SILENT H: Restaurant Review

Silent H (Berry Street at 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211)

Vietnamese has always been a cuisine on the forefront of fusion, if that dubious food term may even be used correctly with a country so adoptive of French gustatory colonial influence. Of course Lafayette Street's Indochine has turned out the more glammed-up version of Vietnamese to supermodels and rock stars for years (and we must say never fails to impress 15 years after our first meal there), while Baxter Street in Manhattan's Chinatown (with at least 5 Vietnamese eateries at last count) continues to deliver the authentic goods at prices more common to Saigon than New York City. Finally Williamsburg has gotten its dose of upscale Southeast Asian with Silent H, the East Coast cousin of Santa Monica's Father's Room (same peeps). A limited menu could benefit from the offer of daily specials, and the liquor license-in-waiting is problematic, but these shortcomings are so far countered by the two most important elements - quality food and good service.

A recent meal (courtesy of Cafe Drake pal Octavio Fenech) began with a starter unappealingly described as "street food" but titled Shrimp Toast ($6). Two baguette slices arrived adorned with a generous slather of yuca and mung bean puree and topped with chopped shrimp; a small cup of sweet vinegar sauce was nestled alongside for dipping. This is the sort of snack we could nosh on all night - given the small portions perhaps four could be offered for the asking price. Octavio enjoyed an entree of Fried Sole with Vietnamese Spices ($14.50), curiously sided with spinach and spears of okra. A double-thick cut pork chop ($14.50) was quite successful - pan-caramelized on both sides after a long marination in rice vinegar and black peppercorns. Slices of cooling cucumber and creamy hard boiled egg provided a lovely contrast to both the meat and expertly steamed rice (seasoned with more fiery peppercorns).

Occupying the former space of Oznot's Dish, a neighborhood restaurant with vast amounts of memories, Silent H seems to have wiped out most of the intriguing decorative elements of the former tenant; sadly, the new design is overly spare, leaning towards the dead trend of mid-century modernism and completely without soul. As mentioned before, a graceful staff that is warm, courteous and professionally trained goes along way towards correcting this lack of coziness or visual interest. Then again we live in a tragic age when purposelessly austere lines and monochromaticism passes for style amongst the irreverent and historically deficient.

Postnote: after dinner Octavio and Cafe Drake met David for cocktails at K & M Bar on Roebling Street, where the better tastes of an older age lives on, at least in the DJ booth. We were treated to a playlist including The Smiths, 70s-era Bowie, Roxy Music, T-Rex and other nostalgic favorites. Octavio claimed we were showing our age with enthusiasm for such golden tunes; we merely smiled contentedly and sipped our gin-and-tonic.