Baoguette

2009 has been the Year of Banh Mi, as the humble Vietnamese sandwich and its variants have become inescapable. One of the best of the crop of banh mi shops is Baoguette, a tiny storefront wisely positioned near a branch of CUNY. In the interest of variety, we tried the papaya salad with tiger shrimp, which was decent enough, but the sandwiches are the raison d'être, and we were totally taken with the "Sloppy Bao," a delightfully spicy roll of curried beef, mango, and lemongrass. Here's hoping that this trend sticks around.