Sao Mai

"Sao Mai is our weeknight go-to for Vietnamese in the East Village, and you should make it yours too. It's also Seth Rogen's. Seriously. If you go to Sao Mai, you should be getting pho - going to Sao Mai and not getting pho is like going to a nude beach in slacks. But the rest of the menu is worth some consideration as well, especially the sườn nướng (grilled pork chop over rice). This place is a good place to stop into for a casual meal, but they are great for delivery as well. Food Rundown photo credit: Ryan Muir Summer Rolls/Spring Rolls All types of rolls here are good. The summer variety are tightly rolled in rice paper, and you can get them with tofu, shrimp, or pork. The tofu is actually our favorite. The spring rolls are standard fried goodness with dipping sauce. Crispy Calamari Their salt and pepper fried calamari is so good. The sweet chili sauce it comes in is crazy. Pro tip: Only order this if you eat in the restaurant, as it doesn’t travel well. Papaya Salad Not as spicy as the papaya salads you find in Thai restaurants, but possibly even more flavorful since you can actually feel your tongue. It usually comes with shrimp, but check and see if soft shell crab in is in season, because if it is, you want that. Beef Watercress Salad Or Goi Bo, if you’re using the Vietnamese terminology. This salad is far and away one of our favorite dishes to order here. Their beef is cooked incredibly well and has tons of Vietnamese spice and herb flavor. So good. Rice Dishes Also known as Com Dia on the menu. So simple, and yet so good. It’s all about the sauce. A heaping stack of rice, which, at first glance, may appear disproportioned to the amount of vegetables, beef, chicken, tofu, or whatever else you wind up going with. But once you mix everything together, you’ll see that it’s just the right rice to riches ratio. The beef is our go-to of these dishes, and you better be putting a ton of chili sauce in it. That’s key. Pho The soup at Sao Mai is the crown jewel of the menu. The broth has tons of flavor. In their house special Pho Sao Mai, which is what you should order, they throw in thin slices of beef brisket, beef round, and beef balls. In their chicken soup, Pho Ga, shredded chicken is everywhere, mixed in with a bunch of veggies. Next time you’re in the mood for matzah ball soup, consider this for a lighter alternative. photo credit: Ryan Muir Pan Fried Noodles Seen on the menu as Mi Xào Dzon, these are simply fried egg noodles topped with your choice of meat or vegetable. You want some." - Andrew Steinthal

"The East Village offers several revisionist views of pho, but Sao Mai cooks up the doctrinaire kind, which means the pho is Saigon-style, with the usual plate of sprouts and herbs and a half-dozen sauces and pickled peppers offered to doctor the soup. When I get nostalgic for the Chinatown-style pho, this is where I go. Chicken, seafood, and vegetarian versions also offered." - Robert Sietsema

"Sao Mai isn’t fancy or trendy, but that just means you can show up here in sweats. You won’t spend a lot either. Although the menu is pretty huge, so you could definitely do so if you wanted. The pho is why you come here. Other solid choices include crispy calamari and their salad with watercress and beef." - bryan kim, hillary reinsberg, matt tervooren

"There are a lot of dumb ways to spend $10, like playing five games of ring toss for an unwinnable stuffed giraffe at a carnival or buying a Serge Gainsbourg record from a sidewalk table on 1st Avenue when you don’t own a turntable. A smart way to spend $10 is on a bowl of the pho at Sao Mai. The housemade noodles are topped with a solid amount of beef, and even if you add on an appetizer (like the shrimp summer rolls), you’ll leave very full for less than $20." - hannah albertine, matt tervooren

"Sao Mai is the East Village’s Vietnamese standby that’s laid-back and inexpensive. It offers a full menu of standards that are consistently better than they need to be, including a papaya salad rife with fresh herbs, lemongrass chicken over rice, caramel clay-pot pork, and luxurious bun platters served with brittle rice paper wrappers that must be dipped in warm water before use." - Robert Sietsema, Bao Ong