Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

My local HEB in Texas stocks imported Coke from Mexico. It really does taste better. I don't know why, I will not pretent to know if it is healthier. But, when I'm at the grocery and I see someone about to buy Coke, I point them at the import Coke. Yep, I'm a Coke sniper :) I can't tell you it tastes fresh and spicy and have you beleive me on my word. You must try. It costs more, but it tastes better. I'd rather pay extra for something I enjoy than anything for something sub-par. I have extra seats on the bandwagon :) Aside: Poster from Canada, skip the Coke, just send REAL maple syrup. Canada seems to be the only place selling something other than that chemical crud on almost every shelf.

I was on the same seemingly endless search. Liquor stores can't sell them because they are considered to be a food item. I think that most 'everyday' consumers don't really look for bitters so they are generally sold wholesale to bars, etc...

It's been over a year but if you are still looking, look at boutique specialty food stores (dean and deluca won't have them, and even if they do their selection will be minimal). Kalustyan's on 28th and Lex has them. It's a South Asian specialty food store.

My favorite was a chau deli, which is now closed. Therefore, chalk up one more vote for Banh Mi So #1 (which seems to be what people are referring to as SVS?) on Broome. If you specifically want a barbecue pork banh mi, Banh Mi Saigon on Mott (the one in the jewelry store) is really good.

i haven't been to any of the places in brooklyn.

Baoguette and Nicky's are both fine, but are overpriced; nicky's in particular is not as good as the ones in chinatown. Baogutte specializes in a "sloppy joe" banh mi which is pretty lame, but the assorted-pork-product sandwich is pretty good.

I agree with @sailordave that Saigon's on Broome makes the best banh mi. I always get a #1 with fresh jalapeno and chili sauce. I've tried other places (including Nicky's and Baoguette) and think that both flavor and price is superior at Saigon.

I have to chime in here.

I like both Baoguette and Ba Xuyen. Never had An Choi so I can't comment there. I have however tried Banh mi Saigon, Banh mi so mot, SVS, and Nicky's (both Manhattan and Brooklyn) as well as several other Banh mi shops. Some might say I'm obsessed with Banh Mi.

I'd rate Ba Xuyen higher than all I've had in NY with Baoguette coming in a very close second. The major difference is that Baoguette has a smaller sandwich and a little less flavor (not necessarily in a bad way). They use Sriracha unlike other places that use peppers for the heat. Ba Xuyen uses Maggi sauce which explains why I use the bread to sop up all the juices left over when I'm nearly done with the sandwich.

One thing to note is that if you are adverse to MSG then you may not like how you feel after Ba Xuyen.

I live in Queens and work in downtown Manhattan. If I'm already in the city I'd get Baoguette over any other place. If I'm not in Manhattan I'd rather make the trek to go to Brooklyn to get Ba Xuyen. I've been known to drive from Queens to Brooklyn to pick up Banh mi from Ba Xuyen.

Now that you mention An Choi, I've heard a good deal so it's next on my list.

good luck and happy hunting.

laurelie - i have had inconsistent danny meyer service experiences as well so i hear you. i know he is famous for hospitality, but i've never found service to be consistently good at his restaurants. given that hospitality is danny meyer's self-proclaimed focus, i'm usually disapointed.

still - i will give EMP a try - some of these reviews food-wise here sound amazing. jboylee, congratulations and thanks for the menu breakdown - sounds delicious.

Laurelie, if you were 22 at the time that you went to EMP, I'm not surprised that they carded you. And I'm surprised you've never been carded anywhere else in the city. I'm 33 and I still get carded from time to time. It's NYC law to card anyone younger than 40. I'm not trying to blame you, but if you got very defensive when asked for ID, that may have tainted the way you experienced the rest of the evening.

As for my own experience with EMP, my fiancee and I are getting married later this year and our plan is to hold a very intimate dinner for family and friends in one of the private dining areas of a 4 star resturant. As part of our research, we had dinner at each 4 star (and 4-star level) resturant in the city in very quick succession - Per Se, Daniel, Le Bernardin et. al - and also had a viewing of each private dining room. EMP ended up blowing away the competition. Besides having the most stunning and beautiful private dining space (Per Se's is a little windowless, shoebox of a space - what's the point of being in the Time Warner Building?), the food was exceptional (way more fun and accessible than Daniel's while still feeling decadent), the service impeccable, and the atmosphere a nice balance of attentiveness and casualness.

The portions may be smaller than what most American's are accustomed to but given how many appetizers and other items you recieve inbetween the three courses, one cannot possibly leave hungry. Our meal consisted of:
- 5 small appetizers (including foie gras, sweetbreads, and a radish dipped in butter)
- a dozen cheese puffs (yum)
- amuse bouche of microgastronomy "tomato & mozzarella" - SO GOOD
- 2nd amuse bouche of lobster bisque
- assortment of bread (try the lemon thyme) with two kinds of butter - cow and goat
- our appetizers (course 1 - we had the gnocchi & shrimp roll)
- our main course (course 2 - suckling pig & halibut)
- a palette cleanser (a strawberry whipped thing)
- our desserts (course 3 - chocolate peanut butter palatte & cherry "cobbler")
- gratis mini-macaroons (as many as you want)
- gratis cognac (I don't drink but my fiancee said it was very good) - and they left the whole bottle to allow us to linger

Plus we got a small box of fruit pate when we left. All this for far less than what we paid at Daniel or Per Se. And Chef Humm visited our table towards the end of dinner to see how we were doing.

It was such a magical experience. I was thrilled to see EMP receive 4 stars this past week. So deserved.

Laurelle's comments are astounding. I've never heard of such behavior from staff at a Meyer restaurant. Did you do anything about it?

I had a sensational Gourmand (11 courses) dinner three weeks ago. I've always liked the regular menu, but after the Gourmand menu, it'll be hard to only have 3 courses. I do want to try again the duck for 2. EMP is now having the duck (and the guinea fowl) carved tableside. Quite an impressive show! Service is top notch and friendly. Nothing stuffy at all about EMP.

My favourites are Chow and tastespotting.com (the former for the forum and the latter for my daily fix of food porn!)

I guess I'm a tabloid lover - I hit foodnetworkaddict a couple of times a day.

I LOVE America's Test Kitchen and signed up for online access to Cook's Illustrated.
-Dawn
Eat dinner with your family tonight, I mean it!