Catfish Banh Mi

It's official. The catfish Banh Mi from Baoguette is my current favorite Banh Mi. The traditionalist's will disagree, but there is something magical about the sticky spicy mayo based spread and the oily catfish. Now don't get me wrong, I still love the great traditional Vietnamese sub but every time I walk into Baoguette, I can't help but not order the catfish.

Boi Sandwich

700 Third Avenue, 31 Lexington Avenue

I couldn't stop thinking about Banh Mi today. Things like this happen a lot. I obsess over a certain food and must have it and a lot of it. Instead of walking all the way down to visit Baogette again, I decided to drop in to Boi Sandwich which is much closer to home. Since I haven't had Banh Mi in a while, this would be a great way to compare what I had eaten the night before.

Let's start with the bread. Boi uses a section of a large baguette which makes the sandwich very bready. It's lightly warmed in the oven with the meats and pate so it doesn't have any sort of crispy crust. The pate and terrine have very subtle flavors and their addition of avocado helps with the texture. The cilantro was a little lacking, but the daikon & carrot contained just the right amount of spice. Unfortunately the bread covers up much of the flavors.

If I could, I would combine the Boi veggies with the Baogette meats and bread. That would be a perfect mix.

Also the Banh Mi was a bit expensive at $7.50 plus tax. At that price I would rather take the longer walk from my midtown apartment. Maybe next time I'll try their Pho, since those prices seemed a lot more reasonable at under $6.

Baoguette

31 Lexington Avenue, NYC

Vietnamese subs. I've been wanting one for a while, but have never gotten around to grabbing one for some reason or another. But after reading Ed Levine's review for Baoguette over at Serious Eats, I decided to head over there after work and give it a try.I ordered a classic and catfish .

First things first, the baguettes from Tom Kat Bakery is delicious. It's crisped to perfection and unlike many banh mi shops there's not too much bread in the bread, if you catch my drift.

The pate, terrine, and pork belly from the classic are delicious. It had a great flavor and texture. Fatty and flavorful without being greasy. I did find myself wanting more of the pickled veggies and more jalapenos. Nothing that can't be fixed next time.

The catfish was such a delight. The catfish was flaky. It had just the right amount of spice and fixins. It was the better sub this time around. All the flavors and textures came together perfectly.

For the price, its an amazing value, especially in this economic climate. I can't wait to try the rest of the menu.