Banh Mi Battel-Lowell MA#3

What#4 BBQ Beef Sandwich

Where: Heng Heng Asian Fast Food
32 Branch Street
Lowell MA 01851
How much: $2.75
Time of visit: a Friday about 2:00PM

Lowell. Among other things: Fourth largest city in MA. Home of the Spinners (for those team sport fans) and a UMass branch, Birthplace of Bette Davis and Jack Kerouac. Birthplace of the industrial revolution. Location of at least four Banh Mi shops.

(readers, cue The Business - Hang The DJ) (clicking on link should open YouTube in a new browser tab so you can hear my selected audio track playing, but you will have to click back on this tab to return)

This day's travels took me through northern MA. There are not any other options besides Lowell for Banh Mi up in this neck of the woods and it wasn’t too far out of the way…

Heng Heng is a take-out only establishment. As I stood in line, several other non-Asians came in after me, despite what I thought would be a slower time for meal seekers.

My order was taken by a very pleasant man. I asked for a printed menu and he pointed to one but told me that the prices were outdated. Also, it did not seem to match up with the ordering numbers for each of the dishes. I guess all you need to do is tell them what you want. No questions seemed to arise when I took the picture of the menu board. It was not the fastest service I’ve had, but then again I was very hungry…

Banh Mi University graduate? Oh, yes! It was served in the traditional white deli wrap and elastic. The bread was excellent. The crust was crisp and eggshell thin. The inside was light and airy with that slightly chewy texture. The beef was very tasty, crispy and carmelized. It was very thinly cut into rectangular shaped pieces. There was only two springs of cilantro, but no hint of darkness. The carrots matchsticks were mixed with some daikon, pretty tasty, slightly pickled and yet still a bit crisp. The cucumber was fresh, thin and spear cut. Scallions were not added. The soy/fish sauce seemed to be missing, but the beef was well marinated to make up for it! An orangey mayo was very sweet and lathered on to keep it moistened. A generous portion of jalapeno slices were added on top and were very hot. The sandwich had a very good afterburn. I did ask for "spicy".

Street parking was not bad around here.

At $2.75, an excellent deal! A very worthy option to Hong Cuc. There is another Banh Mi shop –Yummy Express - across the street that I will get to soon.


I'd give the Banh Mi from Heng Heng a 5.0B/6.

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Banh Mi Battel-Lowell MA#2

What: Beef Banh Mi

Where: Hong Cuc Sandwich Shop

507 Dutton Street

Lowell MA 01854

How Much: $3.00

Yeay, yeah, yeah...mixed Asian reference. Not a spelling mistake...

Banh Mi. The words give me pause and cause me to wonder just what and where is the perfect Banh Mi sandwich shop.  I realize I have just scratched the surface...

(readers, cue PJ Harvey - This Is Love) (clicking on link should open YouTube in a new browser tab so you can hear my selected audio track playing, but you will have to click back on this tab to return)

 This days travels took me into New Hampshire.  Lowell was on the way home and I missed Hong Cuc last time in a gamble on my ill fated trip to Lawrence.  YM and Taters were out, so I thought I'd bring something home for K and I.

Banh Mi University graduate?  Oh yes!  Summa Cum Laude. Note the white deli wrap and elastic as one would expect.  Bread was perfect.  The meat was there in quantity and VERY tasty. The size of the beef pieces was slightly larger than average.  The beef was thin and long and apparently marinated in a hot sauce.  Plant material was outstanding.  Cilantro was crisp and not one hint of darkness on the leaves, though it could stand a bit more.  Carrots and daikon also very crisp and tasty and there was no onion.  The cucumber was fresh, but hidden under all the meat.  There were even some scallions.  The smear of mayo was a little light.  I asked for the sandwich to be spicy hot. There were plenty of jalapenos, but they did not seem too hot.  Sandwich was hotter than most even without the Sriracha and the mild jalapenos.  The heat seemed to come from the beef.  Sandwich size was comparable to most.  The thing that really hooked me was a sweet taste that contrasted with the hot and salty.  It seemed to be something in the liquid poured on top of the sandwich.  Great value for the money.  Too hot for K though.  I got to eat two for dinner!

Hong Cuc is also a Asian grocery and features bubble teas.  There is a parking lot.  they are open 7 days a week 9AM - 9PM.  There is a seafood market next door.

