Bánh Mì Showdown: New York

Bánh Mì is a very popular sandwich in the Vietnamese culture. Bánh literally means biscuit or cake and mì means flour or wheat. It is a sandwich or “sub” made with both wheat and rice flour – giving it a light fluffy texture inside. When it is toasted, the crust becomes crispy and flaky. Between 1887 – 1945, the French had colonized present-day Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Bánh mì is a fusion of common Vietnamese ingredients such as cilantro, hot peppers, fish sauce and pickled carrots/daikon and native French ingredients like baguettes, pâté and mayonnaise. My favorite combination growing up was a baguette sprinkled with Maggi soy sauce, a touch of their butter/mayo spread, pâté, layered with Viet deli meats, a sliced pickle, julienne pickled carrots/daikon, minced chilies, and cilantro. Popular fillings vary nowadays in different regions of the world, from the original cold cuts and meatballs to pork and tofu. The average price is around $3, so be fooled into thinking higher priced bánh mì taste better. This blog post will be a culmination of all the bánh mì places I visit around Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.

Bánh Mì Saigon @ 98 Grand St

Bánh Mì Saigon - BBQ Pork

Filling: Too much carrots/daikon mix! When I dig deeper, there is one slice of Viet deli meat and a small amount of BBQ pork. Bread was crispy and they do cut the sandwich in half for you :) In terms of taste, I ordered it spicy, but didn’t get enough jalepenos.

Price: Major disappointment since the best tasting bánh mì sandwiches are $3 in Boston and these are $3.75. Although the BBQ pork was flavored well, the bread to veggie to meat ratio wasn’t equal.

Paris Sandwich Bakery Cafe @ 213 Grand St

Paris Sandwich Bakery Cafe - BBQ Pork

Filling: Alot more than Bánh Mì Saigon! I was actually surprised. Pork was seasoned okay, not as good as Bánh Mì Saigon.

Price: I’ve walked passed this shop countless times. The only reason why I waited so long to order from here was the price. Ridiculous! How are you charging me $4.25 for a BBQ Pork Bánh Mì =X

Paris Sandwich Bakery Cafe - Cold Cut and Pate

Filling: I love the variety of meats in this version. There was a good amount of pate with every bite. Meat/veggies to bread ratio was around the same amount. Since I order my Viet sub spicy, there was a good kick in the end because of their portion and size. Bread was crispy and light – toasted right. Haha. I just made a rhyme ;)

Price: Another expensive item on their menu. $4.50 :( The only good thing about this place, is that they take credit cards if your order is $10 or more.

– Charmin Bear J