Coffee News
Dallas toast restaurant gets into kerfluffle over Vietnamese coffee
The toast-themed Dallas restaurant Toasted is serving a dumbed-down rendition of Vietnamese iced coffee. The dumbed-down part: It's combining cold brew coffee and sweetened condensed milk.
Vietnamese iced coffee is traditionally made using dark roast coffee, Vietnamese-grown if you're really being authentic, which gets placed in a filter that sits atop of your cup. Hot water is added, and the coffee drip drip drips into your cup. You add it to a glass with condensed milk and ice.
The coffee hack was revealed by a customer named Melody Vo, who ordered the drink anticipating the more traditional version.
Vo pointed out the discrepancy via a Yelp review, then documented her exchange with Toasted owner Bob Sinnott, confiding that "I never post on FB but this is too insane to not share."
In a text to Sinnott, Vo said that, "With Asian American Heritage Month coming up in May, this would be an awesome opportunity to serve real Vietnamese coffee or highlight a roaster who is among coffee with Vietnamese robusta beans."
Sinnott called Vo a "disgruntled ex-friend of an employee" and told her to remove her negative review or he would leave a retaliatory bad review of a company he mistook for her employer, which he then did.
Sinnott had a well publicized battle with Yelp in 2017, when he claimed to be suffering from harassment by the site.
Renowned Houston CultureMap food writer Eric Sandler says that the Toasted hack might be viable only if you were getting the drink to go.
"I would be very confused if someone served me cold brew with condensed milk and told me it was Vietnamese iced coffee," Sandler says. "Half the fun of ordering Vietnamese coffee is waiting for it to brew."
A more traditional version of Vietnamese iced coffee can be found at Bangkok City, a Thai restaurant, at 4301 Bryan St. UPDATE: Dallas devotees of Vietnamese iced coffee suggest supporting an actual Vietnamese restaurant such as Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen at 1907 Greenville Ave., or Vietnam Restaurant at 4302 Bryan St., or Mai's at 4812 Bryan St.
Chef Dominique CrennFacebook