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New York has never been short on great sandwiches. We have pastrami piled comically high, bacon-egg-and-cheeses capable of reversing any hangover and Italian subs that require both hands to consume. But right now, the best sandwich in the entire city is a Vietnamese classic coming out of a tiny East Village kitchen.
Time Out just updated its ranking of the best sandwiches in NYC and the O.G. Bánh Mì at Bánh Anh Em has claimed the number one spot. The $14.95 sandwich combines Vietnamese cold cuts, pâté, herbs and pork floss on bread baked fresh in-house—and it is every bit as good as that sounds.
Bánh Anh Em comes from chef Nhu Ton, who treats the sandwich’s most basic component with the seriousness it deserves. Each day, Ton kneads and stretches the dough in the restaurant’s basement before baking the football-sized rolls shortly before service. The crust crackles and shatters on contact, leaving behind a glorious crime scene of crumbs.
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Inside, things get even better. The O.G. layers pâté with meaty Vietnamese cold cuts, fresh herbs and a generous helping of pork floss, which adds a hit of brown-sugar sweetness. Every bite brings something slightly different, from the richness of the pâté to the crunch of the herbs and that impossibly crisp bread.
The O.G. may be our current champ, but it had some extremely stiff competition.
The newly updated sandwich ranking also includes Bark Barbecue’s Tres Golpes, a gloriously excessive combination of pulled pork, fried cheese, maduros and bark sauce; Katz’s legendary pastrami on rye; Anthony’s Paninoteca’s mortadella-and-pistachio creation; and Sanwits’ Lechon Dip, which stuffs a hero roll with pork belly asado, pineapple relish and bok choy and comes with pork jus for dipping.
And if one bánh mì isn't enough, Bánh Anh Em has more than eight versions to work your way through—just prepare to leave covered in crumbs.