Tigerlily: Cafe-Style Vietnamese Food in Bed-Stuy

It’s been about a year since Tigerlily first opened its doors, bringing Vietnamese sandwiches and coffee to a less expected part of New York City.

“Where I grew up in Houston, there were lots of Vietnamese sandwiches,” Pascale Tran, owner of Tigerlily, told me. In New York, she said, there are only a few. “They’re all hidden in Chinatown,” she added.

Tran, who went to Pratt Institute ten years ago, always thought that a Vietnamese sandwich place would thrive in a neighborhood like Bed-Stuy, only steps away from Pratt. She kept telling others to consider opening a Vietnamese sandwich shop, and eventually she decided to take the project on herself.

And what makes a Vietnamese sandwich different from any other sandwich?

“Traditionally, it’s the bread,” said Tran. The bread is similar to French bread, but uses rice flour instead of wheat flour, making it lighter and fluffier, perfect with the fresh ingredients that accompany most Vietnamese sandwiches; pickled carrots and daikon, cilantro, cucumber, and jalapeno.

The sandwich is, as Tran said, “a mix between East and West -traditional Vietnamese food with a French influence.” This might explain the mayonnaise in the sandwiches as well.  

The East-meets-West theme is noticeably present in Tigerlily. Tran said the design of the cafe is based on “French plantations during colonial years, with lots of dark wood, light walls, lots of plants, and very aerated.”

The decor is simple, yet chic, with only a few decorative items, including potted herbs in every nook and cranny. And while it may be reminiscent of another time and place, Tran definitely adds a personal touch as well.

This is also apparent in the foods. Tran tries to bring in the traditional flavors, but is not afraid to experiment and serve something new. The Curry Chicken Sandwich, for example, is shredded chicken mixed in a light curry sauce with a coconut milk base. The coconut milk adds a creamy flavor, while the lemongrass offers a barely detectable lemon flavor.

This is put on Vietnamese bread with the usual toppings (pickled carrots, cilantro, mayonnaise, etc.) which add a cool, refreshing kick to the overall flavor. The result is an incredibly fresh, curry chicken salad sandwich, packed with subtle but distinct flavors that will make each bite unlike the last.

This popular sandwich is Tran’s creation, but you can still opt for the more traditional sandwich, like “The Special,”  made with thin-sliced pork, pate, head cheese, and the usual Vietnamese sandwich toppings. I especially love the pork in this sandwich, which is unlike any pork I’ve had before - mellow, and slightly sweet.

The closest thing I can compare it to is the pork in pork fried rice, but it’s much classier and more flavorful than that. This, combined with a spicy, rich pate makes for an amazing, dense flavor, which is then lightened up by the pickled vegetables and cilantro.

I highly recommend both these sandwich options, although I am anxious to try the other’s as well, each $6.50 a pop.

The Green Papaya Salad with Seasoned Tofu, although not my absolute favorite, makes for a yummy, healthy snack. The dish is made of long, thin strips of papaya that look like translucent noodles, and garnished with basil (again, the greatness of fresh herbs!). The salad is topped with strips of firm tofu that taste as though they've been smoked. I particularly enjoy the tofu because it has the same density as meat and doesn’t fall apart in your mouth as tofu so often does.

The salads, each $5.50, come with a small serving of soy sauce, which I suggest you use sparingly, since it can easily overpower all the other flavors.

The noodle bowls (“Bun” in Vietnamese) are a delicious alternative if you don’t feel like a sandwich. I tried the Pork Meatball Noodle Bowl. There is a dressing you can add that give the noodles more moisture and add a slight sweetness. The dressing goes well with the sweet, pickled carrots, cucumbers and mint leaves, all garnishes that I find both surprising and delicious in a noodle dish.

The only heavier aspects of the dish are the pork chunks - spicy, firm chunks of ground pork that add a ton of flavor and fill you up - as well as crushed peanuts, a tasty, crunchy addition (although I would’ve added more).

Last, but certainly not least, you can’t visit Tigerlily without trying the Vietnamese Iced Coffee. Cold brewed to keep the flavor from melting away with the ice, Vietnamese coffee is made with condensed milk and extremely strong coffee.

The first time I ever had Vietnamese coffee, I decided it was the best coffee to drink, but Tigerlily’s iced version even beats that. Up until now, all the coffee you have had has been too weak, and not creamy enough. Get it immediately, and you can thank me later.

Everything on the menu here screams, “Fresh!” All the dishes are served cold, each with a variety of light, tropical, mildly sweet flavors that taste more like an eclectic salad than a melting pot of ingredients.

“I focus on doing ten things really well rather than thirty things okay,” Tran told me.

She has become an expert at finding the right ingredients, herbs, and spices, to create a simple, delectable fusion of flavors. Each item on the menu is meticulously designed to bring out both the traditional and the modern in the oh-so-fresh Vietnamese dishes offered at Tigerlily.