Tag: Saigon Le

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Tuyen’s Asian Bistro

The Le sisters (Photo: Michael Donahue )

For someone who once hated to cook, Tuyen (pronounced “Twin”) Le is doing an awfully good job at her restaurant, Tuyen’s Asian Bistro.

The Vietnamese restaurant at 288 North Cleveland was packed on a recent Wednesday evening. People were ordering items, including her popular egg rolls and tofu lemongrass, from her extensive menu.

These were two of the popular items at her family’s old restaurant, Saigon Le, which closed eight years ago. Le, who does the cooking at Tuyen’s Asian Bistro, was a server, not a cook, at Saigon Le, which was at 51 North Cleveland.

And Le was a notorious server. “I used to be the mean one,” she says. “I’m the nice one now.”

Her mother did all the cooking when Le was growing up in Vietnam. “Just home-cooking meals. Vietnamese traditional food like hot-and-sour catfish soup. Homemade stuff.”

But when her family moved to Memphis, both of her parents had to go to work. And Le, who was about 15 at the time, had to do the cooking for the family because her mother told her to. “She said, ‘You need to cook this. You need to cook that.’ She just bossed me around. But I never liked it. She just forced me to do it.”

Le got a cosmetology license and was working at Regis Salon when her mother opened Saigon Le in 1992. Her sister, who also is named Tuyen (pronounced “Ting”) Le, and their sister-in-law worked with their mom at the restaurant. “They used to fight. Mama called me back. ‘Can you help?’”

Le thought she was only going to be there one day. “I stuck with her for 30-something years. We all worked together until later when the restaurant went down eight years ago.”

Notable Saigon Le customers included Woody Harrelson, Cybill Shepherd, and Jeff Buckley from MTV. “Nobody else in town had the little-bitty egg roll wrapped in lettuce and the sauce like Saigon Le.”

About four years ago, Le opened another restaurant, “New Orleans Seafood,” at the Tuyen’s Asian Bistro address. She served crab legs, lobster, and other items. “No Asian food.”

The ingredients she needed to make the type food at Saigon Le make became more expensive, she says. “After Covid, everything went up. I don’t have the money like I used to.”

People wanted Saigon Le back, so about a year ago, Le opened Tuyen’s Asian Bistro. “I spent $50,000. I bought a new air conditioner. I have to fix the floor. Get the gas stove.”

She narrowed her menu to just Vietnamese food instead of the additional Chinese cuisine she served at Saigon Le. The new restaurant is “very tiny. Only 10 tables.”

But the Saigon Le favorites are making customers happy. Tofu lemongrass is “lemongrass and the seasoning, garlic.” The noodle bowl is “house noodle bowl with egg roll, real pork.” Yellow egg noodles with wonton soup is another popular item. “I’ve got the full menu. I’ve got fried kimchi, shrimp on a stick. I’ve got lotus salad and seaweed salad.”

Le uses “fresh ingredients. I cook with fresh garlic, fresh sesame oil. I don’t use anything frozen or canned food.”

And, she adds, “I got all the customers back.”

She admits she had a gambling addiction when she was at Saigon Le. And that was evident when she was at the restaurant. She didn’t like being a server, but her mother forced her to be one, she says. “You can’t say no to Mama. Just do what you have to do.”

Le wasn’t “mean, mean, mean” to customers. “I didn’t throw the food at them. You give the customers food, but you don’t care how they eat, how they feel.”

She changed after she substituted cooking for gambling 10 years ago. “I didn’t know I was good at it until everything I cooked turned out to be good.”

Instead of playing blackjack, Le is now cooking, serving, or greeting people at the door at Tuyen’s Asian Bistro. Her attitude toward her customers is a lot different than what it was at Saigon Le, she says. “Just love them and treat them nice like family. All the customers are family.”

Categories
News News Blog

Fire at Saigon Le

Saigon Le, the beloved Midtown Vietnamese restaurant best known for lemongrass tofu and bird’s nest egg rolls, caught fire on Tuesday afternoon. 

The Memphis Fire Department sent 47 firefighters and 19 pieces of equipment to the scene at 51 N. Cleveland. Lt. Wayne Cooke, MFD spokesperson, said everyone inside the building had been safely evacuated.

During rush hour around 4:30 p.m., smoke could be seen billowing from the roof of the building. The staff at neighboring Friends for Life (43 N. Cleveland) were forced to evacuate.

In various media reports, the Le family, owners of Saigon Le, have stated that the fire may be a total loss for the business.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Guess Where I’m Eating Contest 51

Soup’s on!

The first person to correctly ID the dish and where I’m eating wins a fabulous prize!

