Yup, I took a trip to Brooklyn to sample another banh mi place. Well, I'd heard a lot about it in the past, and AWL asked me if I wanted to check it out with her, so I was game... even after I found out it's really f*cking far by train from me. Oh well! I went on a Sunday afternoon and it was nice hot and sunny. There weren't many people in Ba Xuyen, but people trickled in and out as we sat there, eating.
I lucked out because RC didn't mind sharing two sandwiches with me, so, per usual, continuing the banh mi bender, I ordered a grilled pork and a regular/pate (here called the Combination). The above is the grilled pork. Hmm... it was REALLY wet. The insides were really wet with mayo? butter? (the menu says butter, but we all thought it was mayo), and squished out happily while we ate. I mean, the table in front of me was a MESS, littered with my sandwich bits. Gah. The flavor was alright, but I didn't like how messy the sandwich was, and the bread was unremarkable.
Here is the combination: lots of good stuff inside, though for some reason, I had trouble eating this as it seemed really excessively spicy to me. Gack. Otherwise, the flavors and overall combination were good, but they're also pretty standard. The bread being unremarkable is a big deal for this sandwich; because the innards tend to be the same (ham, head cheese, pork roll, cilantro, pickled veggies, etc.), the bread really makes a place's banh mi stand out, suck, or fall to the back of your mind. This was the third one: unremarkable.
Yvo says: The sandwiches were good. And they have avocado shakes here! But honestly, it's quite out of the way for most people unless they live in the area - it's not even very close to the train station. I couldn't comfortably call this destination dining - as in, don't really go that far out of your way to eat here - although their banh mi do rank on the low end of price at $3.75 a piece. Yummy, but not OMG GO HERE NOW yummy... not like Robicelli's (where I went after this banh mi, haha).
recommended, but don't go too far out of your way for it, not worth a special trip
Banh Mi Bender, Part 1 of 4 - Paris
Banh Mi Bender, Part 2 of 4 - Banh Mi Saigon Bakery
Banh Mi Bender, Part 3 of 4 - Ba Xuyen
I got yelled at when I said Saigon Bakery was the best banh mi I've had by my coworkers last year, they actually insisted that this was the best NYC had to offer. I agree though, nothing overly special, just a good deal. To each their own I guess.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast to you other posts the bread is almost non existent in these pics, so I see your point.
ReplyDeleteAnd head cheese? Should've never been created nor consumed by the common man. Or anyone for that matter. Just my opinion. Don't come after me for that.
::running away quickly:: [well before I click a gazillion times to get this posted. sigh.
Have you heard of Dhaba in Curry Hill? I just read about it on www.askmelissa.com and I'm really looking forward to trying it out--sounds delicious! Here's the link if you're interested in trying it out too...us Foodies can never have enough indian! http://www.askmelissa.com/index.php/features/dhaba_09-24-09
ReplyDeleteThat's too bad it wasn't worth the trip, it's a lot of work for a mediocre sandwich.
ReplyDeletego Robicelli's! I wish they weren't so damn far.
ReplyDelete