[Pigging by Wilfrid: June 20, 2009]
In which the Vietnamese sandwich style known as bánh mi, which has held the city in an increasingly tight grip over the last couple of years...
...is challenged by a Cambodian contender and taken the full distance. I like these things.
We have become accustomed to re-invented bánh mi. Beginning with the conventional composition of fresh-baked, crunchy bread filled with paté, pork, ham and the characteristic sweet-spicy julienne of carrots, daikon, cucumber and cilantro, we soon embraced versions with sardines or chicken. Then Michael Huynh raised the stakes, serving spicy catfish and even Sloppy Joe-based bánh mi at his growing Baoguette chainlet.
I have tried to love Baoguette, but haven't succeeded. I think this is a matter of my own palate, but I find the sandwiches harsh, acidic, almost metallic. I know other people love them, and I suspect it's the particular peppers or sauce used to raise the heat. Num Pang, on the other hand, I enjoy very much.
The sandwich choice at the little window on 12th Street, just west of University, is if anything more adventurously fusiony than Baoguette's selection. It's a long list too, when daily specials are taken into account. From catfish, pulled pork, skirt steak and Hoisin meatballs on the regular menu, you can step up to specials like five-spice pork belly, crabcakes, and chicken liver paté with lemongrass. In a few visits, I have barely scraped the surface.
House-cured duck breast (above) was pillowy and tender, although I lost the flavor of the promised basil-raspberry jam - all the sandwiches seem to be hit with a spicy mayo in any case.
The pork belly was good too, and substantial. I even liked the cauliflower, which raises the overall crispness of the product to an even higher level. I think the bread is terrific, maybe the best I've had in any version of bánh mi, just faintly charred along the edge.
Now none of this, I have to say, is particularly cheap. At my neighborhood standby, Nicky's on East 2nd Street, sandwiches range from five bucks to all of five fifty. Entry level price at Num Pang is around $7.50, and for some of the luxury offerings, you can pay as much as $12.75 (the duck) or $17.25 (the crab). My experience has been that you get fresh, quality ingredients which justify the price. Home-made drinks too; good lemonade. Uncomfortable stool seating up the narrow stairs.
Whether this menu is remotely Cambodian, or just a nicely imagined sandwich list from a Kampuchean chef, Ratha Chau, I have no idea. Chef Chau cooks at the Kampuchea Restaurant on Rivington, of which Num Pang is an offshoot, and the menu there includes a selection of these sandwiches too. Recommended.
Website here.
