Banh Mi 172

With banh mi shops opening up all over Manhattan, it was only a matter of time before the craze hit Brooklyn. While a handful of places have opened, none have quite gathered the cult like following of Manhattan’s Nicky’s or Banh Mi Saigon. Curious, I decided to investigate my neighborhoods offerings of my favorite sandwich, starting with Bedford Ave’s Banh Mi 172.

Exhausted in the midst of finals, I decided to abandon my kitchen in search of a quick hunger fix. I settled upon Banh Mi 172 partially because of it’s close proximity, but mainly out of my love of all food Vietnamese. Despite the fact that it appeared to be mere steps away from the Bedford Ave L stop on googlemaps, I found myself wandering aimlessly about trying to locate it for ten minutes before I came across a mysterious unlabeled red awning. After some outside inspection, I realized that this was in fact Banh Mi 172 and eagerly went inside.

The restaurant itself is small, and really only suited for takeout because of the absence of any seating. Now, I know that there is only so much variation from the typical banh mi sandwich that one can expect, but their menu written on the blackboard above seemed to only offer five options: the combo roll, the classic pork roll, the grilled lemongrass chicken, the Vietnamese meatball, and the vegetable sandwich. With no mention of the soups or appetizers that I had seen online, I asked to see the printed menu only to be told, “they were out, and just to order what was on the board.” The cashier told me they were connected to the neighboring An Nhau, and that I could order off their menu instead if I liked. I decided just to order their lemongrass chicken sandwich, which was ready almost instantly!

After a short trek home, I eagerly pulled out my sandwich, which was slightly smaller in size than those I have had in Chinatown.

After taking my first bite, my first impression was that the bread was stale; a big no no for banh mi style sandwiches. My second impression was that the chicken was undercooked; rather than being a nice white color most pieces were closer to pink. On top of that, there was almost no mayonnaise to be found and the vegetables were limp and flavorless. Talk about disappointing! Even though Banh Mi 172 is right around the corner from me, I definitely wont be going back there any time soon. Alas, the search continues…

Address: 172 Bedford Ave Brooklyn, NY 11211
Phone:(718) 384-0028
Average Price:$5
Grade: D

Review appeared originally on Eating Brooklyn.com