Gothamist: Saigon Grill Strike Heats Up With Lawsuit

rrr

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 23:02:52 -0500

what the fuck is peoples problem w delivery guys trying to get minimum wage? if you weren't paid minimum wage you'd be screaming too. these guys risk their lives in all kinds of weather to get us our food.

mrshoes

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 11:19:24 -0500

Look closely at all the Asians; Vietnamese and Chinese alike who fill up the chairs as well. Can you tell the difference between Vietnamese or Chinese? Maybe they are tourists and don't know better? Maybe they are cheap NYU students who don't know better? Actually, yes I can tell the difference. Many can if you look hard enough. Just as some can rattle enough restaurant names on a message board. Just like the person before said, why all the hating on the food. So many go nuts over, "what is authentic" but the proof is in the pudding, or as the case may be, the pho. The place has always had good business and its expansion furthers that proof. Many say McDonalds is shit, but any franchise owner will laugh at you all the way to the bank! Take it easy people. Its only food!

daniella

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 02:34:06 -0500

Nget is actually a Cambodian name. And the food is godawful ... but if Vietnamese cuisine is that important to you, you should move to DC, Orange County, or Texas ... you're really not going to find it in NYC.

of kourse knot = 1800ABCDEFG

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 11:52:04 -0500

But, don't you think it's time to move out of your parent's apartment. I think they would like to reclaim their space. Considering how tiny those tenements can be with the tub in the kitchen and all. You seem to be alifestyle expert. You need to stop stalking me.

of kourse knot

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 11:22:48 -0500

Of course, I don't hate Chinatown tenements, But, don't you think it's time to move out of your parent's apartment. I think they would like to reclaim their space. Considering how tiny those tenements can be with the tub in the kitchen and all.

kraptastical = kraptastical

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 10:41:10 -0500

He's just pissed he's still living in a run down tenement in Chinatown while all his buddies have moved on and made something of themselves. You have something against Chinatown tenements?

Matt H

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 09:46:00 -0500

Hi angry, Okay -- so SG's not cheap compared to what can be had in Chinatown. Would I complain if someone cloned the menu and prices of Pho Viet Huang, but in my neighborhood? Clearly not. (Though I shudder to think what they'd have to pay _their_ staff to pull that off.) By most Manhattan neighborhood standards, though, a menu where 90% of the items above $10 are seafood entrees is pretty cheap.

kraptastical

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 02:23:08 -0500

c'mon, don't hate on "craptastic" or his other "names". He's just pissed he's still living in a run down tenement in Chinatown while all his buddies have moved on and made something of themselves.

gt

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 02:11:01 -0500

Crap. Had I know about this, I wouldn't have eaten there tonight.

angry

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 00:27:22 -0500

"Saigon Grill's pretty damn good, especially for the price". Uh, no, it is expensive. I far prefer Thaison (for price and for food) but what you do pay for at Saigon Grill is better comfort and ambiance. "Fake Vietnamese food cooked by Chinese to trick guilo". Um, maybe you don't like Sinicized Vietnamese food, but some people do. Just as some people prefer Indianized Chinese or Americanized Chinese food and not real Chinese food. It isn't to "trick guilo", it is simply building a business on what customers want.

saigon grill = trick guilo w/ MSG

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 22:49:09 -0500

Saigon Grill's pretty damn good, especially for the price. Sure if you consider MSG soup and pork chops as "pretty damn good". Gothamist must have average guilo simple palate.

ThePinkSuperhero

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 22:34:30 -0500

Good for them.

Matt H

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 21:06:46 -0500

Whoa -- leaving the labor issues aside, what's with the hating on the food? Someone who takes the trouble to make food exactly like back in the old country will often make it well, but that's not the only possible way to make good food. Saigon Grill's pretty damn good, especially for the price. (And those NYU students are late to the party; UWS-types have known about Saigon Grill for ages. UES-types will again, if indeed that location renovates and reopens.) I'm sad to hear about the strike, and the conflict, but wide swaths of the restaurant industry operate in areas that are legally shady. (c.f., Kitchen Confidential and all that.) Also, minimum wage laws are different for tipped employees: see esa/programs/whd/state/tipped.htm#NewYork on www dot dol dot gov It looks as though the nominal minimum wage for a delivery person who makes good tips is $4.85/hour. The number quoted in the article is much less, but I'd bet my salt practically nobody really pays $4.85/hour to their delivery staff. Perhaps the problem in this situation is a question of degree, and of management practices that go beyond unsavory.

take that

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 19:39:31 -0500

Come on people. How many places can you name that have the actual enthinicities cooking the food for which they are known? I betcha you would be hard pressed to rattle them off. Vietnamese: Pho Bang, Cong Ly, Nha Trang, Pho Viet Huong, Doyer's, Thaison, New Pasteur. Thai: Pam's, Pongsri, Kittichai, Sripraphai, Spice Japanese: Shimizu, Japonica, Nobu, Sushi Yasuda, Masa, Gari, Megu... on the other end of the spectrum, Village Yokocho, Kasadela, Rai Rai Ken. Is that enouhg for you? Look closely at all the Asians; Vietnamese and Chinese alike who fill up the chairs as well. Can you tell the difference between Vietnamese or Chinese? Maybe they are tourists and don't know better? Maybe they are cheap NYU students who don't know better?

Arif

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 18:52:34 -0500

I think the dirty little secret is that many of these delivery men are able to afford to buy their own houses in New Jersey, but are claiming that they don't have enough money to live.

Vanessa

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 14:42:17 -0500

That is insane. Obviously, I support the workers. How can someone live on $2.00 and hour (plus minimal tips) in New York City???!!!!

mrshoes

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 13:17:45 -0500

Come on people. How many places can you name that have the actual enthinicities cooking the food for which they are known? I betcha you would be hard pressed to rattle them off. What Siagon Grill does is wrong, but their food isn't so bad. Just look at all those packed in at all three of their locations across town. Look closely at all the Asians; Vietnamese and Chinese alike who fill up the chairs as well.

badmenu

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 12:38:59 -0500

Un-f*ckinbelievable. The irony is that they do pretty well. The university pl location is always packed. The pseudo-ethnic cuisine is nothing new. How many genuine japanese places do you know of? Italian restaurants run by italians? They should've just fusionized everything like everyone else. I hope they go belly up too. But they'd just come back under another LLC and run the gamut elsewhere.

craptasitic

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 12:13:43 -0500

What did you expect? Fake Vietnamese food cooked by Chinese to trick guilo! Only reason they get any business is because it's more convenient than going to the real places like Pho Bang or Cong Ly. I hope they go out of business!