Ninh's Banh Mi: Not Far From Me...

    Before I get into my review of Ninh's let me start by telling a brief story to put this into perspective. Some years back when I first got into Port I learned from some Australian business contacts that Penfolds made a great port but in very limited quantities and likely not available here. I looked around and couldn't find it. A good friend of mine was going to Oz to visit a mutual friend and said he would bring me back a bottle. When he came back he had a bottle of Port but not the Penfold's Grandfather. He couldn't find it anywhere in Sydney.

    To make a long story short, not long afterward I went to one of my local liquor stores (Windsor Wine Shop 474 3rd Ave) to pick up some wine. While looking around...up on top of the top shelf above the port were a few bottles of the Penfold's Grandfather port. Turns out the owner has been carrying wines from Oz for a while...so every now and then his distributor gives him something special.

    I love Bahn Mi and was psyched that a shop finally opened up in the culture-less toxic blighted hood of Kips Bay (a poor man's Murray Hill)*  Ninh's like many is a tiny small front with a few tables that makes a really fresh great Bahn Mi. I went with their classic version which is comprised of Vietnamese ham, pate, and ground pork (all sandwiches have daikon, carrots, mayo, cucumber and cilantro). They have a number of version including grilled pork, beef, curry chicken and a couple of veggie friendly versions all for only $6.50.

    Ninh''s has a few sides and a couple of salads. I went with the shrimp summer rolls (3 for $5). They to were very good, really fresh and came with a tasty peanut dipping sauce. I'm not a bubble tea guy...so I can't comment on them...though they do come in a number of flavors. I do need to try their Vietnamese coffee.

    Now...why you may be asking yourself did I start with the Port from Oz story? I was recently in Vietnam in Saigon the business capital and the major beach towns of Mui Ne and Nha Trang and I didn't see a whole lot of what we think of as Banh Mi. First it turns out that it simply means sandwich in Vietnamese and second the few times I saw them it was just spam with carrot and possibly daikon on a french bread. So after looking all over Vietnam for Bahn Mi...turns out one of the better ones is right in my very own backyard.

*see previous pieces on the subject and yes...I'm being somewhat sarcastic...

Ninh's Vietnamese Sandwiches and Bubble Tea is located at 577 2nd (Btwn 31st and 32nd St)