Bistro Rollin in Pelham has added a Banh Mi sandwich to its lunch menu, making it the first restaurant in Westchester (that I know of) to serve it.
(Submitted photo)
Bánh Mì have become very popular all over New York, from little Vietnamese mom-and-pop shops to fancy midtown restaurants like Ma Peche. The sandwiches do a good job of summing up Vietnamese cuisine, which borrows techniques and ingredients from the French (baguettes! pate!) and traditions and ingredients from Southeast Asia (pork! pickles! daikon!).
Fillings can include roasted or grilled pork, steamed or roasted pork belly, Vietnamese sausage, chicken, head cheese and ham. At Rollin, chef Manny Lozano has created his signature sandwich using Vietnamese sausage, pickled carrots and daikon, country pate, all made in house.
1 Comment
Dear Liz,
You may already know this—and if so feel free to ignore this—but the bread used in these sandwiches is not exactly the same as its French counterpart. I recently ate many banh mi sandwiches from a Vietnamese restaurant and they explained to me that there is some kind of special equipment they use to make the bread they use in the sandwiches that is particular to Vietnam. Apparently the restaurant owner/chef was very proud to have been able to acquire the proper machinery. Also, from the photo above, it looks as though the bread used at Bistro Rollin is not the softer, traditional banh mi bread, but a tougher western baguette. But I could be wrong.
Ian