worst food blogger ever

It's not as though I lack content as I have to eat multiple times a day--I just keep forgetting that I have a food blog now. And by the time I remember again that I have a food blog, I've already eaten the thing I want to take a photo of. Such was the case today.

So there's this new Vietnamese Banh Mi place that opened recently in Williamsburg that I've been curious about, and tonight Andrew came home with two sammies for us. He got me the classic and himself the bbq'd pork. They mixed up the sandwiches, and we weren't paying attention to what we were eating until we had finished our first halves, so we ended up getting to try both. Our review: not impressed. There's something Vietnamese banh mi places can't seem to get right in New York, which is also the most important component: the bread! (whoa, lots of colon use.) The bread was doughy and chewy, not light and airy with a crispy crust that hurts the roof of your mouth. They skimped on the meat in both, which in the case of the bbq'd pork was probably a good idea. The bbq'd pork was bland and gristly and fatty.The cold cuts in the classic were sliced way too thin. Oh, and the pate was the faintest smear. And what's with NY banh mi places not pickling daikon? Andrew asked for spicy, but the jalapenos were no where to be found. I guess the cucumber was good...

I always miss the banh mi in San Jose. I was always torn between Dakao and the one on Tully road right the 101. (Help me out, Young. Was it Huong Lan?) The sanwiches were always so cheap. When I moved a few years ago, they were still $1.50. In NY they range from $4 to $8, some fancy place even charges $12! But the best was how these places also carried so many other goodies, like banh cuon, goi cuon, or nem chua.

maybe it's not too late to open a banh mi place of my own.

coming soon (with pics and if i remember): full review of other banh mi places in williamsburg, including (full disclosure coming up) my dear friend an's over at Bep. There's been a weird proliferation in new york recently. just read this article in the new york times.