for the price, I quickly learned why the place was so crowded.
I scanned the lunch menu, which offers twenty-two different dishes, which are mostly around five dollars. The dinner menu runs slightly higher, but still manages to stay under ten dollars. The paper menu lists nearly one hundred various items available at the restaurant, including appetizers.
The Vietnamese have a dish called Bun, which is made with "room temperature" vermicelli heaped over a cool salad made of julienne cucumbers, lettuce squares (which tasted lightly spiced), bean sprouts, and herbs. The dish is topped with a grilled meat and crushed peanuts. The Bun at Saigon Grill is available with several different toppings, including: Grilled Chicken, Grilled Beef, Plum Sauce Spareribs, Grilled Shrimp, Vegetables or Spring Rolls. I decided on the Grilled Chicken Bun.
The Waitress took my order as take-out(at my request), and I paid the cashier ahead of time. The waiting area was extremely cramped, with only two chairs. The waiting area remained busy, and the majority of the time that I was waiting, I was sort of blocking an aisle. It wasn't too inconvenient, but I felt slightly uncomfortable standing in the aisle. There were two elderly ladies occupying the seats, and a few other take-out customers were eagerly awaiting their lunch fare, as well. I only had to wait around five minutes for my take-out.
After obtaining my lunch, I went the office I was working out of, and proceeded to gorge myself on an excellent lunch. The large take out pan probably had more than a whole cucumber cut up in it. There was a small side salad of sweetened cucumbers and julienne carrots inside the pan, as well as three grilled chicken tenders on a shish-kabob stick. The chicken was laying over a heaping portion of vermicelli, which concealed the tasty cool salad beneath. There were two small containers of Nuoc Cham Sauce, which is a slightly sweet dressing, and a small portion of hot pepper sauce. The portion was so large that I was unable to finish. For $4.95, I felt that I got more than my money's worth.
The Saigon Grill had several xerox copied reviews pasted in the front window. They included raves from the New York Times and New York Post, The Daily News, Zagat and The New Yorker. With such high praise already heaped on this restaurant, I am obviously not the only person who has been impressed. The Saigon Grill has another location on the East Side, almost directly across Central Park. The other location is 1700 2nd Ave (which is near the corner of 88th street). The restaurants both offer free delivery. The telephone number is 212-875-9072, or 9073.
If you happen to be Uptown, and are in the mood for some inexpensive Vietnamese Cuisine, don't miss this! You won't regret visiting.
Recommended:
Yes
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