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After five years running the legendary Saigon Market on Manhattan’s University Place, Susan Nguyen and Ray Chui bring Vietnam’s luscious spice profile to a stretch of Avenue N hungry for something fresh

by Matt Scanlon • photos by Alex Barreto

For six years, Susan Nguyen and Ray Chui managed a restaurant in what was at one time one of the most successful multiple-eatery chains in the city, Saigon Grill. Five businesses strong in the metro area in its heyday—and recipient of a remarkable 10-out-of 10-reader review rating in New York magazine–the business ran into labor troubles at the end of 2009 and was forced to restructure. Five years ago, the couple took over its University Place location in Greenwich Village (with Nguyen as owner), which has since been renamed Saigon Market.

Nguyen, whose mother owned and operated a Vietnamese restaurant in California and who grew up surrounded by that cuisine’s unique flavor profile, was determined to keep the best of Saigon Grill’s Village constituency and culinary excellence, but simply run the new operation better. That location has been owned and managed by the couple for five years now, and regularly does more than 750 covers on busy nights.

Long interested in establishing a Brooklyn outpost, she eyed several potential locations before selecting a relatively quiet stretch of Old Mill Basin on Avenue N. For borough residents used to finding neighborhoods unrecognizable after being away from them for just a few years, this one has a discernible and relieving steadiness to it—still largely working-class, without the shimmer or pretension of Williamsburg, Park Slope, or Greenpoint—and that can be both blessing and curse to new restaurant ownership.

“We started the Brooklyn business about a year ago, and the process has been one of teaching people what Vietnamese cooking is all about,” Nguyen explained. “It’s inevitably loved once tasted, but guests expecting typical Chinese are going to be surprised… and we think happily.”

Asked what that explanatory process consists of, the owner, ever ready with an engaging smile, begins to riff.

Nicole Spread

“Well, in Chinese food, first and foremost, just about everything is cooked. Sautéed, fried, and less frequently grilled, but you won’t find raw anything,” she said. “The presentation, as a result, is often quite greasy; there’s a certain texture to Chinese cooking. In Vietnamese cuisine, things are lighter, crisper, and we eat lots of raw, uncooked vegetables as side dishes, for example. We also underemphasize high-end and very expensive delicacies you might find in Chinese restaurants, likes birds nests, for example. Our style is simpler, healthier…cleaner in approach, and we think it just tastes better.”

That lighter flavor is in part achieved through a liberal application of the classic Vietnamese array of five spices: star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel seeds, plus the indispensable lemongrass, “and lots of fresh garlic,” the owner added with a grin.

One critical consideration in the Brooklyn location was interior design. Even without a background in the craft, Nguyen imagined and executed a space that strikes a visitor as both luxurious and clean—its small but well-stocked bar area (50 inch TV at the ready for game watching) is distinct from the 100-seat dining room, principally owing to a striking six-foot sheer waterfall. Dining tables and bar top of light-hued hickory contribute to a natural-toned color palette throughout (nothing heavy here in either culinary or décor realms).

“The village location is more of a fast food experience, which is really due to the quick-paced nature of Manhattan generally, plus how close it is to kids at NYU,” the owner pointed out. “I like to think of the University Place restaurant as ‘fast food with chandeliers,’ but here, Ray and I wanted an experience where people could sit and take longer to heat, to enjoy a cocktail while doing it—and we also wanted a place where people felt welcome to bring large parties.”

This combination of upscale décor yet comparatively affordable Vietnamese fare also has the virtue of simply being without competition in Old Mill Basin. The one or two nearby eateries also embracing the Vietnamese flavor profile are mom and-pop establishments—more based upon takeout revenue than fine dining.

Nguyen, who still loves to cook, speaks with something approaching poetic fervor when referring to a few special dishes.

“The pork chop is simply fantastic,” she said. “Very tender, marinated, and made with love…juicy, and very flavorful. The secret is marinating for an extended period of time, then further tenderizing. We marinate for 36 hours, which is a long time compared to typical preparation, but it’s worth it. The chop is then grilled, served with pickled salad, tomato, cucumber and nook champ [dipping] sauce…and it alone is worth the trip out here.”

A particular brand of tenderizing preparation is also critical when it comes to the Steak Cubes (Bo Luc Lac).

“We begin with flank steak, and the art includes making sure the finished cubes are lusciously soft,” she said. “I usually take the kitchen staff member who seems most in need of some stress venting and ask him or her to pound the steak before [stir-fry over high flame] cooking begins. Marinade is critical here, too, and the dish is finished with house-made vinaigrette, watercress, and homemade taro chips. I don’t think we’ve had anyone not express amazement.”

Pressed for his favorite, Chui points straight to the meat and vegetable spring rolls, which have perhaps more than any other dish at the University Place location acquired a mythic status. Part of his affection is due to their versatility, as the vegetarian option can be served either fried or raw. (The latter he described as, “something like a salad you can roll up and eat on the go. It’s delicious, and has a very unique flavor.”)

Given the restaurant’s recent inclusion in seamless.com, take-out business has been brisk, constituting some 50% of current revenue, and even as Nguyen and Chui continue to proselytize in this new section of Brooklyn about an entirely new flavor experience in its midst, the former keeps a sly eye on the horizon.

“Ultimately, I’d like to establish an additional location in Williamsburg… maybe Park Slope,” she said. “Audiences there might be slightly more accepting, but then again, if everything in life was easy, we’d never know what was truly enjoyable and fun. For the moment, we are having a terrific adventure.”

Saigon Grill
4521 Avenue N / 718.338.8883
saigongrillandbar.com