I wasn’t sure what to do for lunch but had to be near Union Square, so I decided to stop by Num Pang Sandwich Shop, an old favorite on East 12th St, just west of University Place. It was pretty busy, with a line of about 7-8 people, but that’s what happens when word gets out about how good the food is.
To my surprise, there was a new special and it sounded pretty good. Today’s Lunch is a grilled portobello sandwich with concord grape vinaigrette ($8.40 after tax).
Yesterday’s lunch at Teriyaki Boy got me thinking about the Honorary Street Food category. When this happens, I often end up at Num Pang at 21 East 12th St, just west of University Place. It’s one of my favorite places for lunch, and Today’s Lunch is Ginger BBQ Brisket with Pickled Red Cabbage ($7.75).
Num Pang is the Cambodian version of banh mi, but there are some distinct differences. Both are served on baguette-style bread with meat or vegetables and toppings, but num pang does not include pate or pickled daikon. What is included is delicious. Find out more after the jump.
It’s time for another edition of Wall Street Winners – downtown street food vendors reviewed by FiDi Mama of the Money Grub blog. In this week’s installment, FiDi Mama reviews the NYC Banh Mi cart at the corner of Hanover Square and Pearl St. New York Street Food loves banh mi, so we were especially looking forward to this report.
Not only does FiDi Mama try the delicious-looking banh mi, but she returns at a later date for some summer rolls. Click through for her full review.
It’s been a while since I had banh mi for lunch, so I headed over to Baoguette in Murray Hill at 61 Lexington Ave between 25th & 26th St. Last time, at the West Village location, I had the Classic Baoguette and wanted to try something new. Today’s Lunch was the BBQ chicken sandwich.
The Baoguette on Christopher Street that I went to last time had around 6 or 7 tables and some counter seats, but this one in Murray Hill only had about 10 stools at a counter and no tables – a true Honorary Street Food establishment.
This banh mi had shredded carrot, whole cilantro stalks, pickled daikon, sliced cucumber, and garlic aioli. The BBQ chicken was mainly pieces of dark meat with a light BBQ flavor – tasty, but certainly not heavily marinated or sauced. The bread was nice, with a light crunch on the outside and soft on the inside. It got a little crushed on my trip back to the office, but that didn’t affect the taste, only the photo above.
Maybe it’s my New York upbringing, but I would have liked more meat on the sandwich. I grew up on Jewish deli, where the pastrami and corned beef sandwiches are huge. Meat in Asian meals is often more of a complement than the main course, and that was the case here. Everything tasted good, but the bites were mainly carrots and cilantro with some chicken included. The heat level was good – when I asked for medium spicy, it was definitely spicy.
All in all, Today’s Lunch was an 8 out of 10. The food was good, but there was a little too much cilantro (several whole stalks) and not enough chicken, but the heat was spot on.
I’ll certainly go back and try some other things, especially since I live near the Baoguette/Pho Sure on Christopher Street. Their soups may be up next, if I can get back there while there’s still a chill in the air.
I was near University Place today around lunch time, which means one thing, NUM PANG! Regular readers of NYSF know about my love of Num Pang, and it’s been a few weeks, so there was no question about Today’s Lunch, other than what to order.
I want to try everything on their menu, so Today’s Lunch is a new sandwich (for me at least), grilled skirt steak with crushed coriander and peppercorns. Of course it had their usual sliced cucumber, fresh cilantro, shredded carrots, and spicy chili mayo.
This was the most expensive sandwich on their menu ($8.75), but it was obvious where the money went…into the steak. There were 7 thick slices of grilled, medium-rare steak. I enjoyed Carnegie John’s steak sandwich recently for lunch, but this was on an entirely different plane.
I’m going to have to start rating places on a 1-10 scale to differentiate, because while John’s steak sandwich would be an 8 out of 10, Num Pang’s was a 9.5 out of 10. Both were very good, but one was almost as good as it can get. I love the spicy chili mayo, too. It kicks everything up a notch (apologies to the Emeril haters).
What do you think about a 1-10 rating system for our reviews? Please leave your thoughts below.
We would also like to invite readers to submit their own Today’s Lunch Guest Review for inclusion on New York Street Food. It can be lunch from a food truck, food cart, or even honorary street food. Just send it to newyorkstreetfood@gmail.com.
