I’ve expressed my infatuation with Vietnamese food ad nauseum on here, but I can’t help it, I love the bright, fresh flavors, and I love me a good banh mi sandwich. If no one opens a Vietnamese restaurant in Westchester soon, I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands and do it myself. It’d be a hit, I know it would.
So when Liz told me there was Vietnamese in Spring Valley, I almost jumped out of my seat (You can read her recent post here). I had no idea! Sure, it’s not Westchester, but Rockland’s not far at all, and besides, I’m willing to drive anywhere in the tri-state region for Vietnamese.
While I was waiting for my food I had a chat with one of the employees. He asked me if it was my first time there. I lamented the lack of Vietnamese in the area and we talked about the possibility of White Plains as a restaurant location (do it!). Really nice guy. I also think I overheard a couple saying they’d come from Westchester after reading about Viet Nam. Guess we’ve all got the same idea.
Anyway, Viet Nam’s menu is quite large, and it’ll take multiple trips to try everything out, but on this day I came for two things: spring rolls and a banh mi.
Well made, fresh, filled with whole shrimp and served with a great hoisin peanut dipping sauce.
But here’s what I’d driven across the Tappan Zee for, a foot-long banh mi. Oh, banh mi, how I’ve missed you.
Let’s see, what have we got here — thinly sliced ham and pork roll, shredded carrots and radish, cilantro, cucumber and a sneaky hot mayonnaise on a soft baguette.
There seem to be two schools of thought when it comes to a banh mi — in one version the primary meat is char-grilled pork; in the other version it’s pork roll, a pressed meat that can only be described as a Vietnamese bologna. It’s not bad, but I MUCH prefer grilled pork, like the one I wrote about in San Francisco.
Still, this was a nice banh mi with terrific bread, heat and crunchy goodness. I just can’t get enough of this sandwich. And now my mind is at ease knowing it’s closer by than I thought.
The Viet Nam Restaurant
304A North Main St.
Spring Valley, NY
845-425-7446