Saigon 48

This spot is a real surprise inside. Located in the heart of the theatre district where some Asian restaurants are a bit run down this place is pretty, sleek and serene inside. With a lunch special menu of $6.95, can you really go wrong. Saigon 48 is definitely a cut above the other neighborhood Asian joints. I enjoyed the pork chops which were a generous helping of thinly sliced pork chops, bone in meat, flavored with honey and nicely charred over a bed of Vietnamese fried rice with a spring roll. Very tasty! Other lunch special offerings include sauteed shrimp, sauteed chicken Vietnamese style with ginger and honey as well as the famous Pho(a hearty traditional soup with thinly sliced beef, noodles, basil and hoisin dipping sauce) as well as several others. Lots of newspaper postings hanging in the restaurant indicate that others are keen on this place as well.

Franny's

Back to Brooklyn. At my namessake, they are turning out remarkable pizzas in a modern, though bland restuarant setting. On Flatbush Avenue on the Prospect Heights side this pizza plus joint does many things well. From the house cured meats to lovely appetizers like beets with walnuts, hot peppers and pecorino rossellino. Large, circular fresh beets paired with the crunchy walnuts and spicy peppers and yummy perorino makes for a great start. I have been there several times and have had different pizzas, and all are thin, well charred and flavorful cooked in their brick ovens. The tomato, buffalo mozzarella, basil and garlic is so juicy with the perfect crust. The unusual clams, chilies and parsley could have had a slight bit more kick to it. The pizza with sausage is super tasty. There is an extensive wine list here and service is neighborhoody and friendly. A lovely garden is a nice summer retreat from the bland interior. Nice bathroom with stenciling.
GO!

Cafe Katja

This little and I mean teeny spot is bangin and charming with Euro architectural touches. Who would have thought an Austrian restaurant on Orchard Street would be this popular, but one taste of the authentic fare explains it all. Now I love Austrian food, being half- Austrian notwithstanding. This spot is owned by an Austrian expat(ya!) the food here is fresh and flavorful. A salad of roasted beets and goat cheese with caraway seeds and pumpkin oil was vinegary and boldly flavored. The red cabbage salad with toasted walnuts, apple and ligonberry dressing also stood out as tart and fresh. Order a warm pretzel served with spicy horseradishy mustard to chow down with the salads. For the main course, the cheese spaetzle with emmantaler and chives was like Austrian mac and cheese. Warm and comforting the mini, mini dumplings called spaetzle were oh so good and even better the next day as leftovers. For dessert the homemade linzer torte with (mit) schlag(homemade whipped cream) was rustic and good. The homemade chocalate cake mit schlag was good as well. The food is very reasonably priced with no entree priced at over $16 and made to order so you can understand the crowd on a cold rainy night. Zer gut meine lieber!