I had lunch near home today at Baoguette/Pho Sure, which is located at 120 Christopher St in the West Village. They are listed in our Honorary Street Food category, which are storefronts with little or no seating serving what is generally considered to be street food in their home country.
Today’s Lunch is a sloppy bao ($7), and since I have no self control, I also ordered a chicken summer roll ($6).
I happened to be near home for lunch and decided to go back to Baoguette/Pho Sure at 120 Christopher Street (between Bleecker and Bedford), a member of our Honorary Street Food category.
Last time I had a Classic Banh Mi sandwich that was tasty, but a little messy. For Today’s Lunch, I decided to go for the Spicy Catfish Banh Mi ($7).
I was in the West Village around lunch today and remembered that Baoguette/Pho Sure has a location at 120 Christopher Street (between Bleecker and Bedford).
With the weather being cold and windy, an Honorary Street Food lunch seemed like a good idea – that is, a storefront or small restaurant with few or no tables that serve what is commonly considered street food in their country of origin.
The pho was tempting, but I decided to go with banh mi instead. Today’s Lunch is the Classic Banh Mi ($6) from Baoguette/Pho Sure in the West Village.
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.
Today’s Lunch is the Classic Banh Mi from the Baoguette in the West Village, located at 120 Christopher Street (between Bleecker and Bedford). Baoguette is in our Honorary Street Food category, which are storefronts or small restaurants with few or no tables that serve what is commonly considered street food in their country of origin.
The Classic Banh Mi had pate, pork, pickled daikon & carrots, cucumber and cilantro. The first bite tasted of cilantro and pate, and was wonderful. Subsequent bites emphasized the pickled daikon and carrots. The sandwich was juicy and a bit messy. The bread was just right, crunchy on the outside but soft inside.
All-in-all, an excellent choice for Today’s Lunch, and at $6, it was a pretty good deal. We know banh mi can be had for $3-$4 in Chinatown, but in the West Village and Midtown, it’s a good deal.
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