Bánh Mì Replaces Curves Gym on Grand Street
Great news for all Vietnamese food lovers-B√°nh M√¨ has opened an expanded Williamsburg location in the former Curves Gym on Grand Street. The owners Vu Bui, Dung Trinh, and Thomas Bui are three Brooklyn-raised Vietnamese (‚”Brooklyn-mese”, as they called themselves) friends who met on a handball court as children. Now they’ve joined forces to open their third Vietnamese restaurant in Williamsburg (they also own the sit-down restaurant An Nhau on Bedford Avenue).
Read more after the jump.
The larger B√°nh M√¨ location on Grand Street is airy and bright with a colorful mural painted by okMitch who has also done work for Tarif, Northern Spy Food Co., St. Anslem, and many other local eateries. okMitch received inspiration for the mural from photos the three owners took during their various trips to Vietnam. Owner Dung Trinh said they wanted to expand their menu from the Bedford Avenue take-out shop and offer more rice dishes, pho, additional appetizers, Vietnamese milk shakes, and bubble tea along with ample seating. The dark wood tables scattered around the restaurant all have Caf√© Du Monde coffee canisters to hold the spoons, forks, and chopsticks. When asked about the containers, Vu Bui said, ‚”we’re Vietnamese, that is what we do. We take everything and recycle it, even the canisters from our coffee”.
We tried the Chicken Pho ($8), which is served with rice noodles, shredded chicken, bean sprouts, lettuce, chives, and fresh mint. The pho wasn’t too oily and had the perfect balance of broth and noodles. We also sampled the Lemongrass Chicken Sandwich ($5.50), which came on a toasted baguette with cucumber, pickled carrots, daikon, cilantro, and French mayo. Often B√°nh M√¨ shops go overboard with the mayo on the sandwiches, but the mayo to sandwich ratio was perfect. If ordering the sandwich, we’d suggest getting a side since they aren’t particularly large. If you’re looking for something more filling we would suggest the Grilled Pork Chop served over rice ($9) or the Grilled Salmon with Sweet Lemongrass sauce and sugar snap peas on the side ($12). There are also a few options for vegetarians: Spicy Lemongrass Vermicelli with Tofu and Mushroom ($11), Vegetarian Banh Mi with Tofu and Mushrooms ($6), and the Summer or Veggie Roll (($5).
Slow dripped Vietnamese coffee is served with condensed milk ($2), along with home brewed Iced Tea ($2.50), Iced Coffee ($3.50), and Limeade ($2.50), which is a homemade traditional fresh-squeezed lime juice drink. The owners are working on their Beer and Wine license, which should be finalized in a few weeks. There is no dessert offered yet, but except to see bubble tea, ice cream, sorbet, and chocolate lava cake in next month or so.
Delivery is coming soon. Bánh Mì is open Noon-10pm daily.
Bánh Mì, 580 Grand Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211; 718.599.5015
It’s cool that there’s a few Bahn Mi joints popping up in the neighborhood, but this spot and the one on bedford serve absolutely mediocre Banh Mi sandwiches. For better ingredients, more personal service, a welcoming environment and awesome movies projected all day long — HEAD TO NHA TOI on Havemeyer and S.2nd (i’m completely non affiliated with his biz, but i am a regular customer and want to support Fred, cuz he’s the man!!!)
they certainly knew their audience. they have a radio turned to some Sirius station i’m guessing because we heard “hot indie” tunes the whole time. not really what you’d expect to hear when you see whose working there. we went sunday after going for a walk and it was kind of sort of busy but not obnoxiously so. the food was pretty good, decently priced but though this is probably sacrilege i’d have liked a side of something to go with the sandwich
Fred is cocky. His pho is good but everytime I try to get a sandwich he’s out of bread. Whatsup w that
This place is absolutely the worst. I live around the corner and had to try it. I give them six months before they’re out. Disgrace to vietnamese food. Cheers to the Nha toi shout out.. It’s the only place to eat vietnamese in the hood.
Buncha haters.
Vietnam War!!!!
ummm…. not haters. lovers of good viet food. Not shitty viet food masquerading as good because it’s new. Don’t be confused. The food was bad. If that makes me a hater… I guess i hate bad food. Nha Toi serves GOOD FOOD and he’s never been out of bread the 3 days of the week I go there.
I dunno, you’re entitled to your comments, however, it’s kinda tacky for you to start promoting another restaurant (in the way that you did) IMHO. Just a little weird.
The food here and at An Nhau is by no means bad, but I take issue with the fact that as Vietnamese places go – these guys charge inflated prices for sub-par food. Granted $5 for a sandwich or $8 for a soup isn’t that much, but it feels like an insult when you’re able to get a fresher, better tasting product elsewhere at nearly half the price. It’s a shame these Broolyn-mese owners didn’t give back to the borough something as amazingly tasty (and cheap) as the offerings in Sunset Park. Put it this way, if Banh Mi (or An Nhau) were located anywhere other than Williamsburg where the Vietnamese food options are slim (aside from Nha Toi – which is better, but perhaps slightly overrated itself) they would be out of business in a matter of months. I’m not saying I won’t (begrudgingly) eat here in a pinch, I just kinda think it’s a shame they seem to be half-assing it when they clearly have such a captive audience.