To enter, submit your answer to me via email at ellis@memphisflyer.com.

The answer to GWIE 50 is the pancake at Saigon Le, and the winner is Catherine Hayley!

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Cooking for a Cause

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

I have a friend who calls me on a fairly regular basis to tell me that she’s whipping up a bunch of vegetarian dishes from her native Vietnam: spring rolls beautifully wrapped in rice paper, rich curry soup made with good full-fat coconut milk, fiery bhan mi sandwiches on just the right kind of bread with just the right amount of heat, amazing salads with cucumber and cashews, and tofu so delicious you’d never believe that it started life as a bland block of bean curd.

I’ve watched her prepare a five-course meal in less than 20 minutes, pulling as many ingredients from her home garden as she does the refrigerator. As she cooks she quickly explains the process. “Burn the onion just a little,” she tells me. “It makes for a more flavorful broth.” Still I’m amazed at the flavors she coaxes from humble ingredients. In my own kitchen I’ve struggle to figure out how to recreate what seems to come so naturally to her.

You may know her, too: Tuyen Le, the always-smiling and energetic creative force formerly of New Que Huong in Collierville. She closed the place last year. Since then she has cooked for the eaTABLE supper club, friends, and family but has stayed away from cooking in restaurants.

As luck would have it, she has decided to come out of retirement to host a meal at Saigon Le restaurant on Cleveland near Madison Avenue in Midtown. The buffet-style dinner will be mostly vegetarian but will feature a few dishes that contain meat. It’s open to the public and will be held on Sunday, July 13th, from 2 to 6 p.m. There are no reservations needed, so it is on a first-come, first-served basis.

So, what brought her out of retirement? I got a call last Sunday about that: “Meet me at the Buddhist Temple on Goodlett at Winchester. I’m cooking, and I want to introduce you to someone,” she told me. I arrived at the temple (the one with the two-story Buddha) and found Le chatting with Thay Hao, whose monastery in Vietnam tragically burned down. “I want to have a dinner to raise money to help Thay Hao rebuild,” Le announced.

Le is a devout Buddhist who often sent her tip money back to Vietnam to help feed orphans and support the temples and monastic life of those who devote themselves to good works like Hao. This is her way of using her talents to give something back.

As anyone who has ever dined with Le can tell you, the food will be a plentiful, delicious, and artfully prepared mix of Vietnamese soups, curries, stir fries, salads, and spring rolls. Among the dishes are Vietnamese barbecue ribs, shrimp with jalapeño, vegetarian stir-fried noodles, vegetarian “beef” stew, and tofu stir fry. Here’s the catch: Le refuses to set a price for the dinner on the 13th. That will be determined by each diner in the form of a donation, depending on how generously he or she would like to give. “If this is a success,” Le’s daughter, Huyen, tells me, “she will definitely host more dinners.”

Vietnamese Dinner Fund-raiser at Saigon Le, Sunday, July 13th, 2-6 p.m.

Categories
Best of Memphis Special Sections

Best of Food & Drink

CREDIT: Alex Harrison

Alex Harrison

Buttery tikka masala, tender tandoori, spicy vegetable dishes, and all other manner of Indian specialties are served at Midtown institution India Palace in its airy, comfortable Poplar Avenue location.

We’ll admit we find it adorable when, in the “Best Chef” category,
you write in “My Wife,” “My Husband,” or, better yet, “My Mom.” (The
answer “Your Mom’s House” for “Best Romantic Restaurant” is not so
cute.) Chef Boyardee didn’t stand a chance with only two votes for
“Best Chef,” but at least he’s got bragging rights over Mrs. Winner
who, despite the name and the chicken and biscuits, got only one
vote.

Justin Fox Burks

Kelly English, Restaurant Iris, 1st place: ‘Best Chef’

Best Chef

1. Kelly English, Restaurant Iris

2. Erling Jensen, Erling Jensen the Restaurant

3. John Bragg, Circa

Last October, Food & Wine magazine named Kelly English
one of the Top 10 “Best New Chefs” for 2009. That was quite the honor.
Now Flyer readers have vaulted English to the top spot for the
first time.

Best Lunch

1. Huey’s

2. Soul Fish

3. Lenny’s

Hey, you know all those other restaurants that were in the running
for “Best Lunch” in Memphis? Stick a toothpick in ’em. They’re done.
Huey’s gets the nod for lunch nosh this year.

Best Breakfast

1. Brother Juniper’s

2. Blue Plate Cafe

3. Bryant’s Breakfast

Oh Brother, Wherefore Art Chow? Sorry. Brother J. has won “Best
Breakfast” many times, and it’s because they offer delicious,
innovative, homemade food in an eclectic space crammed with interesting
people, especially on weekend mornings.

