Lame Bun Bo Hue at OBAO
I had lunch today at Michael "Bao" Huynh's OBAO, which opened this week on E. 53rd between 2nd & 3rd. The $9 Bun Bo Hue was probably the worst version of the soup I've ever had. I'll stick with Thanh Da in Sunset Park (Sietsema wrote about it this year, and managed to incorrectly call the rice noodles wheat and extrapolate that the meat in their version--clearly the first he had tried--was standard in all versions) or Pho Tu Do.
When OBAO's bun bo Hue arrived at my table I thought they had brought me the wrong item. It had sliced raw beef ("tai," or eye round steak) and the broth looked just like pho, with only a few dots of orange oil clinging to the side of the bowl, which took close inspection to find. In addition to the beef there were slices of pork leg meat (though the menu promised "pig feet"), and it did include the proper kind of noodle (rather than the flat pho rice noodle), but the broth was pure pho--it took a moment of reflection and a lot of imagination to realize that there was indeed a hint of lemongrass and chili oil, the kind of hint one would expect from the vermouth in a very dry martini. It was evident that what they were passing off as bun bo Hue was just their pho bo slightly altered at the last minute.
By Peter Cherches
on Nov 20, 2009 10:40 AM
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i walked inside myself today and wasnt interested in any of the offerings. looked like a chain version of an asian fusion spot with higher prices.
i went to the nyc cravings truck for porkchop and chicken over rice with pork sauce...very yummy...
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It sounds like it's Vietnamese food for people who don't know any better.
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Ate here this weekend with friends who know food. We all thought the food very good, the prices inexpensive (very) and the service friendly and efficient. The lighting is horrible and the place doesn't look inviting.
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I had a terrific 9$ eggplant appetizer here about a month ago. It was not on the printed menu at that time but if you do eat there, look out for it because I thought Obao was worth a visit for that dish.
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