The Archives

Bite vs. Bite, Little Italy, Small Shops
Pork Banh Mi with Pâté at Banh Mi Saigon – NYC
09.12.09 | Permalink | 2 Comments

Yes, I know banh mis are so early 2009, and yes, I know everyone knows about Banh Mi Saigon, the small Vietnamese sandwich shop in the back of a jewelry store on Mott Street, but I recently made an invaluable discovery. For the longest time, although I love the Pork Banh Mi ($3.75) at Banh Mi Saigon, I missed the pâté the other famous Vietnamese shop in Alphabet City has in their pork sandwiches. (As I mentioned in a previous post, I actually prefer the Alphabet City store, but for some weird reason I got food poisoning once, and now I go almost exclusively to Banh Mi Saigon.) So on a recent trip to Banh Mi Saigon, I asked if there was a way I could get some pâté in the Pork Banh Mi, and of course, it was just a matter of asking. For one dollar extra ($4.75 total), the wonderful people at Banh Mi Saigon will spread a very generous layer of creamy pâté, even possibly too much, into an already overstuffed sandwich of roast barbecued pork, Vietnamese bologna, fresh cucumber sticks, cilantro, jalapeno slices, pickled daikon, and pickled carrots. One bite and you’ll be serious umami heaven. Now if only I could get them to add some Vietnamese headcheese (giò thủ), life would be closer to perfect. MORE »
East Village, Small Shops
“Expen$ive” Banh Mis at Baoguette – NYC
05.28.09 | Permalink | 4 Comments

Catfish Banh Mi @ Baoguette

When David’s cousin, Alvin, told me he never had a banh mi before, I knew this problem had to be immediately rectified. The big question though was whether to take him to cheap but reliable Banh Mi Saigon or to fancy pants Baoguette. I’d been meaning to try Baoguette ever since TimeOut New York declared Baoguette’s classic banh mi to be the Best New Banh Mi of 2009. I’m not exactly sure why I trusted TimeOut, considering I’ve had quite a few unpleasant experiences with their past recommendations, but sometimes it’s hard not to fall for the hype. For example, Da Vinci Code, WTF?!

At the end, I chose to take Alvin to the new Baoguette on St. Marks since it was 1) closer to the train, 2) I never tried it before, and 3) I was trying to be a kind hostess by not dragging David’s cousin to a possibly scary hole-in-the-wall sandwich shop. We ordered two banh mis to share: the Catfish ($7) and the classic pork Baoguette ($5). Alvin laughed at me when he saw the prices. He hadn’t expected “the expensive Vietnamese sandwiches” to cost seven and under. OK, I know, $5 or $7 dollars is not a lot for a hero, but in Chinatown, a banh mi is only $3.50! Call me cheap, but those are the facts. Double the price = Expen$ive. MORE »
Chinatown, Restaurants
Banh Mi (Vietnamese Sandwich) at Pho So 1 – NYC
04.13.09 | Permalink | 3 Comments

My usual go-to banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) spot is Banh Mi Saigon on Mott Street. I used to prefer the other popular shop in Alphabet City, but then last summer, I got a severe case of food poisoning one day after eating a banh mi there. After that, I’ve been a bit wary of the place, and have been sticking to the Vietnamese sandwiches in Chinatown. Because trust me, if I got sick, something must have been terribly wrong.

Last week, I got off the N train on Canal Street with a craving for a banh mi, but for some reason, I didn’t want to go above Canal Street. Instead, I ended up wandering down Mott Street when I saw the grand opening sign for Pho So 1 advertising a ten percent discount off all of their Vietnamese sandwiches (take-out only). Banh mis, usually in the $3-$4 range, are cheap as is, but a ten percent discount on top of that was pretty ridiculous. So where some people would be scared of a discount on food in Chinatown, I readily descended into the depths of Pho So 1. MORE »