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Ed, this sounds like something my husband would love. Is this an American-Vietnamese dish that's just here in the States? The guy is currently in Vietnam and is kind of a shy guy who's not particularly culinarily (is that even a word?) adventurous in other cultures if there is a language barrier. Darn it all, I wish I was there. In the past I have always been able to use some sort of culinary sign language when I don't have the words at hand. Regardlous, here at home, he has his preferences, but if I make it, he will eat. And if I recommend it, he will eat. So if you have any suggestions of what to eat in Ho Chi Mihn City, I would love to pass them on. I'll shoot him if he eats any more Marriott room service on his travels.

If every substandard sub shop were replaced by a banh mi shop in New York, Gotham would certainly be filled with a lot more serious deliciousness.

I second this motion. Subway vs. banh mi... no contest.

I'll pass on the bao drama queen sagas and suggest that we go old school. Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich shop on Broome and Mott beats ANY bahn mi in the city. Cost: $3.95 and it's not one of these slimmed down versions of a bahn mi like nicky's or baogette. plus these guys charge you an extra $1+ and you get 70% the sandwich.

Try on of Saigon's #1 spicy and tell me if anything beats it.

Yes, the classic here is $5, but as I wrote I found the difference in the quality of each component of the sandwich at Baoguette well worth the dollar or so extra.

dhorst- this is not an American-invented dish, and it's not just here in the states.

@dhorst: Here's a blog you (and your husband) might be interested in: http://gastronomyblog.com/category/vietnamese/banh-mi/
Cathy (the Gastronomer) has been to Vietnam many times and has plenty of suggestions on good eats there. I've linked to the banh mi posts but you could easily spend several hours just browsing through all the deliciousness she's encountered during her trips.

i was totally there when you guys were ordering and i had a mini celebrity freakout in front of my bf who just rolled his eyes at me after i said "OMG OMG OMG FAVORITE FOOD BLOGGERS OMG OMG OMG"...didn't want to blow up your guys' spot or anything ;) although he did appreciate the deliciousness of his first bahn mi

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the fact that they appear to use the wrong bread. A banh Mi does not use a traditional french baguette, it should use a Vietnamese baguette which is made with rice flour, and is very different froma traditional one.

Gah! I had this exact idea nearly a year ago and failed to execute (well, mostly because I'm not a chef, just an eater/idealist). First of all, I heartily disagree with the Saigon assessment--really, the bread is too thick and the ingrediants lacking in flavor (I really don't care for the crumbly meat). What scores a perfect banh mi for me is the bread to filling ratio, the texture of the bread (smell included) and I don't think of these price points as out of reach at all. If you think about it, a typical Chipotle burrito can run you $8, but the taqueria around the corner charges $5. There's a reason for this, you're paying for the upscale-ish ambiance and it seems similar here. I am very excited by the idea of a cat-fish banh mi and will be making this a mandatory stop in NYC next time!

I don't konw Ed. I live around the corner and have been when they first opened and again yesterday. First off as mentioned before the bread is not the correct bread and the filling overwhelmed by condiments. Trust me I could do pickle and mayo, but not an entire "banh mi" of pickle and mayo. I'm sure they are trying to hit on the student crowd at baruch (esp. given the short hours) but they should try to match their quality at Mai House (when it launched), not just try to make the students happy.

@atomic_violin: Thanks for the correction!

@korovka: You should definitely say hi if that happens again! ;)

@sarahdg: Overwhelming deliciousness? I MUST GO THAR.

Ohhh, Ed.

Best Banh Mi in NYC? Them's fighting words.

Just a few points:
Banh mi, banh mi. N's before h's. ( ... nails on chalkboard/makes my eyes bleed/the food blog world loves to perpetuate this misspelling.)

I haven't yet sampled the Baoguette sandwich, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the sauce you had in the classic banh mi was Maggi and not fish sauce. You might've picked up on the fish sauce if Baoguette uses it in its cha lua/terrine.

Their bun bo hue seems to lack the deep red hue that comes from annatto seeds. You also don't speak of bun bo hue's trademark spice kick, so it seems like Baoguette's taken creative liberties there, too.

The goi cuon/summer rolls look skimpy on the requisite herbs — cilantro, mint, and scallions.

I second and third sarahdg and drybak's recommendations regarding Ba Xuyen. It's not an extraordinary banh mi if you hail from Dorchester, SoCal, San Jose, or Houston, but at least it's in keeping with those standards. Crisp crust, soft crumb, good bread-to-topping ratio. I like the fresh pickles; I like the moist meats. And they don't stint on the herbs, either.

