Finding Philly

Vietnamese Hoagies (wikipedia) are one of my favorite sandwiches. I’m lucky enough to live in a location central to the three South Philly cafés that make them!

More info and pics after the jump!

I started this project with the goal of trying to find my favorite of the three shops. After a whole bunch of experimenting with different sandwiches in the different shops i came to the conclusion that they’re all pretty much the same price and quality. So I’m instead going to focus on the advantages that each has to offer.

Bánh mì, sometimes also referred to as a “Vietnamese hoagie“, is a Vietnamese submarine sandwich, made with a French-inspired baguette. It is made up of thinly sliced, pickled carrots, daikon, onions, cilantro, choice of barbecued pork, paté, chicken and other meats; there also exist vegetarian versions of this item with tofu taking the place of meat. The contrasting flavors and textures of the sandwich — as well as its relatively low cost — make it a popular dish.

Cafe Cuong is the first place I ever bought one. It’s just north of Christian Street on eightth. I tried some of my broken Vietnamese with the owners and they were highly amused. I might even say impressed. Unfortunately the only terms i know are ‘formal greeting,’ ‘fish sauce,’ ‘rice log’ and “ruoc,” which is a condiment made of shredded pork and chicken. ( I can’t find any info anywhere on the proper spelling or definition of “ruoc” and would love some help there). I like to go here because of the mom and pop atmosphere, the gelatinous desserts which the owner said were ‘not for americans’ (i got them anyway and liked them), and because they gave me a whole bunch of ruoc!

Café Nhuy is probably the one that is most known. It’s just around the corner from the Italian market on Christian (between 9th and 8th). It’s a little hole-in-the-wall but its appeal is the ease with which non-Vietnamese speakers can order. Pick a number, 1-6 and you’re out the door a few minutes later.

Café Huong Lan is farther south on 8th street almost to Washington. This place is nice because it has a bunch of tables inside and a real menu so you can try a few other Vietnamese dishes as well. Also at least one of the people that works there speaks some english.

On to the food!

Oh man are these things delicious. I eat way more of them than i should. But they’re inexpensive and relatively healthy so why not?

When we first tried them we got the one called simply “Vietnamese Hoagie.” There’s also cooked pork (meaning cold cut style), shredded pork (which i think is pickled as well), chicken (a bit sweet and citrusy), meatball (very soft, possibly containing paté), and vegetarian (the only one i haven’t tried yet). Some places will also have the Special Vietnamese Hoagie; that just means more meat.

The eponymous Vietnamese Hoagie contains a kind of cold cut that contains a huge amount of fat and i believe head cheese and other undistinguishable meats. If you’re the squeamish type or on any kind of diet you should steer away. For the most basic hoagie go for the chicken or the cooked pork. All hoagies containing meat will also have a paté spread on the crispity-crunchity baguette. This paté is absolutely delicious but looks kinda gross. In fact i think the meatballs in the meatball hoagie are comprised mostly of this pate because they’re soft and pinkish.

What I found:
Amazing contrast of flavor and texture in a completely new kind of sandwich. They’re inexpensive (around 3$ each) and if you buy 5 you get one free! Friendly non-english speaking shop owners happy to make this wonderful and odd little sandwich for you.

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