Asian Sandwiches

You can take the girl out of Asia, but you can't take the Asia out of the girl. Only in New York City can you find such a plethora of foreign flavor combinations that are making the until recently lesser known street foods of Southeast Asia accessible to just about everyone.

Lately I've been on such a sandwich kick, and here are a few of my finds:

I stopped by Xie Xie (pronounced shuh shuh), last week to try my hand at this new trend. All the sandwiches looked great and I couldn't decide which one to get, so I asked the owner, Angelo Sosa, who was behind the counter making the sandwiches, which his favorite was. He guided me in the right direction with the shredded braised chicken sandwich with smoked egg salad, cilantro, and picked onions.

The chicken was slow cooked to perfection and retained a ton of its juices, so it naturally went well with the generous amount of pickled vegetables. I love it when a good sandwich contrasts both flavors and textures--the deep, rich flavor of slow cooked meat with the vibrant and sour crunch of picked vegetables.

My friend had the Vietnamese bbq beef sandwich with basil mayo and carrot kimchee. While tasty, it wasn't as rich in flavor as the chicken was; the beef was a little dry and the carrots weren't really kimchee-d at all, but the basil mayo was a nice touch.

I would love to go back and try the Asian Lobster roll with kewpie mayo and tarragon crispy shallots, but I was a little short on change the first time around. The sandwich I got was $8.50--a little pricey but in my opinion, worth it.

Sosa also stocks up on some unusual beers and will recommend some combinations for you. My boyfriend tried the Lighthouse Ale with the "100 year old" Ice Cream Sandwich--a thick block of vanilla ice cream surrounding black caramel in between two thin and chewy chocolate cookies. Yum.

Xie Xie
645 9th Ave at 45th St
New York, NY 10036


More recently, I went on a Banh Mi excursion with my friend Adam. He took me to Baoguette/Pho Sure on Christopher Street. While there seemed to be a lot of tasty and authentic options on the menu, many of which I had just had in Vietnam, my choice was easy--classic, please.I think I had a banh mi sandwich every day in Vietnam, yet it still hasn't deterred me from eating some more. All the ingredients and flavors were spot on, and it definitely had a kick to it--Adam had already warned me that "medium" spicy actually means really hot, so I went with the mild and it was still spicy, but not in an overwhelming way. And at $5, it was pretty cheap for the size--I couldn't finish. Definitely not the dollar I paid in Vietnam, but in NYC it's a great price. I did have one major qualm though--their ingredient distribution is way off! Distribution is key!! They stacked all the components of the sandwich horizontally in the roll instead of vertically, which meant that I could only ever get a bite with everything on it in the middle of the sandwich, and to get to the middle I would have to have two very uneven bites on the sides first--all picked vegetable/cilantro or all pork. Banh mi is really a revelation because of the combination of components in between the bread, and doesn't work as much for me when the ingredients are separated. For someone who takes sandwich making very seriously, this was a big no-no. But alas, if you're not so much of a stickler, I would say go for it anyways. It was still substantially satisfying at the end of the day. I will have to keep exploring, though.

Baoguette/Pho Sure
Various locations
NYC


Nosher

Welcome Back to California

I'm back in America.....well, I have been for a little bit, but I've had a hard time convincing myself to do anything other than lie and swim and catch up on tv shows, relishing my last few days of summer. That and technology has become a bitch lately, as iPhoto decided it would not cooperate with the hundreds of photos I needed to upload.

Anyways, I spent a few days lounging around my house recovering from jetlag, but my real homecoming came when I went to visit my friend Lara in Newport Beach. She took me to this great new fish joint, Bear Flag Fish Company. Lara just returned from a semester stint in Berlin, so her need for some good SoCal coastal seafare was just as strong as my need for tacos (what else). The result? Fish Tacos, of course. Mmmm these tacos were good. A mild white fish crisp on the outside but moist and flaky on the inside, topped with purple cabbage slaw, salsa fresca, pink sauce, and gotta have that avocado. Nothing makes a fish taco like avocado. One of the best things about the taco was the tortilla--while it technically a soft taco, the tortillas were more than warm. They were cooked a little bit overtime, probably in the slightest amount of oil, so they were slightly crisp. This added a nice texture to the taco as well as providing more support for the overflowing contents inside of it. It was a great touch.

We also split a seared ahi tuna sandwich. Oh man this was good too. The baguette was really nice and fresh--the perfect combination of crispy softness that a baguette should have--and garnished with lettuce, tomatoes, and this nice green and red onion mayo spread that went really well with the ahi. I salted it a little bit, but all in all it was great, fresh flavor (...and who am I kidding, I salt almost everything).

If you're in Newport for a beach day, definitely stop at Bear Flag for lunch. Their fish is top quality, and they have a great variety, from tacos to sandwiches to crab cakes to lobster. Yum.

Bear Flag Fish Co.
407 31st Street
Newport Beach, CA 92663


Nosher


Sorry for the delay...but in the next few days I'll be posting a full account of my Southeast Asian gastronomic adventures. Keep a lookout!

Square One Dining

My sister just returned from camp, and one of the first things out of her mouth was "I already decided, I need eggs benedict tomorrow morning." Obviously I took this as an opportunity to do a little breakfast joint hunting in the neighborhood.

I am usually not a big breakfast eater at home; not because I don't like breakfast, but because I LOVE breakfast too much. As in, I need to go get my breakfast somewhere that can make two eggs over easy with homefries and a side of bacon well and in a timely manner because I know I can't always wake up and do that for myself. While I dabble in the occasional greek yogurt/granola/honey mixture, I will always choose savory over sweet. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance to find a cool breakfast place.

A few of the best reviewed Hollywood breakfasts, like Little Dom's on Hillhurst which I've been meaning to try, didn't feature a classic benedict on the menu. Thanks to the hordes of people who take Yelp seriously, I found Square One Dining, a joint in the hood that is very dedicated to their eggs, and make several different kinds of benedict. They open early and only stay open until 3 pm, if that is any indication.

Even though it was very hot, we sat outside because the patio was so enticing. Here's my sister Natalie on the patio: Natalie's classic benedict was well prepared. It added a bit of arugula to the traditional combination of bread, canadian bacon, poached egg and hollandaise sauce, which was a welcome touch. The eggs were cooked perfectly, with the right amount of runniness without being too gooey. The thing I liked best was that Square One is not ashamed to admit what makes breakfast, albeit just about every food so good--butter. A small bit of butter was served with her dish, which she proceeded to pour on top of her grits (love grits) and eggs. No shame. Everything looks a bit more yellow than normal because we were under a yellow umbrella.

In an attempt to remind myself why I commit "carbicide" (I swear the only term I will take from Bruno into reality) many days of the week eating egg-and-cheese-on-a-bagel from the place near my apartment in New York, I ordered an egg sandwich with tomato, cheddar and bacon. I feel like this is something I would not have ordered prior to living in New York, but now I am a cheap deli fiend, so a gourmet version of my usual hangover cure is more than welcome. It was delicious. Fluffy eggs, juicy tomato (they are in season and so good), melted white sharp cheddar and last but not least bacon on toasted white bread. Heaven. Served with a salad, a weak attempt to make you feel better about yourself.

Check out Square One's ode to eggs and other breakfast and lunch goodies here

Square One Dining
4854 Fountain Ave, 90028
(323) 661 1109


Until Lunchtime,

Nosher