Midtown Lunch

Bad news to start your Monday: It looks like Baoguette on Nassau St. (btw. John & Fulton) is down for the count. I’d noticed the lights being off earlier last week, but by Friday a “for rent” sign had been strung above the space.

The chainlet was one of the only banh mi purveyors in the Financial District for a couple of years when it opened at the beginning of 2010, with the Banh Mi Cart at Hanover Sq. for company. Now of course we have Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches (and Yushi) selling a variety of the sandwiches. Still, I became addicted to the catfish sandwich at Baoguette soon after starting work in the FiDi, when I was across the street from their original location on Maiden Lane. I won’t miss the yellow turmeric stains I got from pieces of fish that fell out of the sandwich onto my pants, but I will miss those banh mi.

This week marks two years since I’ve started writing  for you fine people on Midtown Lunch: Downtown and I thought it might be fun to tell you about some non-review lunches that I’ve eaten on a regular basis since I started working in the Financial District but haven’t ever written about. I’m saving my most shameful guilty pleasure lunch for the end of the week, but today you get the lunch that I’ve probably eaten the most when I’m crunched for time or can’t think of anything else imaginative to stuff in my face. That would be the catfish banh mi from Baoguette, extra spicy.

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When I walked by the new location of Baoguette on Nassau St. (btw. John & Fulton) this morning the shutters were up and it looked like they were putting the finishing touches on before lunch service. Unless there’s some seating space upstairs or past the counter that I couldn’t see from the door, it looks like lunchers will once again be relegated to eating at counters along the wall and front window although the interior is definitely nicer than the old location on Maiden Lane.

Last week it became official that the Baoguette on Maiden Lane would be moving to a new location around the corner at 75 Nassau St. (btw. John & Fulton). Yesterday we got word from Michael Bao himself that the new shop will open on Monday meaning the old one will be closing. The Nassau St. location still had paper over the windows when I walked by so it’s unclear if this space will be any better (or have real seats maybe?)  than the old one.

Last week word on the street was that Vietnamese sandwich shop Baoguette was moving into a location on Nassau St. between John & Fulton but it was unclear what would happen to their current location on Maiden Lane. That question was answered this morning as signs have appeared in the windows of both locations. As you can see above, some sandwich porn is all it takes to advertise what’s going into the former dry cleaning shop. Click through to see what the hastily-written (I hope) sign in the current location says.

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There was a mention over on Eater late last week that Baoguette, maker of a fine Vietnamese sandwich, is opening a new shop at 75 Nassau St. (btw. John & Fulton).  When I walked by the windows at that address were covered in black plastic, so it seems like something is indeed opening in the former dry cleaning shop. It’s unclear whether they would keep the store open on Maiden Lane (btw. Broadway & Nassau) but it wouldn’t really make sense to have two within such close proximity. I’m guessing that Nicky’s Vietnamese Sandwiches, which is located just a block away at Nassau & Ann streets, is not going to be pleased about this news.

When profiled lunch’er Chirag mentioned one of his favorite lunches downtown was the veguette banh mi at Baoguette, I was both intrigued and skeptical. To me soy protein masquerading as a meat product (in this case kung pao chicken) is kind of like the McRib: trying to be something it’s not. I know not everyone eats meat and as it’s one of the only vegetarian banh mi options in the Financial District (other than Nicky’s Vietnamese tofu version). Clearly someone had to try this sandwich for research purposes. Read more »