As for Banh Mi Saigon? Probably the "most authentic" of Manhattan's banh mi, but I object to their gum-cutting rolls.

@Ed: many thanks for providing such a great forum for discussions on deliciousness. I wish Baoguette much success and would have loved to been with there with you and Robyn for the massive tasting! Best.

@tina_eats. Thank you so much. You know what I'll be perusing for the next little while.

"gum-cutting rolls."

I object to this. After reading this post, I got a craving and went to Saigon for a spicy #1. I marveled at how amazingly perfect the texture of the bread was. Maybe I just got lucky, or maybe you were unlucky and got some stale bread, I don't know, but the crust was crispy and crunchy yet thin and delicate, and the crumb was a light puff. I wondered how they got the crust like that, it was almost as though it was toasted, but showed no signs of such. I guess it was just very very fresh.

Anyway, thanks for the post, you inspired me and I had a fantastic lunch as a result. Fresh pressed sugar cane juice was delish too I might add.

@ Simon

OHOHOH! THAT'S a rice flour baguette! THAT'S how things SHOULD be!

Sorry, but if you think Hue is the 'spicy food capital of Vietnam' you have not eaten in some of the provinces off the usual tourist circuit. Even Da Nang has spicier food as its norm than Hue! But a very evocative piece -- my only question is about the baguettes, do they approximate Ha Noi, Sai Gon, or other banh mi; or are they as unlike banh mi Viet as most US apologies for baguettes?

If it helps to popularize the sandwich, which is truly delicious and should be better known to the masses, then I think it's a good thing.

I'm fortunate to have my choice of bahn mi shops within a short drive of where I live. The bread is important, some places nail it, others don't. And, they're cheaper here, thank goodness.

I'm still waiting for a vietnamese restaurant in Manhattan that uses all the correct herbs (purple shizo, fish mint, vietnamese coriander etc.) Many just opt out and only offer thai basil in their dishes or as side accoutrements.

Just had the classic for lunch today. As others have said, the bread was excellent, with the perfect crispyness to it. However, the filling left a bit to be desired. It was very meaty tasting, which is a good thing, but was lacking the highly flavorful, sweet/spicy crispyness of a normal banh-mi. It just didn't taste like a banh-mi.

Overall, I'd give it a B, primarily because of the bread. It's good, and the meaty flavor is nice, but I'm looking for a banh mi, and it just didn't taste anything like it. Saigon is head-and-shoulders above Baoguette.

The other sandwiches looked nice, but I haven't tried any of them.

I have been on a Banh Mi kick this week to discover the best in town. So far I've been to: Paris Bakery, Saigon Bakery, the new An Choi and then back to Paris all in one week. Paris is more of a $4 smaller baguette but so fresh and great bread. Saigon, was bummed about the Special and the bread felt like a hoagie but great price under $4. An Choi (Orchard/Grand) great sit down, their Special is ok, their grilled pork was DELISH! I loved their touch of serving it with shrimp chips, priced at $5-5.50 but you can actually sit and enjoy the restaurant. Their iced coffee... meh, very weak.

I'm a bit hesitant to try Baogette but its next along with Nikki's for the taste test. There should be more Banh Mi spots in the city, its an odd thing that New Yorkers have not entirely discovered while we are so international. In cities like Seattle and San Francisco they are much more recognized.

Every sub par SUB shop should become Banh Mi fo sho!

Check out this site: http://battleofthebanhmi.com/

Waited 15 minutes on line to order at prime lunch time - not bad. Waited another 30 minutes on top of that to actually get my sandwich. During which time they ran out of pork (there was more cooking in the oven). During which time the two people behind the counter were taking their sweet time to the point where I wanted to jump back there and help them out.

So I finally got my sandwich and it was quite good. Worth the wait? Maybe. Maybe once a month, but certainly not once a week. Bread was not warm as they were using it up too fast to get any QT under the warmer.

In other news, unless they storing their "house made" mayo in industrial size Hellman's bottles, it's not so much homemade.

Baogette's iced coffee is a disappointing affair---UNBELIEVABLY TASTELESS and WEAK with JUST A HINT OF SWEETNESS due to a STINGY amount of sweetened condensed milk. Was so looking forward to that rich, creamy coffee that is a signature of Vietnamese restaurants from Chinatown to Jackson Heights. The sandwiches are good and filling but the HONEY MUSTARD on the FISH sandwich puts it on par with deli food--not good.

Paris Sandwiches on Mott St Nicky's on E. 2nd have something going on with their food which is tastier.