Privy 5 Overview

Appealing wheatgrass, soothing green and bamboo décor makes Nam appear what it is. Neither too Tribeca trendy-chic nor too cheap and cheerful; just the right Vietnamese hip and at just the right US$ price. As with many evocative items, all good things come in small packages no matter what the Texas beef baron may tell us. Vietnam street-inspired food is soft rice-paper rolls deep fried (cha gio), and there are trio of talented lady chefs who speak no English, but put these together. Bo bia rolls filled with shrimp-chicken-and-bean-sprout, jícama, shrimp, and sweet sausage, lemongrass-beef, sprigs of lettuce redolent with coriander and sesame – an endless selection of these, where the rice paper is as fresh as the shrimp they stuff in. At Nam, they serve home-style soups, shrimp-flavored rice in steamed banana leaves as well as the standard crispy red snapper or baby-back BBQ ribs. But you cannot beat the Bo bia rolls; eating these is like eating sweets.