Co Ba Vietnamese

Vietnamese has been on my mind for a long while and oddly enough, in a town full of Asian dining trucks/malls/restaurants, Vietnamese has not really had a presence in the New York dining scene.  To my surprise, Houston is the most densely populated city with Vietnamese people.  Luckily, there is a restaurant near my apartment in Chelsea that seems to be undiscovered.

Suon nuong – finger-lickin’ lemongrass baby back ribs and the meat falls off the bone, topped with crushed peanuts with short grain semi-sweet rice cakes.

Muc chien don – chili-pepper fried calamari with tamarind-lemongrass sauce and just a touch oily.

Banh uot thit nuong – honey glazed pork with Vietnamese ham served over rice ravioli with basil, cilantro, cucumber, bean sprouts, crispy shallots and chili-lime sauce. The ‘ravioli’ were rice ribbon nests and the chili-lime sauce wasn’t saucy in the slightest, but more of a vinaigrette. This is a must!

Com tho ga – clay pot baked ginger chicken with shitake mushrooms and onions over rice. This dish is perfect to edge you into fall with its heavy pepper undertones.

Downtown Galloway Hooker

Saturday I was really craving a burger…a really good burger, so I wasn’t thrilled with the decision of Galloway Hooker downtown. BUT I almost always enjoy bar food, even when it isn’t good, so you can imagine my surprise when this bar had incredible burgers! We ordered the Irish Bacon Burger and the Turkey Burger, but the Irish Bacon Burger was the bomb! Galloway uses all local ingredients (Florence Meat Market, Murray’s Cheese and Tom Cat Bakery) for menu items and it is noticeable. The burger was so juicy and seasoned perfectly topped with an over-easy egg, cheddar cheese and Irish bacon. The bacon didn’t pack much flavor and could have been omitted completely. The fries, the FRIES! Like Parisian bistro fries, perfectly crispy. Pass on the turkey burger over the regular burger. While it is yummy and served with garlic aioli, braised leeks and English muffin, it is just a tad dry.

The Original Sandwich Shoppe

What you see here is bacon mixed with eggs and swiss cheese on local French bread that was oiled and toasted. I'm totally willing to shell out an extra $2 over the deli's sandwich. This is what breakfast sandwich dreams are made of!