Le Madeline
A smash patty served banh mi style…..
Wagyu hotdogs with an Asian spin….
And a meal that's truly fit for a king….
For the flavor of Vietnam meets New England, Le Madeleine is a treat for the tastebuds.
Located at this corner spot in Quincy, Le Madeleine is the brainchild of owner Tam Le, who named his restaurant after his daughter.
“La Madeleine is a modern Vietnamese restaurant where we have classic traditional Vietnamese dishes. But then we bring some modern takes on Vietnamese cuisine. Le Madeline is actually named after my daughter, who's Madeline Le. The space is definitely inspired by our travels back to Vietnam, and definitely the central region of Vietnam. So from the walls, the paintings to the plants. The lighting fixture, it's actually made from the Vietnamese traditional conical hats, and some of the different types of flowers and plants that you'll see in Vietnam.”
And when designing the menu, Tam brought in Executive Chef Peter Nguyen to create dishes that pair the best of what New England has to offer with some Vietnamese flair.
“So the menu, it's based on traditional flavors, but we definitely fuse in. A lot of Chef Peter Ngyuen influences. He's from Dorchester, Massachusetts. Also, he's traveled and cooked in the south. It's a refreshing take on Vietnamese cuisine. There's nothing like it in the area.”
To get your meal started, you could opt for Le Madeline's addictive garlicky wings…
Or try their take on chips and dip, featuring shrimp crackers with a lemongrass French onion dip and caviar for some crunch.
“You get that crunch and a savoriness from chips. You get that really nice creamy oniony allium flavor from a dip itself. And that salinity from the caviar on top. It’s a great way to start an appetizer chip and dip with your family friends or whoever it is on the table.”
But for a truly unique experience try the Banh Khot. These savory turmeric coconut cakes are spiked with shrimp and scallions and served with fresh herbs, veggies and lettuce to wrap it all into one delicious bite.
“So these are Vietnamese based. They are small little nuggets of coconut crepe. It should be fluffy and soft ton the inside, topped with a shrimp and you wrap them with some lettuce and dip them in a fish sauce. So it should be layers and layers of flavor as you go through that .”
The flavors of the east and the west continue throughout the menu, and the smash patty is a perfect example.
“So just marinate some patties, smash them, cheese, pickled carrots, Daikon, some fresh cucumbers, some confit scallions, some aioli on top and some fish sauce glaze. It's like a mash up between a bahnmi and burger burger. It's very good.”
And they continue that theme with their Wagyu Hot Dog.
“So it's an all beef wagyu hot dog grilled top with pickled carrots, daikon. You get the crispness when a bond, the nice crunch, the nice nap with the hot dog. You get the acid from the pickles, you know, the creaminess, the yolk in order flavor from aioli just kind of just melts in our mouth.”
And since we're talking about handhelds, check out this Asian take on a classic New England Lobster Roll, combining fried lobster tossed in tamarind, served on buttery brioche, with tobiko for added crunch.
“That will definitely take you through a journey. It's definitely a different lobster roll. It’s definitely something worth trying.”
Chef Nguyen also gives his customers a Cajun take on Vietnamese food in the form of his Viet Cajun Crawfish Noodles.
“So crawfish noodles is a take that I've done with a dish down south. It's a stir fried egg noodles with Chinese sausage XO sauce, buttered crawfish on top. Parmesan cheese and salmon roe. You gotta try it.”
And as an homage to owner Tam, he has created an authentic beef noodle soup native to his homeland.
“That’s straight up very traditional, that's the region where Tam’s family is from. It’s a beef broth with lemongrass noodles, cook some really beautiful beef shank with tendons. It should be fresh. Very light at the same time. It's hot but not spicy. Nothing has been done to it. This is good the way it is. No one should change anything about it.”
And if you’re feeling indulgent, the Prime Rib is a must order for the table. This 60 ounce bone in tomahawk comes with caramelized onions, blistered cherry tomatoes, a runny egg, Vietnamese fried ham, bone marrow, and a baguette.
“It should be sizzling, you should turn your head right away can smell it, you know, as it's still cooking on the pan as it's being brought to the table. If you’re a steak guy like me, I would definitely order for a table. It could be as great as an appetizer share first or it could be great to share as a dinner. It’s a show stopper.”
And from start to finish, you’ll find unique dishes and drinks that truly put the ‘new’ in New American cuisine at Le Madeline.
“We want to feel like we've taken them on just a fun, exciting journey, something that they didn't expect when they came in. Different flavors, different combinations of dishes that they didn't expect to come in.”
