(photo: Thrillist)

As we mentioned last week, one of our favorite places for lunch, Num Pang, has opened a 2nd location in midtown, at 140 East 41st st between Lexington & 3rd Ave.

They even have a couple of new items on the menu – which is a good thing, because I think I’ve tried every item on the menu in the Village!

The midtown menu has a new pulled chicken salad and grilled Khmer sausage sandwiches.  I’m really looking forward to trying the sausage sandwich, but everything I’ve ever had at Num Pang has been delicious!

Grilled coconut shrimp sandwich

The space is on East 41st Street right next to sports bar Public House, and is only two blocks from Grand Central.

We’ve consistently said that Num Pang has one of the best under $10 lunches in the city.  If you work in east midtown, now you can find out for yourself.

Peppercorn catfish here we come!

I had to be by Union Square around lunch, which means Today’s Lunch is an old favorite – Num Pang.

Num Pang is a small storefront located at 21East 12th st btw University Place & 5th Ave with a few seats at counters upstairs, which puts it in our Honorary Street Food category.

For new readers who may not be familiar with Num Pang, it’s the Cambodian version of banh mi.  There are a few differences, but the quality of the food at Num Pang is usually so high, it appeals to lots of different people.

Today’s Lunch is the pulled Duroc pork with spicy honey ($8.20 after tax).

So they start with an oval bun, spread chili mayo on the top and bottom, put on the main course, then top it with shredded carrots, fresh cilantro stalks and thin slices of cucumber.  Except for the main course (beef, pork, fish, veggies), just abot all the num pang sandwiches are made this way.

The pulled pork in this sandwich was slightly sweet and a little salty, but I wouldn’t call it spicy.  The pork was moist and delicious, and I actually dripped a little juice on my shirt on the very first bite.  Talk about bad luck.

With the pulled pork, chili mayo and all the toppings, this was a spectacular sandwich.  The chili mayo added some zing, but I wouldn’t call the meat spicy.  The cucumbers, carrots and cilantro provided some crunchy texture and refreshing tastes too.

Today’s Lunch from Num Pang was excellent, as usual.  In my opinion, Num Pang is one of the best places for under $10 lunches in the city, and I’m glad we can fit it into the Honorary Street Food category.  Otherwise, I would have to get it for dinner much more than I already do.

I was near University Place today around lunch time, which often means NUM PANG!  Regular readers of NYSF know about my love of Num Pang, and it’s been a couple of months, so there was no question about Today’s Lunch, other than what to order.

Num Pang is located at 21 East 12th St between 5th Ave and University Place.  I haven’t written about Num Pang recently, so for our newer readers, Num Pang is in the Honorary Street Food category.  This means a storefront with little or no seating that serves food traditionally known as street food in their home country – in this case Cambodia. Num Pang is basically a Cambodian variation on banh mi.

Today’s Lunch is a grilled king mackerel sandwich with leeks and thai-basil infused olive oil ($8.45 incl tax) from Num Pang.  Yes, it was as good as it sounds, and there are more details after the jump.

The chili mayo can sometimes be pretty hot, but it didn’t seem that hot today.  Maybe I’m just getting used to it.

The sandwiches are on toasted rolls, which maintain their firmness but are not too crunchy.

Today’s Lunch was one of the best lunches for under $10 that you can get.  There’s a reason I keep going back to Num Pang – because it’s one of the best damn sandwiches around!  Good thing I don’t live a little closer to Num Pang, or I’d be ordering dinner in from here on a regular basis.

(picture not from today, obviously)

Once again, I had to be in the Village/Union Square area around lunch, and the recent addition of Masala Times to the Honorary Street Food category got me thinking of Num Pang.  It’s one of my favorite places for lunch and an old standby in the Honorary Street Food category.  Num Pang is located at 21 East 12th St, with seating for around 10 people upstairs at counters.  It’s been a few months since I went there, and last time I was surprised by a new menu item – grilled portobello mushroom with grape vinaigrette.

There weren’t any new items on the menu today, but I was still able to get something new.  I’ve never had their roasted salt & pepper Japanese yam ($7.25).  How would this compare to some of their other menu items, which I usually love.

Roasted Japanese yam

As I’ve mentioned before, num pang is the Cambodian version of Vietnamese banh mi, with some differences.  Num pang has thinly-sliced cucumbers, shredded carrots, fresh cilantro and chili mayo along with the main ingredient – in this case roasted salt & pepper Japanese yam.  No pate here.

The yam had that distinctive yam/sweet potato taste that I like, and it was lightly breaded and liberally seasoned with salt and pepper.  I couldn’t really tell if it was roasted, but it tasted good – and it went well with the shredded carrots, sliced cucumber and cilantro.

What was a little strange was having a breaded, starchy vegetable on a sandwich.  That’s just too much starch in one sandwich for me.  I’m not a carb counter by any means, and this sandwich would probably be a good option for vegetarians, but breaded sweet potatoes or yams on a sandwich just doesn’t do it for me.  (I know there’s a difference between sweet potatoes and yams, but couldn’t tell you what it is).

