Vietnamese restaurant in Hartsdale,
158 South Central Park Ave
Hartsdale, NY 10530
Upper Westchester has lacked a Vietnamese restaurant so far. And that hole recently got filled
with Saigonese, a small, stylish restaurant on Central Avenue in White Plains. At the entrance, below the billboard, a
firehose connector labeled “Siamese Twin” suggests a minor in Thai food, but that soon gets resolved
upon stepping inside.
We had beef in grape leaves, grilled spare ribs, a pho
noodle soup with brisket, and grilled chicken. The small place was packed, and customers crowded around the
entrance. Yet the food was not in
keeping with the expectations set by this waiting clientele. The meats were ho hum, the pho was
decent. Not the best that I have
had, but would work.
This now makes four places where I could get a Pho in
Westchester, four more than I could four years ago. There is Neo in Mt. Kisco, Umami Café in Croton, Noodle Plus in White Plains, and now
Saigonese. I have not had the one
at Umami yet, but the others taste much like a suburban city piano recital at a
decent music school. Pho lacks the
dynamic range that good Japanese Ramen can achieve, but it is a lot less
fattening than Ramen and light on the palate. I have found decent pho place usually located close to
university campuses—Cornell, Harvard and U Penn are examples for instance on
the East coast (none near Columbia as far as I can tell); and the best Pho that
I have had has been at Cornell, and a small family run place in downtown
Baltimore (Mekong Delta Café).
But getting back to Saigonese, I hope that the quality of
the food improves, for Westchester really needs a dedicated Vietnamese
restaurant.
