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Baoguette

So I’ve heard a lot of hype about the bánh mì’s found at serial restaurant-opener Michael Hyunh’s Baoguette. We happened upon their East Village location and decided to see if their vietnamese sandwich was any good. We tried their standard bánh mì as it was a good basis for comparison.

This really is pretty much your standard bánh mì and although it’s under the guise of being cheap at $5, it’s still just a bit more expensive than Chinatown spots like Saigon Bakery. That being said, the thing tasted good, with fresh bread and your usual pork, pate, carrots, cilantro, cucumber, sriracha sauce…. but it was a little bit small and unsatisfying.

So, my verdict on the bánh mì found at Baoguette… they’re good! Quite tasty, but I’d only really hop into this place if I was in the area. Cheaper and more satisfying (and arguably better) bánh mìs are to be found in Chinatown.

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Chicken House – Stick To Fried Chicken!!

So, a while ago my co-worker and I walked by Chicken House (we affectionately refer to it as Chicken Hole) on 36th street and 8th avenue and for a minute I thought they closed down because as I recall, the place was grimy as hell. As it turns out, the place was going through a ‘massive’ remodeling.

This place used to be a dumpy hole in the wall, and now it’s remodeled into a… nicer hole in the wall. It’s basically a place where you go to get yourself 3 pieces of Fried Chicken for four bucks with fries. It’s not that the chicken is great or bad, it’s simply fried chicken and it’s hard to go wrong. You get a wealth of food and if you throw some tabasco and tartar sauce on the whole thing you get an awesome unhealthy meal.

Here’s a before and after of the facade stolen right from Midtown Lunch

Beautiful.

Anyway, I had no idea that this place was owned by Vietnamese people, and with their remodeling, they also expanded into Vietnamese cuisine. DON’T DO IT.

As an avid lover of bánh mìs, I couldn’t resist trying. I set my expectations pretty low because.. let’s face it: Most of the restaurants in this area suck. My co-worker had the right idea, he just got the usual 3-piece fried chicken deal. His four dollars well spent.

The bánh mì took an excruciatingly long time to make, it may have been their first time getting an order for once since reopening. I got their $5 pork role & pate bánh mì. When we finally got back to eat at the office, I pulled the sandwich out of it’s ’sleeve’ to reveal a whole lotta bread and not a whole lotta pork anything.

In Chinatown you can get a bánh mì that has it all, but here you only get just a taste of what could have been. Chicken House’s vietnamese sandwich was pretty boring and ridiculously dry. Not much love was put in this sandwich! Too much bread. The fact that it didn’t have a variety of pork product was also upsetting. A disappointing affair. Was the remodel worth it??

Stick to fried chicken if you come here!

Chicken House is located at 270 W. 36th St.

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Saigon Bánh Mì So 1

Here’s another bit of a taste test. I previously reviewed Saigon Bakery’s bánh mì and figured it would be a good idea to review Saigon Bánh Mì So 1, which is a block away around the corner on Broome St. I ordered their #1 House Special, which is pretty much your standard bánh mì with pork roll, grilled pork and ‘vietnamese salami,’ and their Vietnamese Meatball sandwich.

I have been coming to Saigon Bánh Mì So 1 for about a year and have always found their sandwiches to be quite delicious, but I think recently the quality is starting to suffer a little. The tiny storefront has recently expanded and with it comes a price increase from $3.50 to $4.25. A bit of a steep hike if I do say so…

The House Special is pretty tasty, but I found the sandwich to be a little less bulging than Saigon Bakery’s. The baguette was also a little bit dry and harder to eat. I like my bánh mìs overflowing with pork! Either way, the sandwich is still great but a little dry overall. Saigon Bakery’s sandwich comes with much more mayonnaise which significantly alters the texture. That being said, Saigon Bánh Mì So’s sandwich is still very deliciously spiced and maybe it was just an off-day, I know for certain that I’ve had some great sandwiches from here.

I usually find something I like and repeatedly get the same thing, but attempting to be adventurous I also got their Vietnamese meatball sandwich. I think this sandwich had a larger helping of meat and was definitely more moist (a little moist actually). The meatball was tasty and I enjoyed that the sandwich wasn’t as dry, but I still think the House Special is a superior sandwich, quite simply because the combination of pork is more interesting. The meatball had a bit of a boring flavor. I will have to see how Saigon Bakery’s meatball bánh mì compares.

So, at the moment I’d have to hand it to Saigon Bakery for consistency on sandwich quality. I have had great experiences at Saigon Bánh Mì So 1 but I have found that recently, the sandwiches are a little too dry and not as jam-packed as they once were, and with the recent price hike I’d probably hit up Saigon Bakery because it’s only a block away. Regardless, I’ll keep coming back.

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Bánh Mì Saigon Bakery

I have a deep, deep love for bánh mì – the vietnamese sandwich. Coming about during the period of French colonialism in Indochina, the bánh mì combines the ingredients of both Vietnamese and French cultures. The bánh mì traditionally consists of ham, pork roll, minced barbecue pork, picked carrots, daikon radish, cucumber, cilantro, pork liver pate – all sandwiched in a crisp french baguette. The sheer amount of pork products ensure an always enjoyable experience.

Bánh Mì Saigon Bakery is located at 138 Mott St. and doubles as a sandwich stand and jewelry store. There’s a lot of hype about this place and there’s generally a line but the bánh mì is worth it.

Saigon Bakery’s bánh mì features a hefty portion of sweet glazed barbecue pork and the addition of mayonnaise makes the sandwich a hit. When you ask for spicy, you get ridiculously fresh jalapeños. My general complaint about bánh mì’s is that they are usually not packed tight enough to have a cohesive flavor, and I feel like I’m getting every bit of taste in sections. As pictured, you can see how the barbecue pork is off to one side while the pork roll with carrots and daikon are off to the other one. Very minor annoyance. Sandwich is still delicious. At $3.75, Saigon Bakery’s #1 bánh mì is huge bang for your buck. A big-ass tasty sandwich filled to the brim of the baguette! Go get one! The line goes fast!