4/25/11 Pho Viet Banh Mi and S and I To Go (Thai) in Allston
Been learning about banh mi. After having a good beef one at Mei Sum a few weeks ago, today we sampled banh mi at 163 in Chinatown and Pho Viet in the Super 88 Food Court in Allston; just a 14 minute drive between them. We sat in the food court and compared. The 2 versions of bbq/grilled beef banh mi are very similar in: amount of beef, amount and type of toppings, fish sauce and 'mayo'. The 163 beef has a sweet profile(the glaze) and the Pho Viet has a soy sauce /teriyaki profile. The latter is also freshly grilled and served warm in a far superior baguette (shattering? you betcha.) And, last but not least, the short woman at 163 is like major nasty witchy times 10. My only reference (thankfully) is the Durgin Park witch waitresses from 40 yrs ago. When I asked her to plse. make sure and add the chilis(after reading numerous CH warnings) she looked at me like.....well, you can imagine. And then she whined, "Of cose, you want chili, i geev chili." On a completely different planet, the Pho Viet lady was all smiles and lovely; couldn't have been more helpful. For tomorrow at home, we got some of that Bun bo hue, beef noodle soup, I recently read about on another CH thread.
After picking up some special produce in the market (our first Thai melon) we went to S and I Thai to see if they had any of their occasional sweets, but they had none, so of course we picked up some savories for dinner. The Pad thai was excellent but the Pad ped moo krob was the standout. Notably excellent non-tough pork belly on a bed of sliced peppers with a sprig of green peppercorns and unknown very tasty things on top. Chicharrones but even better; crunchy, chewy, yummm, in a very complex layering of flavors.(I'm not a soooper hot-lover and once i removed all the chilis, my mouth was tingly but fine.) The one really surprising/odd thing we had was the Karee Puff - crescent turnovers with a thin lard pastry vastly superior to any Chinatown relatives, filled w/ lightly curried potatoes w/ (teeny amount of) chicken.
So many not-everywhere dishes that intrigued me; I can see us returning often.
Thanks, Chs, for making our fun day.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/764893
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163 Vietnamese Sandwich
66 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA
Pho Viet
1095 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215
By opinionatedchef
on Apr 25, 2011 09:36 PM
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S & I Thai
168 Brighton Ave, Boston, MA 02134
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Drat, no sweets at S&I... gosh they've always had them when I've been. Sorry.
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That pork belly is indeed delish. Here is a photo I took of it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/icedhotc...
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Growing up with the curry puff, the reaction to this 'street' food outside SE Asia always interests me. It is akin to the Latin American empanada. I like these over the puff pastry savory turnovers in the Chinatown bakeries. Thank you for reminding me that I should seek out the best of its kind in Boston when I get the chance.
I remember trying them (appetizer) a while ago on the Thai menu at Montien, though I do not know whether it is still on the menu at all.
I just have one question: Was the filling a little sweet? I find that the filling I've had, even at home can be a little too sweet for my taste. And if it is of interest to you, the filling usually has a base of potatoes and onions with chicken or pork and sometimes even a quarter of a hard boiled egg.
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yes, it is a little sweet; very odd to me. they serve it w/ a vinegar based sauce and that helps, but i agree w/ you.If they were mostly chicken, i would get them again. ( I would, however, equate them more w/ potato samosas). How I do wish S and I's chef could teach those chinatown bakers this far superior version of lard-based pastry dough! Then the Eldo Cake House bakers could teach S and I their curried beef filling, and we might end up with a perfect product!!
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Eldo Cake House
36 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA
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LOL! Sounds like the beginning of a nice fusion product! Now that you mention it, curry puff is like a samosa, considering the curry and potatoes. In a non-Asian culture, the equivalent would be the empanada in my books.
Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that the curry puff filling does not have beef because places like Thailand and Vietnam are Buddhist. Thus my comment of the meat in the filling being chicken or pork. My grandmother's version was with pork in it. Not too sweet, with lovely curry elements, onions practically carmelized (thus the 'sweet') and the potatoes *just* holding its shape in the mix. The pork (chopped real fine) will be about 20%-25% of the filling. The outside being fried crispy golden brown with a little bite. I am salivating as I type. I will be searching the boards to see if 'curry puff' turns up.
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Curry puff is something I always think of as more Malaysian than Thai, though I do always see it served at Thai restaurants. By far the most common filling is potatoes (both Malay and Thai versions). I also personally find the S&I filling too sweet for my taste.
