Mắm

"You’ll have to schedule your phở date with Mắm, but it will be worth it. This tiny Chinatown restaurant rotates through different Vietnamese specialties, and you need to pre-order on Hot Plate to reserve a seat. Keep an eye out for phở days. We’ve spent many a rainy Monday dipping pieces of skin-on poached chicken into their lemongrass chili sauce before spooning it into our mouths with noodles and a flavorful but light broth. Or, look for a phở bo night if you’re more interested in fatty beef and an extra herbaceous broth. Both bowls have wide rice noodles with a bit of a bite, and the meat-to-noodle ratio properly treats meat as the main." - will hartman, neha talreja, bryan kim, willa moore, carlo mantuano

"Sitting on a low plastic stool, or perched on a bench at  Mắm, it’s easy to form a close relationship with all the flavors and textures on your plate. Like the seating, the Vietnamese food here is uncompromising—from the tofu that’s made fresh every day to the perfectly springy blood sausage. Minty, citrusy herbs tangle with silky poached eggs, bouncy chicken feet, and snails stuffed with pork. Little bowls of different dipping sauces, like the stellar mắm tôm, tie individual ingredients together in bite after spectacular bite. Visit often—the menu changes with the seasons. In the summer, you can sit outside, wrapping and dipping your way through a platter of pork four ways, and another with three different mushrooms. In the winter, sit inside surrounded by mellow hip hop and the bubbling warmth of a hot pot of fatty catfish and green banana, or a soup that’s thick with shore clams and dill." - bryan kim, neha talreja, willa moore, will hartman, sonal shah

"At Mắm, everyone squats on a low plastic stool, a foot off the Forsyth Street pavement, or perches on a slim bench inside one of two narrow rooms. At best, you might be cross-legged on a cushion on the raised platform near a window. It's an equalizing experience, and one that keeps the focus squarely on the incredible Vietnamese food in front of you. Sitting like this, you’re never more than half-an-arm’s length away from big bunches of herbs, layering sweet, bitter, peppery, and citrusy notes into proteins that range from soft and silky poached eggs to bouncy chicken feet. And, above all, little bowls of dipping sauce. Nearly every dish at this restaurant on the edge of Chinatown involves a condiment that ties individual ingredients together in bite after spectacular bite. photo credit: Emily Schindler photo credit: Emily Schindler photo credit: Sonal Shah photo credit: Sonal Shah photo credit: Emily Schindler Those sauces travel a rainbow of flavor: from vinegary nước chấm with slivers of garlic and a tamarind-sour mắm me, to the sweet muối ớt xanh with condensed milk, lime and chili. The best bite here might be a simple square of fried tofu, properly funked up with shrimp paste in the form of violet-brown mắm tôm. The flavors, like the seating, are uncompromising—and both are in demand. (Make a reservation to avoid a short wait.) photo credit: Emily Schindler photo credit: Sonal Shah photo credit: Sonal Shah photo credit: Sonal Shah photo credit: Emily Schindler From a pop-up run by an American/Vietnamese couple in 2020, Mắm has expanded out from its tiny storefront, first with outdoor tables, then to the room next door. They’ve also opened Lai Rai (a collab with Đi Ăn Đi) down the block, where you can get natural wine, Vietnamese snacks, and ice cream. Each extension feels organic, with menus that change as temperatures rise and fall. In the summer, sit under the shade of an umbrella, and eat a platter with four pork preparations, as well as one with three different mushrooms. In the winter, sit inside, surrounded by mellow hip hop and the bubbling warmth of a hot pot swimming with pork, fatty catfish steaks and green banana. There’s a Mắm for all seasons. Food Rundown photo credit: Emily Schindler Bún Đậu Đặc Biệt Wrapping and dipping our way through Mắm’s signature platter is one of our favorite summer activities. It comes with a bushel of herbs (including less common ones, like fish mint, shiso, and lemon balm), and pork in several glorious forms: strips of belly, sticky rice sausage, grilled intestines, and our favorite: springy blood sausage. Not to mention the tofu, which is made fresh daily, and expertly fried. Mắm does offer fish sauce or soy instead of the mắm tôm if you’re not into shrimp paste. photo credit: Sonal Shah Nấm Cuốn A summer vegetarian platter that non-vegetarians will appreciate too. Roll up your sleeves and make your own rolls with pungent mustard greens, wrapping three kinds of mushrooms: pickled wood ears, grilled oyster mushrooms, and juicy fried enoki, and dipping them in the creamy fermented tofu sauce. If you’re making a lunch of this, add on a side of fried tofu. photo credit: Emily Schindler Ốc Bươu Nhồi Thịt These apple snails, stuffed with mild, herby pork sausage, are incredibly fun to eat. Pull on the little strip of lemongrass, which makes it easy to extricate the meat. photo credit: Mắm Gỏi Ngheu A very fresh little bite of raw surf clam with pops of texture and flavor from lemongrass, snow fungus and Vietnamese coriander. You can keep your crudo—we’ll have two of these. Bún Hến During the cooler months, we’d take this brothy noodle soup—absolutely packed with shore clams—over a chowder anyday. It’s thick with dill, which balances out the all the fishiness, and served with fried tofu and some clam or mussel sausage for a hearty, complete meal." - Sonal Shah

"Our favorite place for a Monday date-night, Mắm is a vibey street-stall of a restaurant on the Lower East Side. They rotate through different Vietnamese specialties, which might mean steaming hot pots of cá om chuối dậu with pork bone broth one day, and platters of bún dậu with blood sausage and tofu the next. It can get crowded, which is great for when you want to lean in close over a fragrant hotpot, and fish out choice bits of meat for your beloved. Depending on the weather, you might end up eating on one of the plastic stools outside. Specials are announced on Instagram, and while you can walk in, it’s better to book on Hotplate in advance." - bryan kim, will hartman, willa moore, sonal shah

"Mam, home to the city’s “most exciting Vietnamese food,” is the definition of no frills: The food — flavorful pho, fried chicken tendon — is delicious, but you might eat it on a small plastic stool on the floor of a hallway turned into a makeshift dining room. Don’t be dissuaded by the website, which allows patrons to order in advance: It’s possible to walk in here without a reservation and order in person." - Eater Staff