Pho 66 Noodle Bar & Grill (CLOSED)

In a love letter to Vietnam's national dish, Greg Hugunin (Bouley, Blue Hill) retools the traditional bowl with French techniques for this Hell's Kitchen pho haven. The toque—who spent yearsprobing the Bay Area's Vietnamese scene as the SF Weekly's food critic—took a six-month trek across Southeast Asia to bone up on Far East flavors. Here he applies classic techniques to the humble street food: making sous vide chicken breast for his pho ga (chicken noodle soup), browning bones to deepen flavor and straining his stock through a chinois. Similarly, the bar program embraces culture clash: Juleps are spiced with zesty ginger, Bloody Marys infused with fish sauce and Thai chili, and iced tea perfumed with star anise and cardamom.