>MEKONG GRILL, RIDGEWOOD
February 08, 2012 05:00 AM ET | Rosie Saferstein
There are lots of tasty dishes to try, so don’t fill up on the shrimp chips placed on the table when you’re seated at Mekong Grill, 24 Chestnut Street, Ridgewood. These addictive starters are like potato chips; you can’t eat just one. The 36-seat, BYO Vietnamese restaurant, owned by Chef Tai Nham, a graduate of the French Culinary Institute, is inexpensive, with dishes ranging from $5 to $15. Tofu with brown sauce was crispy and creamy. A Mekong roll filled with a mini shrimp roll and five-spice pork was a favorite, as was the crunchy Vietnamese crêpe stuffed with sprouts and shrimp. Hot-and-sour soup with a tamarind-flavored broth tasted more like hot-and-sweet soup and was loaded with pineapple, tomatoes, okra, basil, fried shallots, and bean sprouts. The stir-fried glass noodles with tofu and mixed vegetables was a hit, and we wouldn’t hesitate to order the half hen with sautéed sticky rice that contained egg, Chinese sausage, peanuts, and dried shallots. Although it was not as spicy as we would have liked, the black pepper squid was as addictive as the shrimp chips. We bypassed dessert, but some options were durian cheesecake, banana with sticky rice, chocolate lava cake, and ice cream, all which can be washed down with Vietnamese coffee. Mekong is closed Mondays and every day between 3 and 5 PM. It’s open from 11:30 AM on other days. Reservations, which are encouraged, can be made at 201-445-0011.
https://njmonthly.com/blogs/tablehopwithRosie/2012/2/8/restaurant-news.html
