Thanh Đa

A very plain room on Seventh Avenue at 60th Street — a couple of tables, a big takeout business, and a kitchen that cooks some of the best Huế soup in the city. Most people come for bánh mì. The regulars come for the bowl.

Bún bò Huế is the order: lemongrass-sharp, chili-red, a little sour, with pork, thick round rice noodles, basil and lime. Eat it there — it does not travel. On the way out, take a bánh mì with creamy pâté, thick-cut chả lụa and crumbled barbecue pork, or a bowl of bún thịt nướng, grilled pork over vermicelli, for later.