Today’s Lunch gets an 8 due to the high quality of the ingredients, but I still prefer their ginger barbecue brisket, peppercorn catfish or grilled mackerel with leeks. However, Num Pang is still one of the best under $10 lunches in New York.

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).

I’ve talked a lot about the fixings on Num Pang’s sandwiches so here’s the Cliff Notes version – shredded carrots, fresh cilantro and chili mayo on a toasted bun.

The portobello mushroom was thick and meaty, but not a lot of the grilled flavor came through.  There was a lot of ‘shroom on this sandwich, and the ‘shroom taste came through, but not a lot of the grilled flavor.  It was still good, but I expected it to taste more grilled.

Oddly enough, the same thing can be said of the concord grape vinaigrette.  Some could be detected, but it was not apparent without looking for it.  When I hit the bottom of the sandwich, the bun was somewhat soggy on the edges, and the taste of grape vinaigrette on the bun was more obvious than it was on the portobello mushroom.

Today’s Lunch gets an 8.5 out of 10.  This was still a delicious sandwich, but it was messier than past sandwiches I’ve had at Num Pang, and the price of sandwiches there is a little on the high side.  There was plenty of mushroom flavor, and if you’re a vegetarian, you could probably add half a point to my score – but I’m a carnivore at heart.

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.

When you walk up to Num Pang, you order from the sidewalk through a window, and in addition to the cashier, there are three people working in a tiny space cranking out the sandwiches.  I don’t know how they maneuver around each other, but it works.

As for the food, there are probably some regional differences in Cambodia, but this version includes thinly-sliced cucumbers, shredded carrots, fresh cilantro and chili mayo along with the main ingredients of ginger bbq brisket and pickled red cabbage.

The first bite was heaven.  Soft, shredded brisket with some cucumber, carrots, and a little heat from the chili mayo.  They included hot sauce in the bag, but it wasn’t needed with the chili mayo.

The second bite is when the ginger started coming through, and more heat, too.  The brisket was large and thick, and with the other toppings, this was a serious sandwich, which took a lot to bite through it.  Not because it was tough, but because you need a big mouth (which I have).

The sandwich got a little messy towards the end, but stuffed sandwiches often are – and the tingling in my mouth lasted for a good 15-20 minutes after eating.  It wasn’t a brutal heat – it was more of a gentle tingling.

Today’s Lunch gets a very high 9.5 out of 10.  The combination of flavors was outstanding, and the quality of the ingredients was excellent.  At $8.45 after tax, it’s not the best value around, but they do have to pay rent.  This is definitely one of the best sandwiches around as far as taste.  From past experience, I can tell you their grilled corn on the cob with chili mayo is excellent too.

As long as I’m near the Union Square area for lunch, I’ll be coming back to Num Pang on a  regular basis.

It’s been a couple of months since I’ve been to Num Pang located at 21 East 12th St between 5th Ave and University Place.  I haven’t written about Num Pang recently, so for our newer readers, Num Pang is in the Honorary Street Food category.  This means a storefront with little or no seating that serves food traditionally known as street food in their home country – in this case Cambodia.  Num Pang is basically a Cambodian variation on banh mi.

For Today’s Lunch, I decided on the peppercorn catfish with homemade sweet and sour sauce for $7.50.  Things can change pretty quickly in New York.  Would Num Pang still be as good as they were a couple of months ago?

The catfish was nicely grilled with some charring on the fillet.  While the peppercorns weren’t readily apparent, the taste was unmistakeably peppery.  The catfish wasn’t too fishy, which catfish can be sometimes.  This was a nice, flaky catfish fillet.

The fixings on all sandwiches at Num Pang are shredded carrot, cilantro, cucumber and chili mayo.  They went very well with the peppery catfish, providing a bit of cooling from the peppery catfish.  The chili mayo can sometimes be pretty hot, but it didn’t add to the heat level in this case.

As always, the toasted bun was great, but I didn’t really taste the homemade sweet and sour sauce.  I did taste the chili mayo, but the sandwich could have used more of the sweet and sour sauce.  It would have added another level of complexity to the sandwich.

Today’s Lunch was a 9.25 out of 10.  There’s a reason I keep going back to Num Pang – because it’s one of the best damn sandwiches around!  Just wish I was in this area a little more often around lunch time.

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.

After my earlier post today about banh mi starting to get popular in London, I had to go back to Num Pang for Today’s Lunch, even though I had it not once, but twice last week.  This is turning into a serious addiction (which I have no desire to cure).

I hadn’t tried their coconut shrimp sandwich yet, so that was the choice today.  My first bite had a strong taste of fresh cilantro, but subsequent bites were more balanced, with the succulent coconut shrimp, carrot, cucumber, cilantro and their spicy mayo.  I’m not a huge coconut fan, but IMHO, this was a perfect sandwich.

Another wonderful lunch from Num Pang.  It’s not the cheapest lunch around, at $8.20 after tax, but certainly one of the best.

Luckily I have to go out of town for a few days, or else I may need an intervention to keep me away from this place.