Best Romantic Restaurant

1. Paulette’s

2. Le Chardonnay Wine Bar & Bistro

3. The Melting Pot

Maybe it’s the desserts. Or maybe the soft tinkling of the ivories.
Or maybe just the wonderful menu, nice wine list, and warm ambience.
Paulette’s is a classic.

Best Sunday Brunch

1. Owen Brennan’s Restaurant

2. Boscos Squared

3. Peabody Skyway — tie —

Beauty Shop

Owen Brennan’s sits at the cusp of Germantown and East Memphis, but
it draws Memphians from all over for its New Orleans-themed Sunday
brunch: the best in town for 2009.

Best Wine List

1. Le Chardonnay Wine Bar & Bistro

2. Texas de Brazil

3. Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse

Le Chardonnay moved across Madison Avenue a couple years ago, but it
has retained its dark, ski-lodge-y charm, its extensive wine list, and
first place for “Best Wine List” in your hearts.

Best Steak

1. Folk’s Folly Prime Steak House

2. Ruth’s Chris Steak House

3. The Butcher Shop

Folk’s Folly valets meet you at the curb. Once inside, you hear
sweet piano-bar stylings and the sound of cold drinks and cocktail
chatter. But who are we kidding? It’s all about the steak here, and
Folk’s Folly’s steaks sizzle!

Best Barbecue

1. Central BBQ

2. Corky’s

3. The Bar-B-Q Shop

Central BBQ takes top honor in what is probably the toughest
category in this poll: “Best Barbecue.” No matter how you spell it
— barbecue, BBQ, Bar-B-Q, whatever — Central’s on top
again.

Best Ribs

1. Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous

2. Central BBQ

3. Corky’s

The Rendezvous is sometimes derided as a place where tourists go to
eat Memphis’ most famous food group (16 barbecued ribs), but the
Flyer‘s poll makes it clear that locals love the Rendezvous as
much as people wearing Elvis T-shirts. And well they should.

Best Burger

BOM 1. Huey’s

2. Earnestine & Hazel’s

3. The Belmont Grill

That “BOM” designation means Huey’s has won “Best Burger” for so
long that it’s not even fair to anybody else in the running. Lots of
places in Memphis make good burgers, but only one takes the top spot,
year after year after year.

Best Hot Wings

1. Buffalo Wild Wings

2. D’Bo’s Buffalo Wings-n-Things

3. Central BBQ

With five Memphis-area locations, 14 sauces (ranging in heat from
“Blazin'” to “Sweet Barbecue”), and TVs set to sports everywhere you
look, Buffalo Wild Wings is leading the city’s wing scene.

Best Fried Chicken

BOM 1. Gus’s Fried Chicken

2. Popeye’s Chicken & Biscuits

3. Jack Pirtle Fried Chicken

If you want to eat lunch at Gus’s, you’d better get there early.
Folks line up for the crispy, smoky, spicy uniqueness that makes Gus’s
fried chicken better than anybody’s in Memphis. Or in the world.

Best Cajun/Creole

1. Bayou Bar & Grill

2. Owen Brennan’s Restaurant

3. Pearl’s Oyster House

The Bayou, like its sister restaurant, Le Chardonnay, hasn’t missed
a beat by moving across Madison. It’s bigger, but it still has a nice
patio, cold beer, stellar gumbo, and lots of other Cajun
delectables.

Justin Fox Burks

Petra, 1st place: ‘Best Mediterranean’

Best Mediterranean

1. Petra

2. Casa Grill

3. Petra Cafe

What’s more Midtown than this: Greek-Korean fusion in a restaurant
housed in a former gas station/garage, with patio seating right next to
the pumps? Spanikopita, moussaka, falafel — Petra is Greek
delicious. And the Korean soups and kimchi are fabulous too.

Best Dessert

1. Paulette’s

2. Beauty Shop

3. Kooky Canuck

Restaurants come and go, but Paulette’s “K-Pie” is a constant. Rich
coffee ice cream in a pecan-coconut crust, topped with whipped cream
and Kahlua, the Midtown institution’s Kahlua-mocha parfait pie is a
classic but not their most popular dessert. That designation apparently
belongs to the restaurant’s hot chocolate crepe. With crème
brûlée, Key lime pie, and other desserts dotting the menu,
Paulette’s is where Memphians go for post-dinner sweets.

