Bread has been the vehicle of sustenance for ages of afternoon gnash. Every culture seems to have some variation of a “sandwich”, whether it be stuffing vegetables and/or meat in between sliced bread, pita, tortilla, loafs, buns or rolls. In New York, the best known version is the dirty water hot dog sold many corners of every borough. However, my favorite sandwiches are the Spicy Italian hero, the middle eastern Falafel and Hummas in pita, the French Croque-madam, the traditional Cuban Sandwich (sans pickles), the NOLA Po’boy, Katz Pastrami on rye, or the Vietnamese Bánh Mì.
In my short time being in New York, I’ve not seen any food trends in sandwich making world, so when I see Bánh Mì shops pop up every month for the last few months, you know there’s either a fresh influx of Vietnamese, or it’s a wondrous trend on the classic.
I just checked out a new spot in Sau Voi. I’ve walked by this chinese CD and cassette shop many times but never knew there was a sandwich counter in there…. right next to the lotto and cigarettes. The Bahn Mi was good and cheap. I’ll put it in the rotation with my other regulars at Paris and Banh Mi So 1. I failed to the higher end Baoguette, or the low key Ba Xuyen in Brooklyn.
Then after lunch I see in the NY Times, a story by Julia Moskin about the evolution of the Bahn Mi in New York [Building on Layers of Tradition]. I now have several others to check out in the mad rush to improve on the Vietnamese sandwich…. none yet can compare to those I pick up in San Jose, CA
