New York’s Vietnamese food scene is still relatively young compared to places like Orange County, California, and Houston, Texas, but a spot turned up last month in the basement of a Park Slope bar (via EaterNY)
One turned up last month in the basement of a Park Slope bar., run by the chef Hanh “Hannah” Nguyen, has been operating out of the downstairs kitchen of 390 Social during the bar’s off-hours since late February. From out front, the only indicator that there’s a restaurant on the premises is a small sandwich board propped up out front advertising grilled chicken banh mi and pea flower lattes.
Step inside, and Nguyen will emerge from the basement to take your order. She makes banh mi in a half-dozen fashions, though probably not the ones you’re thinking of. Her sandwiches are soft, not crusty, falling somewhere between a“Different parts of Vietnam produce different bread,” she says, and in turn, different banh mi. In Nha Trang, the coastal Vietnamese city Nguyen is from, the chef grew up eating banh mi on softer bread, she says.
Other banh mi are made with meatballs and pineapple, grilled chicken and pork marinated with tart lemongrass, fried eggs, and eggplant. The sandwiches are $9 each and, at six inches, smaller than other options in the city, another quirk Nguyen chalks up to her upbringing. “The portions here are so much larger,” she says. “These are the ones I’m used to from home.”
Until last fall, Nguyen operated out of a storefront at 53 Sixth Avenue, between Dean and Bergen streets, in Prospect Heights. Coconana opened there with a one-year lease in November 2021, which sounded like a dream until the terms of her deal changed last fall.
Until then, find Nguyen carting orders of soft banh mi up the stairs of 390 Social from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday.Sign up for the newsletterEmailBy submitting your email, you agree to our
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