Bánh Anh Em owners say memory is their secret ingredient

Article excerpt

Chef Nhu Ton and John Nguyen have opened Bánh Anh Em, a new Vietnamese restaurant where nostalgia plays as crucial a role as any spice or sauce. The owners credit memory, their own recollections of food from Vietnam and their families, as the foundation of their cooking philosophy. The restaurant has already earned acclaim for dishes that blend traditional Vietnamese techniques with the personal histories embedded in each recipe. For Ton and Nguyen, the kitchen becomes a space where the past becomes present on every plate.