summer roll | Johnny Prime

Our friends just opened a banh mi shop in Chelsea Market called Hoi An. They offer a ton of great food at good prices.

We tried two of their sandwiches: the classic/house sandwich, and the brisket pastrami pho sandwich. Tough to choose a winner between these two.

The brisket is equal parts Katz deli, and equal parts your favorite bowl of pho from Chinatown. Totally unique and delicious.

But the traditional sandwich hits hard, packing a ton of flavor from house made pate and meats. This is a top three banh mi for me.

We also loved their papaya salad with beef jerky. Tender and delicious. A nice mix of sweet and spicy.

But don’t sleep on their summer rolls. These sausage summer rolls might have been my favorite of the day.

They also serve some nice Vietnamese egg coffee, tea, and this coconut and coffee slush:

I can’t wait to go back and try the rest of the menu!

HOI AN
Chelsea Market
75 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10011

My wife and I went to Hanoi House with some friends. I wasn’t expecting such a great showing of Vietnamese food, as NYC is notoriously not that great for the cuisine. I was pleasantly surprised.

We started with a beef tongue sandwich that we split among the four of us. I didn’t shoot it, but man was it delicious. The tongue was braised and super tender, and dressed with chili, lime, cilantro, and a coconut curry type sauce. Just the right balance of savory, spicy and sweet. A must order.

We also shared an order of summer rolls, which were filled with shrimp, pork, herbs, and crispy egg roll skin (all inside the soft rice paper wrap). These were the best I’ve had in NYC (I also failed to get a photo of these – apologies).

The pho was fantastic. The broth was more robust and murky than other places I’ve been. While many pho bowl slingers strive for a clear, almost consomme-like broth, this place embraced the opposite. I could taste the herbs and spices that simmered for hours.

I added the marrow and braised oxtail into the mix, which upped the cost by $8, but it was totally worth it. This is currently my favorite bowl in NYC. Hands down.

My wife ordered this beautiful and delicious lobster noodle dish, which also had some pork roll in the mix as well. The noodles were perfectly cooked, and the portion size was generous, especially considering it was a good sized lobster.