New York Street Food

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.

The mackerel had red pepper flakes that gave it some heat, but it was balanced by the coolness of the cucumber slices and shredded carrots.  The sandwiches are on toasted rolls, which maintain their firmness but are not too crunchy.  They use a chili mayo, which left a spicy tang on my tongue for 5-10 minutes after eating.  Excellent sandwich.  It costs $7.75 but was worth it.

Today’s lunch is 5 spice-glazed pork belly with pickled Asian pear.   This sandwich had Num Pang‘s usual shredded carrots, cucumber, cilantro and a spicy mayo.  Everything worked together beautifully.

The spicy mayo was offset by the Asian pear and cucumber.  The pork belly was lean and tender.  The light colored ingredient at the bottom of the 2nd photo is the asian pear, not fat from the pork belly.  Even the toasted roll was just right.  I really love this place!

Num Pang Grilled Mackerel

Miche and her friends had a banh mi taste-off and posted the results over at Midtown Lunch.  There was no clear-cut winner, but there were some favorites – Banh Mi So 1 and Sau Voi for the cold cuts, An Choi for the crispy pork belly, and Nicky’s for the grilled pork.  Most of the places are in the Chinatown area, but I see they included Num Pang, one of my favorite places in the Village. [Midtown Lunch]

Just today, I had Num Pang’s five spice glazed pork belly with Asian pear for lunch.  I also love their grilled king mackerel with leeks and thai basil infused olive oil, pictured above.

Baoguette

There are great places to get street food that are not trucks or carts.  I’m starting a new section called Honorary Street Food for storefronts with little or no seating that serve food considered to be street food.    We want to support all street food vendors, whether they serve from a truck, a cart, or a tiny storefront.

Please send me your favorites so they can be included here.