33. Vietnamese chicken

Vietnamese? I’ve Got Your Vietnamese!
Vietnamese chicken at Zinc
964 Chapel Street, New Haven

With over 20% of the bucket list stops in New Haven, we decided to get going with it right away. As has become an annual day-before-Thanksgiving tradition now, Hoang and I had off from work and drove down to the Elm City for some shopping, CTMQ’ing, and eating.

I let her pick the restaurant/meal off of the list and she chose Zinc. We’d eaten there before, years ago, but had completely forgotten what we had. I’m pretty certain neither of us had this particular dish. Though apparently we could have, for as the magazine says, “This dish has been on Zinc’s menu from Day One, and with good reason. It’s a chicken breast with lemon-pepper dipping sauce, black Thai rice and an Asian vegetable sauté.”

Hm. Sounds a bit pedestrian, but we gave it a go. Hoang ordered it (she being the true Vietnamese judge and all) and I went for the Seared Maine Diver Sea Scallops with Truffle Risotto with Lemon and Peas. For the record, the lunch menu differs a bit from the recommended dinner option, as at lunch the chicken is served with Green Tea Noodles, Asian Vegetables, and a Bombay Red Curry-Coconut Milk Sauce. Had I realized this difference, we’d probably have gone elsewhere to match the list, but really… Who cares.

Before the main plates, I must mention the drinks we ordered. With a strong, somewhat silly nod toward the current locavore “movement,” several of their drinks really play up local spirits and infusions. For instance, I had a Gin Blossom with Massachusetts gin and black currant juice from a Connecticut farm.

We also shared a delicious curried bean soup which was great, as long as a soup that tastes like the sauce on chicken tikka masala is to your liking.

And here it is: the Vietnamese chicken with a smiling Vietnamese woman enjoying it. It was delicious and Hoang loved it. She had no complaints and though we sort of snickered at the American take on what constitute “Asian vegetables,” it didn’t detract from the dish. The only thing that confused us a bit was why they bother calling this “Vietnamese” at all. For it’s really not. It definitely has more of a Thai look and taste to it to be honest with you. But as Hoang says, “Vietnamese is so much cooler than Thai anyway.”

Touche.

My scallop risotto dish was phenomenal. The huge seared (and slightly raw) diver scallops were the best I’ve ever had and the risotto was cooked perfectly.

Our lunch was great and while I don’t think the chicken dish is the best one on their menu, it was still delicious and warrants inclusion on any menu – just perhaps not a “Eat this before you die” type list.

For dessert, we walked up Chapel Street to enjoy another dish from the list at Claire’s CornerCopia: Lithuanian coffee cake. (Full report here.)