Simply Sandwiches » Bahn Mi

Xie Xie for Shredded Beef and Mayo

Ben — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:36:14 +0000

When Xie Xie (645 9th Ave, between 45th and 46th St.) opened a few months back it got more fanfare than nearly any other sandwich shop opening in recent memory. People were throwing around words like ‘concept’ and ‘project’ and generally seemed very pleased to be talking about an ‘asian sandwich shop.’ Maybe I’m jaded, but ‘asian sandwiches’ doesn’t have some kind of magical cultural cache that people are giving to Xie Xie. Between the words there’s almost a self-congratulatory we’re-so-cultured-aren’t-we-cool tone. All that baloney put me off a bit: sandwiches are sandwiches, who cares if they’re cambodian or ‘asian inspired’ or english or whatever? The more the merrier I say! Love them all! Eventually it wore off (or worked) and I happily took a walk to 9th Ave.

I tried the Vietnamese BBQ Beef ($9), apparently their most popular item. It was incredibly savory from the basil-mayo and shredded beef with a bit of pickled-carrots to add texture and spice. It is delicious, all the marketing buzz was right! Bite after bite of delicious buttery beef and mayo. God I love mayo. Like most sandwiches, it wasn’t perfect, there was a lot of filling creep and the sesame bun could’ve done a better job holding it all together, but those aren’t deal-breakers.

Ignore the buzz – eat the sandwiches!

Complex and well delivered:

They all come in these clear plastic trays:

The carrots were a bit haphazard but wonderfully bright:

Visitor, say hello to mayo and beef:

Num Pang: Bahn Mi Wannabe

Ben — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:22:38 +0000

Num Pang (12 E 12th Street) is everything I want a sandwich shop to be. It’s got a cute little storefront where people line up at the window. It’s got a cozy little seating area with nice views of 12th street. It’s got a new angle on the bahn mi to share with the world, a certain required cultural weight that New York just loves. How many cambodian sandwich shops have you seen? (I can already hear someone being corrected, “It’s not a bahn mi, it’s a num pang!”) The one and only problem with Num Pang is that the sandwiches are nothing special.

I tried the pulled pork ($7.50) and the catfish ($7.25) and both were unbalanced and incredibly soft. Almost like eating exotic sandwiches made for nursing homes or dentists offices, “No teeth needed!” The pulled pork was incredibly sweet and I could barely taste the meat through the sauce and the chili mayo. The veggies (carrots, cilantro and cucumbers) were fresh and bright and gave some relief from the texture, but by and large were swallowed up by the mass of mush. The bread texture was the best part: lightly toasted and perfectly crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Bite after bite I couldn’t figure out why everyone was so enamored with these mushy wich’s, it tasted like too many oils mixing improperly and I almost couldn’t finish it, managing only by taking a break and trying the catfish.

The catfish was much better. It had none of the overpowering sweetness to it and the light fish complemented the greens extremely well. This one I could eat without wincing, though I would still recommend getting something to drink as you will want some relief. Perhaps it’s the chili mayo or some kind of oil in the bread, but these sandwiches are much heavier and denser than bahn mi’s. As you can see from the pictures, the sandwiches are sized somewhere in between light-lunch and snack. Compared to other bahn mi shops, these sandwiches are outrageous, charging almost twice what other shops charge (most charge around $4) and not even filling you up! I guess that’s what happens when you open shop near union square instead of the LES or Chinatown.

Fairly complex sandwiches with mediocre ingredients means high strategy and medium execution.

Brothers in Arms:

Fishyslice:

Fishyface:

Porker:

Porkerface:

NYTimes gives Bahn Mi’s a Big Hug

Ben — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:26:04 +0000

Today the NYTimes did a great piece on Bahn Mi’s in the city! They cover the latest bahn-buzz: Num Pang, Baguette, Nha Toi and even has a listing of Bahn Mi places in the city (though they forgot about Nicky’s). Coincidentally, I went to Num Pang yesterday and will post the review shortly. They also have this awesome exploded graphic of Bahn Mi’s to give you a heavy dose of sandwich theory. Now that sandwiches have hit mainstream, the bahn mi get’s it’s minutes of fame, let’s hope they last because they are delicious!

Pulled Pork from Num Pang

Nicky’s Tasty Bánh mì

Ben — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:38:28 +0000

I spend most of my day reading for delicious sandwiches online. For the past few months, Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches (150 East 2nd Street, between Ave. A & B) have constantly popped up as the (or one of the) best Vietnamese sandwich (thats “Bánh mì”) joint in NYC. (Astute readers will also notice that it’s been on the ‘wich list (to the right) for a while.) Anyhow, it’s really tasty. I stuck with the classic: pate, Vietnamese ham, roasted ground pork, pickled carrots, cucumber, cilantro, and mayo on a toasted French baguette ($4.50). You didn’t read that wrong, it’s under $5. While I like to promote quality over quantity, that is simply amazing. You could almost have two for the price of a sandwich at ‘wichcraft (chicken breast sandwiches are $9.50), or three for the price of some buttery Katz’s pastrami ($15). Thats a lot of sandwiches.

Onto the sandwich. The bread was perfect: soft on the inside, lightly toasted and crunchy on the outside. It was never chewy or disturbed the fillings. The sandwich was delicious. The veggies give it a very fresh snap and cool contrast to the warm baguette. The pate provides a sweet aftertaste that was a bit surprising at first, but grew on me bite after bite. Overall it was filling and delicious.

They also have amazing lemonade, get three.