Diners line sidewalk to try sizzling-pan banh mi

In recent months, images of a Vietnamese sizzling-pan banh mi restaurant called Phe in New York have appeared on social media. On some days, diners line the entire sidewalk to wait for a serving of the dish.

The restaurant features low plastic tables and chairs, brick walls, an iron gate and a stainless-steel kitchen counter, evoking the look of casual eateries in Vietnam.

Cast-iron pans arrive at diners' tables piping hot, filled with eggs with runny yolks, beef, Vietnamese pork sausage, pâté, cheese, pickled vegetables and cucumber. The meat continues to sizzle in the pan, releasing an enticing aroma.

Phe is a business run by chef Jerald Head and his wife, Nhung Dao. The restaurant currently focuses on this dish alongside Vietnamese beverages, including salted coffee, coconut coffee, pandan leaf tea, nuoc voi (a traditional herbal drink made from cleistocalyx operculatus leaves) and fish sauce coffee.

Some Vietnamese ingredients are shipped from Vietnam, including black pepper from Lam Dong Province. A serving of sizzling-pan banh mi costs around $28, while coffees are priced at about $7.50, excluding tax and tips.

Diners queue for bun dau mam tom

Phe is not the only restaurant making waves. Jerald Head and Nhung Dao also run Mam NYC, a restaurant known for bun dau mam tom - rice vermicelli served with fried tofu and fermented shrimp paste - and its plastic tables and chairs, reminiscent of casual eateries in Vietnam.

From 2023 to 2026, Mam was included in The New York Times' list of the 100 best restaurants in New York. The newspaper's critic Pete Wells has praised the restaurant, describing it as an appealing destination for Vietnamese food in the city. 

The bun dau is arranged on a woven bamboo tray lined with banana leaves. A special platter includes rice vermicelli, fried tofu, young green rice patties, grilled offal, boiled pork intestine sausage, pork, fresh herbs and fermented shrimp paste. 

The couple prepare the tofu, young green rice patties and pork intestine sausage themselves. For the sausage, they clean the intestines and remove the odor before stuffing them with pig's blood, pork fat and herbs, following a recipe Nhung learned from her father. The young green rice patties are made with fresh com - young green rice flakes - brought from Hanoi.

Diners queue for phin coffee 

In mid-2026, long lines of customers waiting to buy Vietnamese drip coffee and then sipping it on low plastic chairs along the sidewalk became a food sensation at a street corner in San Francisco's Mission District.

The pop-up coffee shop, Nau Coffee, was founded by two young Vietnamese entrepreneurs, Hieu Han and Trung Kien. Customers typically wait around an hour before they can place their orders.

Nau Coffee stays true to its Vietnamese roots. Its bold Robusta beans, known for their strong flavor and bitter finish, are imported directly from Buon Ma Thuot. Condensed milk, phin coffee filters and, most notably, the low red plastic chairs that are central to the experience are all shipped from Vietnam, despite the high transportation costs.

In late 2025, Eater, a respected US food publication, featured Nau Coffee as a new sensation in San Francisco. 

Diners wait an hour for roast pork banh mi

Banh Anh Em, located in central New York, was opened in early April 2025 by Ton Thi Hong Nhu, born in 1990 and originally from Dak Lak Province, and her business partners. A few months later, the eatery was included in the 2025 Michelin Guide's Bib Gourmand selection, and began receiving extensive coverage from reputable media outlets.

The restaurant's signature dish and biggest seller is banh mi. The sandwiches feature crisp crusts and airy interiors, filled with hot, flavorful ingredients such as pâté, roast pork, grilled beef, pickled vegetables and chili sauce. The restaurant makes everything itself, from the bread to the fillings, rather than relying on industrially produced ingredients.

Banh Anh Em is not the only Vietnamese artisan banh mi shop in New York, but it is among the few to make a splash so soon after opening. Major US newspapers have reported on the long lines of customers willing to wait hours to buy its sandwiches.

Besides banh mi, Nhu has added other Vietnamese specialties to the menu, including Nam Dinh beef pho, Hanoi-style steamed rice rolls, cha ca La Vong (turmeric-marinated fish with dill and herbs) and Buon Ma Thuot-style steamed rice sheets served in stacked plates with fermented anchovy dipping sauce.

Linh Trang