Best Italian

1. Ronnie Grisanti & Sons Restaurant (now closed)

2. Pete & Sam’s

3. Bari — tie —

Ciao Bella Italian Grill

Long synonymous with Italian dining in Memphis, Ronnie Grisanti’s
closed its doors in August after a 25-year run at its Chickasaw Oaks
Plaza location on Poplar. But Memphians won’t be without the Grisanti
family’s authentic Tuscan cuisine, which has delighted local diners for
generations. Most of the restaurant’s staff — including Ronnie
himself — will relocate to the family’s Germantown location,
Elfo’s, which will be renamed simply Grisanti’s.

Best Mexican

1. El Porton Mexican Restaurant

2. Happy Mexican

3. Taqueria La Guadalupana

In an increasingly saturated local Mexican food scene, El Porton
maintains the top spot with five area locations, quick, reasonably
price lunches, a diverse menu, a full bar, and happy-hour specials.

Best Chinese

1. P.F. Chang’s

2. Wang’s Mandarin House

3. A-Tan

National chain P.F. Chang’s became a big local hit when it opened
its lone Memphis location — on Ridgeway in East Memphis — a
few years ago. In P.F. Chang’s large, opulent dining room, patrons can
feast on a diverse array of Chinese classics such as Mongolian beef,
ginger chicken, and spicy dumplings.

Best Thai

1. Bhan Thai

2. Bangkok Alley

3. Jasmine

Located in a large, converted Midtown house (the former home of
restaurant Maison Raji), Bhan Thai offers intensely flavorful Thai
dishes — masaman curry, pad thai, crispy duck, coconut-milk-based
soups, etc. — in an elegant atmosphere full of character, from
its small, intimate dining rooms to its popular patio in the back.

Best Vietnamese

1. Saigon Le

2. Pho Saigon

3. Pho Hoa Binh

This no-frills Midtown eatery has a loyal clientele because of its
focus on the food, which includes authentic Vietnamese specialties
— fresh spring rolls, great pho soups, vermicelli and tofu
dishes, and plenty of vegetarian options.

Best Japanese/Sushi

1. Sekisui

2. Blue Fin

3. Sekisui Pacific Rim

Restaurateur Jimmy Ishii has come to define Japanese cuisine, and
particularly sushi, in Memphis. The local chain is celebrating its 20th
birthday this year, first opening its Humphreys Center flagship
restaurant in 1989 and now covering the city with five locations.

Justin Fox Burks

Soul Fish, 1st place: ‘Best Home Cooking / Soul Food’

Best Home Cooking/Soul Food

1. Soul Fish

2. The Cupboard

3. Blue Plate Café

For exquisite catfish and hush puppies and a big daily selection of
veggies, it’s hard to order anything else off of Soul Fish’s menu. But
try their smoked half-chicken, and you’ll be doubling up on meals to
satisfy all your menu urges.

Best Vegetarian

BOM 1. Whole Foods Market

2. The Cupboard

3. Jasmine

Whole Foods Market, a foodie oasis on Poplar Avenue in East Memphis,
is more than a grocery store. Its large prepared-foods section —
pizzas, sandwiches, salad bar, bakery, coffee and juice bar — and
dining area make it a popular lunch and dinner spot for vegetarians and
health-food enthusiasts, in particular. Whole Foods also offers cooking
classes to help you find interesting things to do with the fresh and
healthy items they sell.

Best Seafood

1. Tsunami

2. Bonefish

3. The Half Shell

The anchor restaurant of Cooper-Young does it again, taking “Best
Seafood” for the millionth year in a row. Scallops, sea bass, mussels,
you name it, Chef Ben Smith and crew deliver a ship full of great taste
in a sophisticated atmosphere.

Best Pizza

BOM 1. Memphis Pizza Cafe

2. Garibaldi’s Pizza

3. Old Venice

Memphis Pizza Café was an instant hit when it opened in 1993
and has since expanded its local pizza empire to five locations, all
serving tasty, crispy pizzas, including such faves as the white-sauce
“alternative” and the zesty Cajun chicken.

Best Deli

1. Fino’s from the Hill

2. Bogie’s Delicatessen

3. Young Avenue Deli

What says Midtown more than the intersection of Madison and McLean?
And what says a great deli sandwich better than Fino’s from the Hill,
on that very Midtown corner? In addition to the popular made-to-order
sandwiches — cold cuts, cheeses, toppings, all on good crusty
bread — Fino’s offers pasta dishes and grocery items. That’s
Italian!

