van's vietnamese restaurant

definitely worth the visit!. bf and i went to van's while visiting the capital district from ga for a graduation. i wanted something different and miss the food from ny (it's just better, sorry my southern friends!) and the reviews convinced me it was somewhere i wanted to try. i was not disappointed. there was one very harried server working on a slow sunday but we were in no rush. we had the stuffed chicken wings for an app and they were good but definitely needed the nuoc nam dipping sauce to make them taste better. a little bit of fresh herb garnish would have taken them a long way. i had the bone in halfduckand it was truly yummy. i could actually taste the marinade and theduckwas very tender and flavorful, skin crispy and not dry or giving you the impression that it had been waiting around under a heat lamp for someone to order it. bf had the grilled pork with rice paper wraps and vermicelli and that was truly an above average dish. pork had a nice grilled flavor, the meat was tender and again you could actually taste that it had been marinated with no shortcuts. but what made this meal for me was the sides. fresh fresh fresh! lovely sprigs of fresh cilantro, basil, cucumber and pickled daikon and carrot just made everything taste so gooooood. despite business picking up while we were there our server was nice enough to explain how everything went together for us and with both of us being line cooks we managed to actually make some pretty decent rice paper wraps before we left. portions were more than enough for one (i ate it again for dinner) and the next time we visit albany we will definitely be stopping in again at van's. i'll echo the comments of some other diners who said they can't understand why some had such bad experiences. we had a great time!

best pho in town. great pho soup & also pleasant service. not sure what problems other reviewers had. their house style vietnameseduck(de-boned) is fantastic. prices are reasonable for food and drinks.
make sure you get there early on weekends.

best in albany, hands down. van's is not only the best vietnamese restaurant in albany, but the best of those i've tried in the sarasota, florida area as well. every one of their dishes is terrific. their servings are quite large and their prices are very very reasonable. their crispyduckis unbelievable; theduckis very meaty, yet very crispy. we have taken numerous out of town visitors here and it never fails to impress. their nuoc mam sauce is terrific. actually, everything we have tried is terrific. the only thing i can't speak for are their soups, which i have never tried. so, for those visiting the albany, ny area you must try van's. and for those living in the albany area who have not tried van's, what have you been waiting for?