Ba Bar's New Breakfast Menu Adds Authenticity and Stories of Home

Eric Banh wanted to infuse his breakfast menu at Ba Bar with dishes from home, so he's reinvented the wheel at his Central District restaurant. After all, the restaurant he co-owns with his sister, Sophie, is an ode to family; "ba" means "father" in Vietnamese. The new menu recently rolled out at Ba Bar is a deeper reflection of those origins.

Gone are Americanized dishes with soft inflections of Vietnam. Instead, now you'll find the comfort food Banh ate growing up, like ground beef congee, Bánh Xèo (a crispy crepe one wraps in a lettuce leaf), Sài Gòn Beef Stew, Bún Bò Huế (a rich, dark soup laced with spice and lemongrass), and sunny side up eggs fried in duck fat with garlic and sprinkled with soy sauce. It seems Banh has a memory or a story to go with each, and that brings authenticity, too. As Banh explains, "Most of what you're eating you can find throughout Vietnam."