Here's the only reason to dine out in Tenafly

At Simply Vietnamese in Tenafly, complimentary shrimp chips and hot sauce will awaken your taste buds for the bright flavors of appetizers, soups and entrees.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

As an Englewood resident for decades, I had little reason to drive to the neighboring town of Tenafly for something to eat.

Tenafly is a wealthier town, but in the past, its lack of diversity made for a lackluster restaurant scene.

I did have a couple of wonderful meals at the Green Door Cafe, which served organic and naturally raised or grown food before it was closed by a fire.

Then, in 2010, Chef K.T. Tran moved her popular restaurant from its cramped quarters on Palisade Avenue in Englewood to Highwood Avenue in Tenafly, and renamed it Simply Vietnamese.

It has proven such a big hit, she expanded and closed Mo' Pho, her soup-focused restaurant in Fort Lee, to devote full time to the venture.

Now, we drive to Tenafly from Hackensack for a regular fix of this delicious, reasonably priced food.

My favorite entree is basa fillet in a spicy curry coconut-milk sauce.

Appetizers include New Zealand Mussels; Vietnamese Salad, right; and a Summer Roll.

A bowl of Pho noodle soup with pork and a plate of garnishes.

Chef/Owner K.T. Tran taking a break from cooking.

  

On May 1, we had another terrific meal at Simply Vietnamese, where great service is provided by waiters Joe and Peter, and the rest of the staff.

I started with those green-lip mussels from New Zealand in a wasabi-ginger sauce, and had some Vietnamese Salad, chopped vegetables and mango dressed in fish sauce ($8.95 each).

The rest of my family shared a special, a Summer Roll with Chicken and Asian Pear with dipping sauces ($8.95).

My entree of basa, a farmed catfish from Vietnam, was served over a bed of bok choy in a spicy coconut-milk sauce, with a side of brown rice ($19). 

I took more than a third of the generous portion home, and ate it for breakfast the next day.

For meat eaters

My wife had Pho, an anise-flavored noodle soup that is the specialty of the house; my son chose the House Noodle Soup with Ribs, which has thicker noodles ($12 each); and my mother-in-law-enjoyed Garlic Beef ($17).

The two simply decorated dining rooms have walls painted a deep red. 

Unfortunately, like too many restaurants in North Jersey, the menu doesn't tell you much about the origin of the poultry, meat and seafood served here.

Still, once you've eaten at the Vietnamese BYO, it likely will be the only reason to dine out in Tenafly.

Korean restaurants

Down the street from Simply Vietnamese is a Korean-style Chinese restaurant with an unusually large, fish-shaped window, and on Washington Street, you'll find a Korean fried-chicken restaurant, Unidentified Flying Chicken.

Washington Street also has a kosher deli, a pizzeria; Chez Cheese, a gourmet shop with homemade soups for takeout, and other food businesses.

Simply Vietnamese, 1 Highwood Ave., Tenafly; 201-568-7770. BYO, free street parking. 

Hong Bo Suk is a Korean-Chinese restaurant in Tenafly.

Simply Vietnamese in Tenafly

Image via Wikipedia

On Saturday night, we got a refresher course in the wonderful pho soup and other dishes from the kitchen of K.T. Tran by visiting her new restaurant, Simply Vietnamese, in Tenafly.

The restaurant, a former pizzeria, opened one week before and has been greeted enthusiastically by residents of Tenafly, said Joe The Waiter, who followed Tran from Saigon R, the Englewood restaurant she closed this summer. 


Simply Vietnamese is a welcome addition to Tenafly, which isn't much of a restaurant town despite all of its wealthy residents. For example, I can't imagine how Mr. Wok, a mediocre Chinese restaurant, has survived all these years.


We shared two appetizers, miniature spring rolls ($5), served with lettuce for wrapping and fish sauce for dipping; and broiled New Zealand mussels (photo) in a wasabi-ginger sauce ($8.50).


Each of us ordered a bowl of pho -- garnishing the anise-flavored broth with herbs, bean sprouts, hoisin sauce and hot peppers. My son chose soup with spicy jerk beef, I had tofu and vegetables and my wife ordered shrimp ($12 and $14 each).


When my bowl was set down before me, I breathed deeply to capture that distinctive anise flavor. There's nothing else like it in the world of Asian soup noodles.


Joe The Waiter said Tran was going to raise prices after holding the line for three years in Englewood, and she has done so in Tenafly. 

Why did she move? She had only six tables in Englewood and the parking was impossible, the chef-owner said. In the window of the Tenafly restaurant, look for the neon "Saigon" from the old place, which she opened in 2001.

Tran also is the chef/owner of Mo' Pho on Main Street in Fort Lee. 

Simply Vietnamese, 1 Highwood Plaza, Tenafly;
201-568-7770. BYO. Free street parking.