Banh Mi Cart Update

The banh mi cart is where I had my first banh mi.  I like it a lot.  The bread stays crisp, chewy, with some deliciousness inside, and yummy flavors, and… it’s really close to where I work.  I pass it whenever I’m on my way back from the gym.  I was kind of annoyed when they raised the prices, but after a few weeks’ hiatus, I decided to go back and try every sandwich they offer. 

First time back, though, I had the regular, just to see if it tasted different after a $1 price hike.

No.  It was still pretty damn delicious.  I was very happy with my choice.  And the Vietnamese iced coffee is great too – a zing to get me through the rest of the afternoon (although I can’t have it often as I am very prone to heart palpitations… oops). 

Next up was the pork roll & eggs baguette (says the menu).  This took a lil longer to make, but when it came…

This thing is packed with scrambled/fried eggs and other yummy stuff.  I wonder if they’d add scrambled egg to the first sandwich if I asked nicely.  The egg really fluffs up this sandwich and makes it super, super filling, I was REALLY stuffed after I finished eating.

Blurry pick of the inside.  Mmmmm, that was good.

The one sort of weird thing was that all this liquid poured out of the sandwich and made the bag really soggy.  The bread stayed crisp, but I ate it pretty quickly; if you plan on eating it a little later, you might have problems. 

Here’s a shot of the mob scene one day that drove me to eat from the cart across the street.  They have changed their ordering system a few times now – first you would leave your name and they’d call your name when it was ready, and you’d pay then.  (I didn’t think this was a good idea, because people could get impatient after ordering and then leave without paying…)  The last time I went, they gave you a slip of paper with a number on it – maybe too many people had the same name?

The day after that mob scene, I went back to try the pan fried beef baguette, but they were out (it was 3, 3:30ish).  In fact, they said, “We are out of every sandwich and only have enough to make one more regular,” so I said, well, sign me up.  While I was waiting, the guy handed me an order of spring rolls and said, “Oh, on the house… we’re leaving after this since we have no more sandwiches, take it,” which I thought was pretty nice of them. 

Also, I mentioned before about the young guy who works there being borderline unfriendly?  Either he read my blog (doubtful) or maybe now he recognizes me? because he has been a lot nicer the last few times I went, which is cool.  They added a third person to the operation (usually a woman) who takes the orders and handles the money, which makes things a little quicker. 

While the egg rolls were tasty dipped into the accompanying fish sauce, I don’t know that I’d pay $3 for these. 

And here are some beauty shots of the special sandwich I got that day.

I think it was a lil more stuffed since it was the last one that day – they had to turn people away while I was waiting for my sandwich. 

It was damn good.

Mmmmm.

Picture of the menu on May 13, 2009.  It changes every once in a while – mostly the stuff in black gets added or subtracted, sometimes they have the rolls/seaweed salad/shrimp cocktail/bubble tea/beef jerky… sometimes they don’t.  The green items mostly remain the same, though.  I suggest calling ahead of time to see what’s up, though. 

The very last time I went, I decided to get the Vietnamese meatball sandwich.  For some reason, I expected beefballs – like you get in pho? – sliced up and slipped in, which I thought would be interesting.  Instead, it was more like a… hash?  A very mushy consistency, almost paste like?  This was spicy on its own, I think, because this sandwich was the spiciest I’d had at the cart (I always ask for not spicy or just a lil spicy).  I was really uncomfortable while eating it, actually – my mouth was burning and numb all at the same time.  I also wasn’t a fan of the texture, which was too overall soft for me. 

I thought, “I won’t be getting this one again!”

I actually haven’t been back since this sandwich because I got really sick after I’d eaten it.  It didn’t taste sour or rotten or anything, but I got sick enough that [you don’t want to know], then I didn’t eat for a few days, and I just didn’t want to go back just yet.  Kind of sad, yeah?  Yeah…

I’ll definitely be going back, though- I still want to try the rest of their sandwiches!  Maybe I’ll give that phone-in-your-order thing a try one of these days, too.  I just will not be eating the Vietnamese meatball sandwich… and though I don’t advise you guys to eat it, I talked to someone else who’d had it and found it fine, didn’t get sick.  So it could have just been that one, or maybe it’s just me. 

Mmm… banh mi.

Yvo says: Though during peak hours, it seems to get a bit crazy for wait times, I definitely recommend you have a sandwich from this cart.  They are all freshly prepared to your specifications (thus the wait), they are totally yummy, and honestly, $6 is more than what you’d pay if you went to Chinatown, but you’re not in Chinatown.  They brought the sandwich to you (practically)!  They’re good sandwiches, with high quality ingredients, and seriously yummy stuff.  If you’re a big eater, I recommend the sandwich with egg because that one was definitely the most filling that I’ve tried so far.  (Expect more updates as I work my way through the rest of the menu!) 
very highly recommended (this is so much more interesting than any other cart in the area, no?)

Banh Mi Cart
outside 10 Hanover Square
(646) 996-8990
[call ahead orders for pick up]