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True. But the only curry puffs I have seen in Boston are at Thai places. I don't believe that Penang, or the long gone Aneka Resa had them. Singapore is my hometown, so I would love to claim the curry puff as Malaysian/Singaporean. :) Have you had any good versions around Boston, Luther?
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No recommendations, sorry...
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The pork bahn mi at Pho Viet is one of my favorite things to eat in all of Boston. and at $3 and change, I almost feel like I am stealing from them.
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Pho Viet
1095 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215
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Went yesterday and paid a whopping $3.75 including tax for the grilled pork banh mi, in my opinion the most flavorful and best sandwich in Boston.
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ah yes, another shout-out to stripey, Master Hound!
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I always tip a buck or two on a Bahn mi cause I really do feel it is underpriced.
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Do they have a tip jar or do you leave the tip on the counter for them? I did not notice a tip jar but could have missed it easily.
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I think they have a little basket, but you can just leave it on the counter when you pay.
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stripey, i asked this of you on another thread but maybe you didn't see it>> other non-banh mi dishes that i shouldn't miss from them when i'm there?thanks.
p.s. same question for s and i!
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Com ga tay (tomato yellow fried rice and chicken leg, huge plate for enormous value), banh cuon cha lua (luncheon meat, fried shallots and viet salad over chewy thick rice noodles)
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I have not been totally wowed by Pho Viet's other dishes. Fine stuff, but not the best. I forever mourn the loss of Ducky Wok which used to be right on Harvard, for insanely good Vietnamese. I once even tried to track down the chef...
S&I the dish with the crispy bacon on top is the bomb. In fact pretty much every thing there is nicely done, homey Thai.
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Pho Viet
1095 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215
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They're learning, though: this sandwich was $2.50 when I started buying them!
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egg, i want to understand the pastry part, the very thin 'mille feuilles' type thing. Usually a dough is folded and layered many times and then sliced.This version seems to have been sliced in a different way, resulting in a very different shale-like formation. Yep, looks like some of the rock formations in Zion. honest.
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New Discovery! Banh mi purists read no further:
If you live or work near a good banh mi place, then lucky you are, but for some of us, it’s a trek. This is for you guys ( the un-purists among you, that is):
I just had a terrific lunch of a reheated grilled beef banh mi from Pho Viet. I put my (refrigerated 2 days in a plastic bag ) banh mi, loosely covered, in the microwave and nuked it for 40 seconds. I then popped it in a 300 degree toaster oven for a few minutes til it begins to toast. The veggies did not get anywhere near soggy; the fish sauce and mayo flavors remained robust. The meat did not get tough. The bread is still crumby/shattering but obviously a different thing from a fresh roll.
Don’t bother with the slings and arrows and yechs; i just posted it to be helpful to the minority.
I’m a wicked happy camper.
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Pho Viet
1095 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215
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Finally got the ban mi at Pho Viet, not for lack of trying. I usually don't get there until the late afternoon, by which time they have run out of bread. Yesterday, Saturday around 1:30, I was in the neighborhood and decided I would stop and eat there.
Good but not amazing.. I have had this sandwich elsewhere, but I have yet to find the perfect version. The bread is good. The crunchy pickled and fresh vegetables were excellent. The grilled pork, superb in both taste and quantity. The sauce good as well
But I was disappointed that it seemed to lack a layer of pate. I always thought that was what made this so distinctively a French-Southeast Asian fusion dish. Did the US war in Vietnam not only destroy both countries but remove pate from banh mi as well?
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Pho Viet
1095 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215
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But my post does raise the question: What is the latest time in the day when Pho Viet still make banh mi?
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Pho Viet
1095 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215
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Pho Viet has banh mi with pate: it's the one listed in the menu as "cold cuts" and on the sign next to the register as "ham." But banh mi does not by definition have to have pate.
I have successfully ordered banh mi from Pho Viet as late at 6-7 p.m. on weekdays. If you get there and the sign next to the register listing the types of banh mi is still there, they're still serving. If not, they're all gone.
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Pho Viet
1095 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215
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Of the 6 banh mi spots i have sampled in Boston, none puts pate on grilled pork or grilled beef sandwiches as a matter of course. but they're happy to give you whatever you'd like. It is, as JO says, on the cold cuts one- as a matter of course. btw, at pho viet, for some reason, whatever, we prefer the grilled beef to the grilled pork; more of a distinct flavor. such nice people, yes? we're going back v. soon.
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Great tip, oc. I've avoided getting takeout banh mi because I figured the bread would just steam a bit from the warm meat. Now I have another takeout option.
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