Falansai Migrates to Greenpoint, and Embraces a New Beginning

1. The menu reads like a trip to Saigon via Oaxaca.

Vietnam may be more than 9,000 miles from Mexico, but Tran has a gift for finding where the cuisines of these two coastal countries rhyme. “You can go deeper and deeper into it,” Tran says. “How is it that I can have a tamale with banana leaf in Oaxaca and it looks just like the same thing in central Vietnam, except with rice flour instead of corn?”

Bánh giò, a classic steamed street snack, consists of a rice flour dough filled with pork, wrapped up into a pyramid shape using banana leaves. While it’s considered a dumpling in Vietnam, Tran couldn’t help but notice that the sensory experience of eating it mirrored that of savoring a tamale. As soon as you open either parcel, you’re hit with a blast of aromatic steam.

“I came up with a Vietnamese tamale for the menu,” Tran says. “Then I realized, ‘Wow, this is already happening.’” His hybrid tamale comes with tender shreds of duck neck.

Another mash-up that seems destined for cult status is the xiu mai, a lone meatball of epic proportions garnished with pickled onions and plenty of herbs. Think of this as a spherical sausage — Tran makes virtually all of his own charcuterie — masquerading as something you might see atop spaghetti.

“Mexican people have this dish called albóndigas, which is meatballs braised in a different type of tomato sauce or mole. The Vietnamese people usually have xiu mai, which is a meatball chopped with jicama — a vegetable that’s used in Vietnam and Mexico,” he says. “I’m like, all right, let’s combine the two and serve a baguette on the side.”

2. Think boldly flavorful, shareable mains.

Unlike Falansai’s previous space, the kitchen here can’t accommodate a grill or the roaring flame necessary to get that wok hei char. Undeterred, Tran is doubling down on the slower cooking methods at his disposal. “I have to go back to my classical techniques: roasting, braising, confiting,” he says. “I don’t feel prohibited. Our sauces, our soups, our curries, all those things are still happening.”

From the oven, there’s a crisp-skinned fish filet with vermicelli noodles. “We’re going to do this with a chile-lemongrass oil,” Tran says. “Everyone has their own version of chile crisp. This one has a lot of alliums, garlic, shallots, and a ton of lemongrass. It’s really great with the fish.”

During the colder months, you might see a bone-in cut of lamb — both shanks and necks have starred in the dish — on the ever-changing menu. The meat is braised for hours with cinnamon, star anise, and other spices you might find in a bowl of pho. “We’re having lamb pho-braised shank, except we’ll take it in a different direction,” Tran says. “We’ll serve it with tortillas to start. We’ll reduce the sauce down, glaze it up. You have all the pickles, a bunch of different sauces, both Vietnamese and Mexican salsas.”

3. Get ready to get your hands dirty.

The dac biet, which roughly translates as something “special,” has always been central to Falansai’s identity. It’s often described as a tasting menu, although if that conjures visions of tweezered garnishes and the need for a late-night snack, fear not. Tran’s menu is more of a generous multicourse feast for the whole table.

“We’re going to open with the à la carte menu, then we’ll build into the dac biet,” Tran says. “That probably means more eating with your hands and obviously sharing with the person next to you.”

While Falansai’s old home may have lent itself to larger banquets, its current intimate interior, awash in candlelight, gives the dac biet the air of an especially warm and lovely dinner party. “You can only come with your best friend or people you really want to spend time with, which I think makes for a great time,” Tran says. “The energy will always be there, because it’s filled with a bunch of people you really want to be with.”

4. Once a wine bar, always a wine bar.

Given that 120 Norman Avenue started out as a laid-back neighborhood wine bar, it scans that Falansai’s wine list goes hard. Expect a well-curated mix of easy-drinking, food-friendly bottles — both Old World and New — along with a few deep-cuts for the wine geeks.

“I would say that we love drinking wine with this food and I think that the wine list is created towards this menu,” Tran says. “There’s a lot of cool Champagnes on the list. There’s some more quirky grapes from familiar regions.”

5. Keep an eye on the daytime bakery.

Much to the relief of regulars, the daytime café is going to continue as it was — with a few extra additions. The bakery crew here has always had license to play around with the pastry case. One week might bring a guava bun, the next a rogue slice of birthday cake or cheesecake, just because.

That inventive spirit will continue, although future pastries are likely to incorporate Vietnamese and Mexican flavors. Specialty Vietnamese coffee drinks may also be in the works. “I personally don’t have a strong coffee background, and I know that everyone here does,” Tran says. “I’m pretty excited to work with them on coming up with new drinks that they’re excited to serve.”

Tran also hopes to amp up the savory side of the lunchtime offerings. The bao buns currently on the dinner menu are likely to surface earlier in the day. At least for now, he does not plan to add a bánh mì, since perfecting that bread’s specific airy crumb and crackle would require serious R&D. Instead, he plans to lean into the breads the team already has down.

“Brioche is awesome. Focaccia is delicious. Let’s get loose with it,” he says. “The classic bánh mì on brioche may not hit, but what about carnitas with liver mousse and pickled carrots and daikon, and cilantro? That doesn’t sound bad to me.”

5. Nostalgic desserts are in the works.

While Tran is focused on getting the savory side of things fully up and running, he has big plans for the dessert menu. “I think there’s a nostalgic thing that I really like with pastries,” he says. “You’ll probably see a lot of classics. I’ll try to push the envelope.”

There might be a stately slice of layer cake one day or various iterations of laminated dough cradling Vietnamese or Mexican-influenced fillings the next. Above all, expect sweets that are approachable and joyful, often with a clever twist. “I want people to be super happy with what they’re having,” Tran says. “One of the things that makes happiness, besides execution of the food, is hitting a memory or a feeling.”

Oh, and there’s a soft-serve machine. “A soft-serve sundae with Mexican hot fudge and peanuts?” Tran says. “That’s just fun.”

Falansai is open for dinner from Wednesday to Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m., and serves coffee and pastries daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Diana Hubbell is a James Beard Award-winning food and travel journalist whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Guardian, Atlas Obscura, VICE, Eater, Condé Nast Traveler, Esquire, WIRED, and Travel + Leisure, among other places. Previously based in Berlin and Bangkok, she currently lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Follow her on Instagram. Follow Resy, too.

Ben Hon is a New York-based photographer. Follow him on Instagram. Follow Resy, too.