Neighborhood Guide

BarBao

By Alex Cho on March 30, 2009

BarBao NYC

Fans of the restaurant Rain will be thrilled with the Upper West Side’s recent opening of BarBao, which pairs the owners of Rain and Executive Chef Michael Bao Huynh, the most celebrated Vietnamese chef in town. Mr. Huynh was the shining star at Bao 111, Bun, and Mai House and his new Main Street Restaurant Partners view him as a major asset for their former Rain location.

Replacing its gimmicky Thai décor with an upscale, sexy setting, this roomy restaurant has two full bars, romantically lit tables with curvy banquettes and a number of secluded areas for small gatherings. Catering to a more mature clientele, the 6-foot-long roll bar serves delicious hand, spring and summer rolls. The back wall features a 15-foot mural, created by design firm RKIT, made of Vietnamese propaganda posters that was shredded and repositioned to look like a bar code, for BarBao.

The distinctive and flavorful menu offer small plates and big ones, noodles, rice and vegetable and includes an array of beautifully prepared and presented dishes. The best of the small dishes ($8 to $14) is daikon duck hash, a rich mixture of duck confit and tiny, tender cubes of diced daikon pancake, bound by a slow-poached egg and soy sauce and served in a cast-iron pan. The spicy beef salad ($12) is given a tasty twist with the addition of pomelo, pineapple and chilies and the baby lamb lollipops ($14) benefit from a jalapeño pesto. Summer rolls ($8) are two skewers in a choice of shrimp, Berkshire pork, short ribs or vegetables. The crab spring rolls ($9) consist of a medley of pork, shrimp and jícama that are great for dipping in nuoc cham sauce - fish sauce, garlic, pepper flakes and lime juice.

Crispy Berkshire pork belly ($21), prepared with taro, shishito peppers and kimchi-accented crosnes, tubers sometimes known as Chinese artichokes is a very popular large dish item and the Vietnam’s French influence is evident in such dishes as the Baked Whole Loup de Mer ($24), seabass cooked with chanterelles and hearts of palm puree, in green curry broth. A number of both large and small dishes are served in iron-pots, including the organic chicken cooked with quail eggs and ginger and a wonderful bean-curd-glazed black cod served over red curry-laced sweet pepper stew.
For the carb-starved, BarBao offers some hearty noodle choices, from vermicelli with Berkshire pork belly and shrimp to a filling pho with rare Wagyu beef in anise-ginger beef broth ($4 to $14).

To complete the experience, share the three desserts ($8): a flan of red dates, gingko nuts, lotus seeds and coconut emulsion; yucca waffle with dulce de leche and peanuts; and bread pudding with coffee froth and cinnamon gelato.

In keeping with the spirit of Rain, the main bar/lounge of BarBao is dark and sexy and dispenses cocktails with names like “China Beach,” “Taxi Girl,” “Red Dawn” and “Jane Fonda.” There is a short wine list with markups that provide as much of a kick as some of the spicier dishes and a choice of five Asian beers.

Cuisine: Vietnamese
Dress: No Code
Price: $16-$27
Credit Cards: All major
Noise: Moderate
Reservations: Recommended
Wine: 45 Choices, 13 By The Glass
Hours: Dinner, Sun., 5 p.m.-10 p.m., Mon.-Wed., 6 p.m.-1 a.m., Thurs.-Fri., 6 p.m.-2 a.m., Sat., 5 p.m.-2 a.m.