Saigon Grill: Vietnamese Comfort Food

Vietnam will forever be a memorable and nostalgic place for me since Ho Chi Minh was one of the last cities we visited with my mom before she passed away a few years ago. We had so much fun memories going around this historic city and just food tripping! And thus, I've always been a fan of Vietnamese cuisine... it's simple yet distinct and notably healthy. Earlier today, we took Jon and Cindy to Saigon Grill, a tried and tested Vietnamese place in the Upper West Side. I knew exactly what I wanted to order even before we got there. I played it safe and picked our usual dishes. you can't go wrong with these...

For starters, I ordered a platter of Cha Gio ($6.25) - crispy fried vietnamese springrolls with filled with shrimp,pork, mushrooms, clear noodles, taro root and turnip served with lettuce and herbs with a nuoc cham sauce on the side and Goi Cuon Tom ($6.50) - soft salad roll filled with shrimp, bean sprouts, lettuce, fresh herbs and rice vermicelli with peanut plum sauce. Too bad I wasn't able to take pictures of it because we wiped it out instantly! 

Bo Luc Lac ($17.50)- stir fried teriyaki steak over high flame served with tomato and greens salad. This is a must-try! The cubes are well marinated and cooked perfectly, not too charred, tender and juicy. The salad is topped with thin and crispy tarot chips which are addicting! 

Xuong Nuong ($13.50)- grilled marinated pork chops with lemongrass served with pickle salad and nuoc cham sauce. The flavor of earthy and aromatic taste of lemongrass just goes so well with the pork. As you can see, we gobbled up the two of the three pieces before I had a chance to take a picture!

Although I can't say Saigon grill serves authentic Vietnamese (because I believe it's highly "americanized"),  it's the closest you'll get here in the city and I'm not complaining!