Best Vietnamese Soup Nam Son Restaurant
430 N. Park Ave. STAFF PICK: Jewish grandmother, meet our new Vietnamese
grandmother. When you need a bowl of sustenance, to chase away
the blues or the flus, get yourself a bowl of Pho at Nam Son.
Occupying a tiny, characterless storefront on Park Avenue, just
south of Sixth Street, this place has been home to a slew of Chinese
and Vietnamese restaurants over the years. But the relatively
new Nam Son lays out a healthy, tasty fare. When you wander in
for the first time, you'll see many a teaching assistant, grad
student and weather bureau type hunched over huge bowls of steaming
pureness. The soup is a delicately spiced, light broth laden with
tender rice noodles and green onions. You can order it with beef
or chicken (we recommend the latter, as the former is a bit of
a mystery). On the side is a plate of bean sprouts, fresh basil,
sliced chile peppers and lime. Add your condiments and stir. The
ingredients combine to make a perfect complement of flavors. Breathe
in the steam, suck down the noodles and you're bound to feel that
tissue regeneration and revival without religion just might be
possible. If a bowl of soup doesn't do you for lunch (ha! we doubt
that given the size of this tureen), then try the crab puffs--a
huge order for about a buck.