Best Server

1. Jeff Frisby, Restaurant Iris

2. Michele Fields, Calhoun’s Sports Bar

3. Jean Pruett, Bardog — tie —

Brent Skelton, The Kitchen

Jeff Frisby at Restaurant Iris must be doing something right. Last
year, he was named one of the city’s best servers in our Best Of poll.
This year, he’s done it again. Must be that Frisby knows not only how
to serve, he knows what to serve when it comes to vino: He’s Restaurant
Iris’ wine manager. (Factoid: All our winners in this category work in
Memphis’ new or newish restaurant/bars. Good to see Flyer
readers appreciate the city’s evolving food scene.)

Best Service

1. Chick-Fil-A

2. Texas de Brazil

3. Houston’s

Drive-thru or in-store, the crew behind the counter at any of
Memphis’ Chick-Fil-A locations have it down pat: your order in your
hands — fast. More amazing (and given the volume of business),
they do it, hands down, with the friendliest service in town.

Justin Fox Burks

Chick-Fil-A, 1st place: ‘Best Kid-Friendly Restaurant’

Best Kid-Friendly Restaurant

1. Chick-Fil-A

2. Chuck E. Cheese

3. Huey’s

We forgot to mention (see “Best Service”) that the crew at
Chick-Fil-A must have nerves of steel. As a new winner in the
kid-friendly restaurant category, these folks have what it takes when
children combine with fast food. Call it grace under pressure.

Best Local Late-Night Dining

1. Huey’s

2. Earnestine & Hazel’s

3. Young Avenue Deli

And we mean late. We’re talking, at several of Huey’s
multiple locations, a kitchen that’s open until 2 a.m. Don’t deny it.
At that hour and after some damage, what your body’s craving is a
burger and onion rings.

Best Place for People-Watching

1. Flying Saucer

2. Young Avenue Deli

3. Celtic Crossing

The corner of Beale and Second: The wide-open windows at downtown’s
Flyer Saucer aren’t there for no reason. Whether you’re in the
restaurant or passing on the sidewalk, this place was tailor-made for
people-watching. Evidence: During the Memphis Music and Heritage
Festival a few weekends ago, the place was jamming, inside and out.

Best Patio

1. Celtic Crossing

2. Boscos Squared

3. Cafe Olé

In a word: trivia. Celtic’s popular Wednesday-night tournament this
past summer had the patio packed. Any night, any season, though, will
do for a Guinness and some major hanging-out in Cooper-Young. Bonus
attraction: On this patio, you’re only a few steps from the scene on
the street.

Best Local Place That Delivers

1. Garibaldi’s Pizza

2. Young Avenue Deli

3. Camy’s

Another new winner in our Best Of poll: Garibaldi’s Pizza —
established 30 years ago by owner Mike Garibaldi — has three
locations for handmade pizzas, pastas, salads, wings, sandwiches,
sweets, and more. Garibaldi’s caters to not only what you’re hungry
for, according to readers, it really delivers.

Justin Fox Burks

Muddy’s Bake Shop, 1st place: ‘Best Bakery’

Best Bakery

1. Muddy’s Bake Shop

2. La Baguette

3. Fresh Market

Again: a new winner. And, according to Muddy’s website, if you’re
rude, whiny, impatient, or otherwise unpleasant, forget stepping inside
this bakeshop. If you’re green-minded and egg-headed (Muddy’s uses eggs
from cage-free, free-range hens), you’re welcome! Plus, who’s to argue
with a cupcake called “Prozac?”

Best Local Coffeehouse

1. High Point Coffee (now closed)

2. Otherlands

3. Café Eclectic — tie —

Republic Coffee

High Point Coffee just closed. (It’s the economy, stupid.) But
Otherlands, Cafe Eclectic, and Republic Coffee — the hotshots
rounding out your picks for best local coffeehouse — havestill
got their vibe going and the caffeine coming.

Best Restaurant

1. Restaurant Iris

2. Tsunami

3. Huey’s

Iris: It’s in the eye of the beholder. Restaurant Iris, “Best
Restaurant,” according to Memphians who value fine dining. In the space
of a year, nationally recognized chef Kelly English has succeeded in
turning Restaurant Iris into the city’s go-to address for exceptional
French-Creole-inspired cuisine. Doesn’t hurt that the restaurant also
features first-rate service in an intimate, romantic atmosphere.

Best New Restaurant

1. Flight

2. Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen

3. Overton Park Pizze Stone

The interior’s gorgeous, but it’s the food at Flight that has
Flyer readers hooked — and voting. Flight’s “flights”
— a trio of tastings from the entrée, dessert, and wine
menus — make it a wonderful way to sample what’s cooking in the
kitchen. What’s on your table: small plates but great taste. Or you
want regular-size portions? No problem. You can order that way too.