Did you ever love something a whole lot and try to convert everybody you know, only to have them dismiss you with, "You're obsessed with this bánh mí stuff, can't we have sushi for a change?" -- and then, later, when the thing you love becomes the super-trendy-thing-of-the-moment, have them say, "Wow, why didn't you tell us this was so awesome?" Yes, that's a run-on, but you get the point.
We refrained from the ITYS (I told you so) speech when New York Magazine asked, in early April, "Is the humble Vietnamese hoagie poised to become New York's No. 1 sandwich?" and we're not going to go there now, either. But we will say this: Michael Huynh's Baoguette chainlet --- of Murray Hill and St. Mark's fame -- goes West this week with Baoguette & Pho Sure on Christopher Street. The namesake flavorlicious 'wich (packed with house-made meats -- no dodgy mystery-meat here) is front and center on the menu, but this Baoguette branch also expands into pho territory. And if there's anything we've proselytized more than bánh mí, it's probably pho, that delectable mix of star anise-spiked broth, slivered beef (in the traditional incarnation), milky noodles and heady basil.
Baoguette & Pho Sure, 120 Christopher Street (near Bedford Street), (212) 929-0877, baoguette.com
