Madame Vo

There are restaurants where you share everything and there are entree restaurants. Then there’s Madame Vo, a casual East Village Vietnamese spot that doesn’t fit neatly into either category. The best way to approach a meal here is to bring a few friends and split a bunch of dishes, like crispy shrimp chả giò and the mixed grill madame platter, before everyone gets their own bowl of phở.  While its sibling spot, Monsieur Vo, has more creative takes on Vietnamese dishes, the menu here sticks to the classics—all served in a dining room that goes from bright white up front by the bar to a dark black toward the rear. There will likely be 2010’s club bangers playing and groups drinking whiskey-based Vietnamese espresso martinis, which taste like an Irish coffee got a caffeine promotion. As far as food goes, you'll remember the $20 bowl of “madame phở" most out of everything you swallow. The broth balances rich beefiness with warming spices. For the very hungry, add the $10 short rib, served on the bone. It’s Flinstonian. But hey, that’s why you have tupperware shoved somewhere in your kitchen cabinet.

photo credit: Ben Hon