Madame Vo BBQ: East Village, Manhattan, NY, NY, USA
This place was actually recommended by someone that I follow on IG. His pictures really made this place looked amazing but, he has a great sense of taste and so I decided to give it a shot with two friends of mine. Even though there were 3 of us, we didn’t shoot for the Meat-7-Ways like most people would go for. For one, it’s hard to change up Vietnamese flavors where it’s fairly diversified. However, the main reason is…it’s a LOT of meat. This one particular highlight of this restaurant is definitely to be shared unless you can really throw down by yourself. We did have to order the “Ban Hoi Platter” separately since we did not get the Meat-7-Ways. This comes with rice wrappers, fruit and veggies as well as three different dipping sauces. All in all, this was a “make-your-own-viet-spring-rolls” experience. The things we did get (for variety and for sharing) included:
Short Rib Egg Roll
PROS:
– definitely shareable, as given the dish. It’s also cut into pieces but for a small party, it’s enough to get a good taste.
– Good flavors, not overwhelming in any one herb or marinade
– not overly oily (given that it’s fried)
– not SOGGY: meaning that it wasn’t sitting out under a heat lamp, skin was nice and crispy.
– decently filled, it wasn’t mostly just wrapper and minimal stuffing. This is key!
CONS:
– none really, it was a solid egg roll
Oxtail Congee with Butterfish sauce
PROS:
– great quantity, definitely filling and shareable – I believe we all had a small bowl and it was a good proportion as well.
– well cooked: not too runny and not too grainy
CONS:
– slightly on the greasy end. Normally I look to congee as something to break up meat or grease, a light accompaniment or meal. I think the oxtail made it a bit on the heavier and greasier end.
Short-rib with spring onion
PROS:
– well marinated, not overly sweet or salty
– meat was extremely tender, great flavor because it was short rib
– went well with spring/green onion
CONS:
– none
Five-spice Beef Tongue
PROS:
– not overwhelming with the five-spice: I’ve cooked with 5-spice before and the one incidence I tried to bake a chicken or grill a meat with this, my entire studio apartment ended smelling like 5-spice.
– very tender: not overcooked – the server does help you grill all your meats for you so you can focus on purely eating (the best).
CONS:
none.
Vietnamese Steak: with bone marrow butter
PROS:
– BONE MARROW BUTTER. Probably the most decadent you can get.
– cooked medium it was great, soft and juice
CONS:
– don’t come here expecting the fancy steakhouse in Brooklyn that is cash only because you won’t find that type of quality. It’s a great piece of steak here and can definitely be shared though!
Definitely wouldn’t mind coming back again, especially when people visit. However I don’t think I would do this on a regular basis. It’s a lot of the same flavors and while it’s great once in awhile (and definitely authentic Vietnamese), I couldn’t do this multiple times a week. Check them out here:
104 2nd AveNew York, NY 10003
b/t 7th St & 6th St
East Village
R/g