I'd give it 5.5B/6

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A near perfect score!  Each time I have had  Banh Mi lately,  the bar gets raised.  I may have to lower some previous scores.  While not absolutely perfect, Hong Cuc was just slightly better than Pho Viet, even thought they had the same score.

What: Tasco Brand Roasted Coconut Juice with Pulp 

Where: Hong Cuc Sandwich Shop

507 Dutton Street

Lowell MA 01854

How Much: $1.00

I got this Roasted Coconut Juice at Hong Cuc with my sandwichs.  I thought it may make a nice sweet foil to my dinner.  It was made in Thailand and I passed on the other coconut juice that was canned in Puerto Rico trying to make the Asian experience as full as possible.  K actually kind of liked it.  There were little bits of coconut floating around in it.  I liked the bits, but did not like the juice.  It was sweet, but the roasted flavor did not appeal to me. Spend the $1 on a different beverage.

I'd give it .5B/6

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Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

Banh Mi Battel-Lowell MA#1

What: Beef Banh Mi

Where: Nhu Y Vietnamese Sandwiches

707 Merrimack Street

Lowell  MA 01854

How much: $2.50

Yeay, yeah, yeah...mixed Asian reference. Not a spelling mistake...

Banh Mi. The words bring a spring to my step and saliva to my pie Banh Mi hole.

This day's travels took me to lovely Lowell.  It is always in mind because it has two (that I know of) Banh Mi shops.  I'll get around to featuring the other place in a couple of weeks.  The other reason why Lowell stick in my brain is because of this same Nhu Y Vietnamese Sandwich shop.  I will feature the reason late next week, but suffice it to say, it was one of the food items that gave me reason to start this blog.

(readers, pull up iTunes and cue Iggy Pop & The Stooges - Search and Destroy)

I've been here several times.  I have never been disappointed.  I love the place inside.  It is a regular corner market/bodega selling all sorts of soda/candy/groceries/sundries/lottery tickets.  Oh yeah they had the requisite cans of Cafe du Monde chicory coffee that I have noticed in most Banh Mi shops  To the left of the counter is the Banh Mi prep area.  They have a "meatball"  which I have not tried and a pork skin which I have tried.  It was ok, but I like the beef better.

Banh Mi University graduate?  Oh yes!  Cum Laude. Note the white deli wrap and elastic as one would expect. (Yes, that is my usual luncheon dining table in the picture)  Bread was excellent.  The meat was there in quantity, but not particularly tasty.  Plant material was outstanding.  Cilantro was crisp and not one hint of darkness on the leaves.  Carrots and onions also very crisp and tasty.  The cucumber was long and large and very fresh. One piece took up the whole length of the sandwich.  The smear of mayo was a little light.  I did ask the counter person to make it spicy.  I was distracted by the sheer variety of cool Asian product including dried cuttlefish strips to notice what he was doing to the sandwich.  The first bite had a good bite and kept up through the whole sandwich.  It was not a jalapeno smoky burn, but more of a spicy/vinegary chili bite.  Sandwich size was larger than most.  Sandwich was cheaper than most.  Great value for the money.

I'd give it 4.B/6.

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WOW!  This just found.  Nhu Y has another location (according to the interweb) in Lawrence MA. I'll let you know as soon as I get there.

Thanks to all those who came out for the Miracle on Ice 2010, especially Sissita, Sunshine, Tyre, Slim/None, Educatrix, Eatawholecake, Jengelic and their children. We appreciate your support.  We missed you Dunette, hope you can make it next time.

Other events worth noting.  My DVR did not record the 200th episode of South Park.  Instead, all I got was a recording error.  While I should chalk it up to bungled technology, it was the episode that was supposed to feature a cartoon image of Mohammad.  A great episode with a not so great (or lack of) ending.  It does delve into the great philosophical/political/religious question of just what an image of the prophet is and what it represents.

Hot Tub Time Machine.  Great soundtrack.  Unapologetically crass.  Drugs portrayed in a non-negative light.  Seriously adult situations that if filmed with a softer lens focus and a different context could have made for C grade softcore.  Edzo, Brighton Blackie and I say thumbs up.  Bakin', YM and Catholic Schoolgirl give it mixed reviews.