This place is officially my new go-to place if I'm ever seeing something at Barclay's Center. It's less than 10 minutes away, cheap, fast and super delicious. A win-win for everyone! Although I spent 10 yrs in Park Slope, I didn't really spend a lot of time in the area closer to Barclay's Center only because when I lived there there was no Barclay's Center yet - jesus do I feel old. There are actually a ton of places near the center to eat, so don't fret, you won't be stuck with stadium food if you don't want to (although I'll be the first to say that the food at Barclay's is actually much better than a place like MSG). Aarti and I were there to see Janet Jackson and I wasn't really in the mood for fries or something super greasy and Aarti wasn't feeling well from our last food outing on Sunday anyways.
I stumbled upon 5ive spice and had a bit of hesitation going into it. While the bulk of the menu here is Vietnamese comfort food (pho and banh mi) they have this weird taco section and they also serve sides like chips and guacamole and brussels sprouts. I generally have a distain for any kind of fusion food and this seemed especially disjointed. But I'm a sucker for pho and desperate for a place that serves a good one so I figured, why not?
The clientele was definitely very Park Slope - I'm not saying that in a derogatory way but it's not like I stepped into a place full of screaming Asians, which is how I typically like my Asian restaurants. Ha! I got the traditional beef pho ($10) and hot Vietnamese coffee ($3.50) - pretty standard but you gotta get the basics right before you try anything else. I gotta say, I was very impressed! The broth was flavorful, the noodles the right texture and the best part was that the beef was thinly sliced and raw which is exactly how I like my meat in pho. It was really one of the better phos I've had in the NYC area in a long time. The coffee was great too and served in the traditional dripper. I know that 4.5 forks seems very high and it's honestly much closer to a 4.25 fork rating but it's been a while since I really enjoyed a pho this much.
The only thing that gives me pause is that I excitedly texted my friend Virginia who is Vietnamese and lives in the hood and she had more of a lukewarm reaction to this place. I definitely trust her judgement but I would definitely still come back here anytime I'm headed to Barclay's. The service is super quick which is even better if you're in a hurry or think you'll be late. The only downside is that it's cash only but when your meal is likely to be less than $20 I guess that's ok. Total bill: $16 with tax and tip
Photo Credit: Yelp
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