Vietnamese cuisine is experiencing a boom in the US.

Sandwiches are considered a quintessential American food. Another item on the menu of Vietnamese origin, pho, is also becoming increasingly popular in the US.

Overall, Vietnamese dishes on the menu are gaining attention in the culinary scene of the United States.

"Vietnamese cuisine is like a ship that can hold many different influences, which makes it so recognizable," Tu David Phu, a former Top Chef contestant, told The Food Institute .

"There are many points of cultural intersection within Vietnamese culture, so Vietnamese cuisine has developed in many aspects reflecting different identities," he added.

Vietnamese cuisine at a famous restaurant in Texas.

According to The Tanner Food Group and SIAL America, the US has become a "hot spot" for Vietnamese cuisine, evidenced by the nearly 8,000 Vietnamese restaurants currently operating across the country.

In its 2023 Food Trends Forecast, the National Restaurant Association of America identified Southeast Asian cuisine (including Vietnamese, Singaporean, and Filipino dishes) as its top global trend.

Michael Murdy, a food scientist and founder of the food website robustkitchen.com, said: "The increasing popularity of Vietnamese cuisine in particular is linked to the diversity of flavors and textures it offers. The combination of sour, sweet, salty, and spicy flavors, as well as the use of greens and herbs, makes Vietnamese food especially appealing to everyone."

Meanwhile, Trendincite expert Amy Marks-McGee stated, "I've seen Vietnamese food make a strong inroads into the U.S. over the past few years." The pandemic has created opportunities for restaurants offering bold international cuisine, such as Vietnamese dishes, as more customers increasingly crave unique flavors not found in their pantries. As a result, fledgling Vietnamese restaurants with drive-thru features have gained momentum, such as Saigon Hustle in Houston.

Cassi Ghaffer and Sandy Nguyen co-run the Saigon Hustle drive-through restaurant in Houston.

Saigon Hustle opened along Texas' Gulf Coast in February 2022 and quickly received $1 million in investment from Savory Fund. The restaurant owners said they felt the drive-thru model tended to make eating exotic, foreign food less "intimidating" for Americans.

The main dish sold at Saigon Hustle is the banh mi. Banh mi is always a delightful treat, featuring incredibly fresh ingredients like cilantro, lemongrass, carrots, and chili peppers, along with fish sauce and tender pork, sometimes costing only $6.

The reason sandwiches are so well-received in America: "The taste is both familiar and slightly different," says Tu David Phu.

"Pho and banh mi are classics of Vietnamese cuisine, but I'm sure that dishes like bun rieu, bun mam, and banh canh are becoming increasingly popular exponentially," he emphasized.

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