Auberge d’Asie.
By Todd Lyon
From the New Haven Register
 | | Peter Hvizdak/Register photo |
Say it with me: Oh-bearge dasee.
In French, it means "Inn of Asia," which only begins to describe the new Vietnamese restaurant that has blossomed on a slender branch of Route 1 in Branford.
For years and years, the little house at the end of a left-turn driveway on East Main Street was home to 280 Pub, a well-loved neighborhood watering hole.
I don’t know exactly when it was put up for sale, but I do know that the modest wooden structure had gradually become part of a low-key complex that included condos and clusters of commercial storefronts, all quite invisible from the street.
Sophie Nguyen and her husband, Dinh, bought the place last year.
Major renovations followed: new floors, new electricity and plumbing, new patio, new kitchen, new everything.
Auberge d’Asie opened just a few months ago; since then, magical cuisine has flown from Chef Sophie’s hands. My first dinner there was so good that I secretly called friends, urging them to visit the 38-seat restaurant before I blew its cover and let the public in on this hidden treasure.
You may recognize Sophie, by face or by name. She’s the chef/owner of Pot au Pho, the Vietnamese eatery in New Haven that specializes in soups, and which was one of my "Best New Restaurants" of 2005.
Born in Vietnam and educated in Paris, both Sophie and Dinh grew up in families that valued and upheld a culture of fine food.
The couple came to this country in 1985, and subsequently opened Vietnamese restaurants in Clinton and Hamden. By 1991, they’d bowed out of restaurant madness and returned to more sensible professions — banking and computers, respectively — but Sophie never lost her love of cooking, or her entrepreneurial spirit. And so, in early 2005, Pot au Pho was launched, and quickly became a mecca for students, townies and others seeking fine soups, fresh juices and general sustenance at affordable prices.
Auberge d’Asie is different. It’s where Sophie showcases fine cuisine from her homeland, filtered through her own worldly sensibilities. Here is where she really cooks: witness an astounding appetizer called Banh Khot Vung Tau, featuring crispy coconut-rice "cupcakes" filled with minced shrimp and scallions; entrees such as Bo Nuong La Lot, marinated beef in wild betel leaves on a bed of vermicelli, or Ca Kho To, caramelized Mekong Basa (a fleshy fish) with cracked peppercorns, served in a cast iron pot; and Sophie’s own lychee martini, coyly named "Miss Saigon."
"Can you find these dishes in Vietnam? No!" laughs the charming chef. "I make them my own. I never follow recipes, I cook with passion, with what I know and what I feel. My mother would say, ‘Sophie! It’s not authentic!’ But I like to take the classic dishes and give them a contemporary flair."
She also likes to interact with her customers.
"There are people who remember me from 20 years ago," she smiles, "and there are people who are just discovering this place. Many of them are world travelers, they’re adventurous, and I get more and more excited when I realize that they want to try new things. As a chef, I want to keep growing, and it’s so rewarding to get out there and talk to everybody — I want a restaurant where you know who the owner is, and you know the owner cares."
Her Branford restaurant is clean and bright almost to a fault: dark wood tables and chairs, imported from China, are cast in high contrast to pale walls and off-white tiled floors. A fireplace and bar add warmth to the upper-level dining room, and there are artistic touches throughout, including miniature peacocks on each table, displaying the wines of the day. The lighting is too high for a first date, but just fine for a third, or a thirtieth.
At Auberge d’Asie, however, all the senses are engaged by the food. Every dish I sampled made me sit upright, wide-eyed and silent, as profound flavors played on my palate. Wood-ear mushrooms, shrimp wafers, lotus stem, star anise, lily buds ... these are ingredients I don’t know well, but that I came to love when subject to Sophie’s artistry.
I was — and am — impressed and excited by Auberge d’Asie. It’s a fabulous new addition to the Greater New Haven dining scene. Please go there, right away, and give yourself over to the culinary commingling of Asia, France and the passion of Sophie Nguyen.
Todd Lyon of New Haven is a freelance writer.
THE ESSENTIALS
•Place: Auberge d’Asie, 284 E. Main St., Branford.
•Phone: (203) 643-8067.
•Hours: Lunch — noon to 2 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays. Dinner — 5:30-9 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays. Closed Sundays.
•Reservations: Accepted; recommended on weekends.
•Food: Vietnamese cuisine — both traditional and contemporary — is splendidly presented in an intimate, if stark, building off Route 1 in Branford. The divine Sophie Nguyen spreads her wings with a dinner menu that begins with The Warm-Ups, i.e. four authentic soups ($6.50) that fill and thrill. The Irresistible are seven appetizers, priced from $7-$12, featuring ingredients like lemon grass, roasted peanuts, ginger and pineapple; recommended is Banh Khot Vung Tau, a minced shrimp concoction presented in coconut-rice "cupcakes" ($8). Fourteen entrees are offered: these are listed as The Essentials, ranging in price from $16-$21. Stand-outs include Tom Rim Nuoc Dua, a bevy of Gulf shrimp (with heads) simmered in garlic and coconut, served over rice ($21); Ca Kho To, caramelized fish with cracked peppercorns in an iron pot ($21); and Vit Nam, pan-roasted duck breast with wild mushrooms ($21). The Enlightenment is a full-page menu of vegetarian offerings, from soups ($6.50) to apps ($6.50-$9) to entrees ($16-$18). Desserts are $6-$9, and include such delights as Jasmine-Infused Flan. Lunch is a treat: Mondays through Fridays, there’s a prix-fixe menu for $9.95 with four app options, four entree choices and two desserts to choose from. There’s also an a la carte lunch menu, with starters priced from $5-$6, entrees at $9 each and desserts at $4.
•Vegetarianism: See The Enlightenment, above.
•Drink: A full bar specializes in truly creative martinis, featuring Lychee (Miss Saigon); Ginger (Miss Hue); Mango (Miss Nhatrang); and Passion Fruit (Miss Hanoi). There’s also a lovely wine list, created with the help of Mount Carmel Wines in Hamden, with bottles from France, Italy and the U.S., priced from $19-$60, plus drinkable house wines for $5-$6 by the glass.
•Don’t miss: Vietnamese coffee, filtered through a curious contraption while you watch, offered with sweetened condensed milk.
•Wheelchair access: Through the front door.
•Credit cards: MasterCard, Visa, Amex, Discover.
•Parking: Free in a dedicated lot.
•Note: Look for wine dinners and other special events in the coming months.
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