Two Wheels Brings Vietnamese Favorites To The Upper West Side

Opened toward the end of last year in the heart of Amsterdam Avenue's lengthy restaurant row, Two Wheels is a casual, counter service restaurant with an appealing menu of Vietnamese favorites, dishes that are not always easy to find around these parts like steaming bowls of Pho, hero-sized Bahn Mi, and those crispy stuffed crepes called Bahn Xeo.

The co-owner, head chef, and day-to-day manager is Jonathan Vu, who grew up in Louisiana and now lives in Flushing, Queens. Two Wheels is his first restaurant, and he told me that it's been exciting to bring simple Vietnamese fare to the UWS. The name Two Wheels comes from Vu's fond memories of visiting family in Vietnam as a child, and feeling gleefully overwhelmed by all of the bicycles and scooters zipping by on the streets.

The menu at Two Wheels is full of crowd pleasers, and everything I ate here the other day was quite good. The Pho, for example, which you can get with brisket, steak, meatballs, and/or sirloin, was thick with slippery rice noodles in a light but full-flavored broth. At the suggestion of the woman taking my order, I got my bowl with the brisket, and it was an excellent choice, the meat plentiful, tender, and rich.

The Bahn Mi, which comes on a house-made, pleasantly soft French baguette, also comes in several options: marinated steak, lemongrass chicken, chargrilled pork, roasted carrot for vegetarians, and, my choice, the classic ham and chicken paté. This was generously stuffed with the sliced meats, though they were a little skimpy with the paté. Next time I'll either ask for extra mayo or get a side of one of the five dipping sauces on offer to give it a boost.

The Vietnamese Crepe was delightful, the turmeric and coconut milk Bahn Xeo fried to a crunch and folded like a taco. I had mine with sugarcane shrimp, and they were plump and sweet. The menu also features Vermicelli Rice Bowls as a main course, but whatever you order, make sure to get the perfectly crisp and chewy waffle-cut Parmesan Truffle Fries, which could have been a disaster—even a little too much truffle oil is way too much truffle oil, IMO—but Vu and crew handle it deftly.

There are also fried Spring Rolls and soft Summer Rolls available, and Vietnamese Wings in a "caramel glaze," and a Green Papaya Salad. No alcohol, but they do offer a Vietnamese Iced Coffee (which was much too sweet for me). Vu is working on getting a selection of desserts.

Take-out will likely be a big part of the business, though eating here at one of the 15 or so seats is plenty comfortable. The design of the space is nicely minimalistic, basically just concrete and light wood, and the tables are pleasantly modular; just slide the surface of two together to make a four-top.

Two Wheels is located at 426 Amsterdam Avenue, between 80th and 81st Streets, and is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9p.m. (646-429-8661)