Mắm

"Mắm is one of the most exciting places to eat in the city right now. At their permanent space on Forsyth, the menu changes frequently and with the seasons, but you can usually expect platters of bún đậu overflowing with herbs and pork in many forms in the summer, and steamy bowls of phở bò in the colder months. If you come when it’s warm out, try to snag a tiny plastic stool on the sidewalk." - sonal shah, willa moore, will hartman, arden shore, carlo mantuano

"Mắm is home to some of the city’s “most exciting Vietnamese food,” which includes flavorful pho and fried chicken tendon that you’ll eat in a decidedly low-frills 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." - Melissa McCart

"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

"Vietnamese restaurant Mắm started as a pop-up that turned permanent by partners in love and life, Jerald Head and Nhung Dao. Menus change frequently, with a focus on regionality — one day it might be pho, another bún dậu — and that’s part of what makes Mắm wholly its own. The restaurant recently expanded with an additional storefront next door for more seating (note: plastic stools are low to the ground)." - Eater Staff

"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