Tag Archives: bahn mi

Banh Mi, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews, Vietnamese

Paris Sandwich

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My wife and I stopped in this little joint to sample some sandwiches. Over the last week I’ve put away six or seven different banh mi sandwiches, and this place served up the best of the lot.

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We went with the classic bologna and pate banh mi, as well as the grilled pork. The bread was softer and less flakey than most baguettes, but it was still crisp and delicious.

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The meats were delicious, and packed well with abundance. The grilled pork had hints of lemongrass, and the pork roll and pate sandwich had great texture. At $5 each, this place is a steal.

PARIS SANDWICH
213 Grand St
New York, NY 10013

Banh Mi, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews, Vietnamese

Banh Mi Saigon

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This no-frills Vietnamese sandwich joint is pretty legit.

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They even have the jewelry case in the front of the restaurant as you walk in, which seems to be a somewhat common occurrence in NYC Vietnamese sub shops.

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The banh mi were packed with meat. We tried both the classic bologna pate and the chicken. Of the two, my favorite was the chicken. It was nicely marinated in herbs and spices like lemongrass, and the meat was soft and flavorful. The pickled veggies were shredded and remained crunchy, though the cucumbers should have been cut down a bit thinner, with the skin removed.

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The bread was super crispy, tearing the roof of my mouth up, but such is the life of a banh mi fanatic.

BANH MI SAIGON
198 Grand St
New York, NY 10013

Banh Mi, Deli, Lower East Side/Chinatown, Restaurant Reviews, Vietnamese

Sau Voi Corp

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NOTE: THIS PLACE IS NOW CLOSED

This little corner Vietnamese bodega was a staple spot for me and my wife when we lived nearby.

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They sell everything from Vietnamese variety show VCDs to music CDs, over the counter meds to dry goods and trinkets.

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But they also sell banh mi sandwiches.

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I grabbed two on my way home from jury duty, which brought me back into my old stomping grounds.

The classic: ham, pate and slices of pork roll with pickled veggies, cilantro, mayo and sri racha.

The spicy BBQ pork: BBQ pork with pickled veggies, cilantro, mayo, BBQ sauce and sri racha.

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Both were really tasty and flavorful. The bread here is likely made early in the morning. When I arrived it was still being kept warm in a toaster oven type thing, but it may have dried out a bit in the hours it was there. The French bread was crispy and flaky, so much so that the roof of your mouth gets raped pretty hard, but the sandwich flavors make it worth the pain. These sandwiches are pretty solid for a cheap Chinatown deli shop. Stop in if you’re nearby.

SAU VOI CORP.
101 Lafayette St #3
New York, NY 10013

Banh Mi, Pho, Restaurant Reviews, Upper West Side, Vietnamese

BONMi

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BONMi is a Vietnamese-ish soup, sandwich and breakfast joint that opened about nine months ago on 62nd between Columbus and Amsterdam.

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The menu is simple, fresh and straight-forward:

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Unlike traditional pho, the soup here has very thin, rounded noodles, as opposed to wider, flat noodles. The broth is beef or veggie stock, and you can add a variety of meats as toppings. We went with 18-hour beef in beef stock, with a lemongrass sauce and everything but carrots on top. It was pretty good! Just don’t expect that robust pho flavor. This is more like a standard noodle soup than pho.

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The sandwich, however, keeps it pretty real to banh mi. The flavor profile is similar, though not with exactitude, and the bread is good quality, crunchy, fresh French baguette style:

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It is a bit short on length for the price point, but it is packed to the gills with meat and toppings. This is the pork belly filling:

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The joint also serves pre-made salads, summer rolls and other Vietnamese items, like this fresh brewed coffee:

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For all three items it was just over $22. Not bad, considering the quality was acceptable to me, and even passed muster with my wife (her heritage is Vietnamese, so she is naturally picky when it comes to anything claiming to be remotely Vietnamese). Give it a shot!

BONMI
150 W. 62nd St.
New York, NY 10023