With his exceedingly popular noodle den, Di An Di (68 Greenpoint Ave.), chef Dennis Ngo’s plotting to take his contemporary Vietnamese fare to new heights as the restaurant approaches its first anniversary in Greenpoint. Ngo’s a go-getter. This statement will likely come as no surprise to any who knows him–the chef has been hustling his way through New York City’s gritty culinary scene for almost 13 years now.
Ngo and his partners Kim Hoang and Tuan Bui opened Di An Di last May, after years of flirting with the idea of bringing a specialty pho shop to New York–where they’d already made their mark in elevated Vietnamese cuisine with their beloved little Lower East Side shop An Choi.
There’s the crowd-pleasing pho–a rotation which, at the moment, features a selection of buttery beef soups, a soulful veggie, and a clean, fragrant chicken noodle. But there’s also the infamous Vietnamese “pizza”–involving golden shears and a crispy grilled rice paper dusted with a toothsome medley of crumbly pork, shrimp floss, and their house-made hot sauce–and an understated, yet revelatory fried spring roll, which you can cradle in a lettuce leaf as you dunk in a fishy sauce.
Ngo, like his partner Hoang, hails from Houston, home to one of the largest Vietnamese communities in the country. From an early age, he dined on the foods of an era that predated him, recipes that Vietnamese immigrants took from their hometowns and–with the ingredients available to them in Houston–recreated with a new distinct taste. It’s the flavors and economic sensibility of Houston’s sprawling diaspora cuisines that infuse Di An Di’s menu. Continue reading →
The end of year lists and awards for new Greenpoint restaurants keep piling up. While Greenpoint has plenty of under the radar affordable eats, some higher end establishments like Oxomoco (128 Greenpoint Ave.), which currently holds the neighborhoods’ only Michelin star, continue to win praise.
French-Canadian restaurant Chez Ma Tante (90 Calyer St.) was awarded “neighborhood restaurant of the year” by Eater NY, as voted by their readers for “serving clean, flavorful fare with just enough edge to keep things interesting. That means dishes like a pig’s head terrine next to a particularly stunning Caesar salad, or a pate as an appetizer before a standout chicken confit.”
The modern Vietnamese restaurant Di An Di (68 Greenpoint Ave) was voted in the same reader’s poll as having “best design of the year,” for its “neutral palettes, neon signs, rounded corners, copper-colored accents, and lots and lots of well-placed plants.” The pho is great too.
The”top NYC restaurant newcomers of 2018” list as identified by editors in a separate Eater NY post shouts out Di an Di and Paulie Gee’s Slice Shop (110 Franklin St.) for their quality food. Hint: you should really try Paulie Gee’s Freddy Prince slice that includes a hidden bottom crust of full of sesame seeds.
South Your Mouth at Little King Charleston born chef Will Lacey of Driftwood Pantry is doing a two night stint at Williamsburg’s tiniest (and adorablest) food and wine spot LittleKing. Dishes will include items like pimento and brisket ravioli with a smoked tomato sauce, and curry-buttermilk fried quail schnitzel slider with miso aioli, and Carolina mustard sauce and raw veggie slaw. Tuesday, September 25th & Wednesday, September 26th| 5pm-onward Little King | 749 Metropolitan Ave (at Graham) items priced a la carteContinue reading →
