Pretty Boy is a modern Vietnamese restaurant in Athens led by first-generation Vietnamese American chef Kenny Nguyen. I recently tasted his grilled Viet street corn with coconut milk, fried garlic and scallions and found it to be outstanding.

Elotes is a Mexican street food that has gained popularity in the U.S. as a summer side dish. Featuring grilled corn slathered with mayonnaise and topped with garlic, cilantro, spices, cotija cheese and lime, it’s a flavor explosion.

The Southeast Asian flavors are bright and bold in the version that Nguyen offers at Pretty Boy. Sour, salty, bitter and sweet with a punch of umami, it covers all the flavor bases.

I reached out to the restaurant, and Chef Nguyen sent me a modified version more suited to the home kitchen, which I then tweaked again

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