EAT: A VIETNAMESE SPECIALTY IN HARLEM

Harlem Bespoke: We were very surprised to see a classic Vietnamese dish called Bun Cha Gio which is somewhat of a salad but is also a cool vermicelli rice noodle dish accompanied by crispy spring roll.  As can be seen in the above photo taken at The Expat on Tiemann Place, this specialty is a refreshing take for summer fare since it has a lot of vegetables and herbs to balance the fried elements to the offering.  This is often served with marinated pork patties or grilled meat but the version found in West Harlem has crispy tempura cakes in its place.  Those new to the dish should know that the savory dressing gets poured on top before eating and the small bowl can be set aside.

Another tip for The Expat is that Happy Hour runs from 4:30PM to 6:30PM every day during the summer and the restaurant already gets a decent amount of people arriving early for the special.  We tried out the $6 kumquat spritz which was light and fruity as well as being pocket friendly.  The other point to consider is that there are also Thai curries on the menu at the new asian spot but we will have to come back on another date to try out those dishes.  For more on The Expat, check out our past post: LINK

HarlemBespoke.com 2019