A Chau Deli

Used to visit my mom, aunt and cousins when it was opened. I rarely ate since I don’t really like Banh Mi. but every time I was there, a customer complimented how much they loved my mom’s cooking, and how far they traveled just to eat there. I must be lucky.

I looked for this place and apparently it’s closed. Grrrr!

I’m sooooo sad. This place closed out! Now Im out of a place to get my Banh Mi sandwiches :(I went to Banh Mi Saigon since people rave about it but their sandwiches just arent as good. A Chau had the perfect combination of fresh crispy bread, perfectly pickled carrots and radishes and seasoned meat. WHAT THE HECK!!! Im upset! I think it was their location. Other shops seem to do well but yet had worse sandwiches. There is now a jewelry store in its stead.

I agree with Ben C. — I think this places is closed! I couldn’t find it at all. They used to have the best vietnamese meatball sandwiches and great bread. *sniff*

..I think Pearl H. is mistaken unless she found a new local for A Chau because I walked down Mulberry yesterday twice and I didn’t find it. Instead it’s some tiny jewelry shop or whatever in its place. I actually got genuinely upset! Wish I kept their business card, now I will neve know of A Chau’s whereabouts.

I love Vietnamese hoagies! And this place rocks! You get a hefty size sandwich for about $ 6.00, not bad. It used to be much cheaper, but I guess times are hard, still it’s not a bad price especially cause you get a pretty big size.
They have some other things that I haven’t really tried, I always get a traditional Banh Mi sandwich.
Definitely worth it, check it out!

I loved this place. I looked forward to eating the #6 sandwich every weekend. But now it’s GONE! I’m so sad.

I tried the #6 Banh Mi, and it was pretty good. The baguette is long, crisp, and fresh. The vegetables taste fresh, and the sweet and hot sauces are tasty. The service, though it took a bit because the woman at the counter was chatting with a friend, was smiling and friendly.
The major problem is that there just wasn’t that much to the filling, despite there being 4 different meats involved. The only other place I’ve gone for banh mi is Ba Xuyen in Brooklyn, and I have to say they packed in a lot more than A Chau does.
That said, if I’m in the neighborhood I would certainly go back. $ 3.75 for that sandwich is a steal. I haven’t tried Saigon yet though, so I’ll have to check that out before I make a final decision. As of now, Ba Xuyen has it.

Had the #6 Viet Sammich this time, which includes BBQ pork ($ 3.75). The BBQ pork isn’t fried, but still very tasty. Sorry, I have to relinquish the crown to Saigon Banh Mi though.
Note: They also sell Phở Noodle Soups here ($ 6-​$ 7).

Last week I tried to go to A Chau around 1:30 and the soft spoken, extremely friendly employee begrudgingly informed me that they had run out for the day but to come back as soon as possible. He said they don’t typically run out before 5 but every now and again there is a big lunch rush between 12 and 1.
Yesterday I was feeling pretty lucky so I decided to drop by A Chau around 2pm to see if I could snag my first Banh Mi from them. When I walked in the door things went down like this:
(employee #1 is behind the counter, employee? #2 may or may not work there, he is in front of the counter, back room voice… no idea)
Employee #1 — «That bitch broke my mutha fuckin phone!»
Employee? #2 — «Get a blackberry kid, get a blackberry, be like me»
Employee #1 — «I still got my iphone though, thats hot»
Employee? #2 — «fuck that, fuck that, fuck that»
Me — «hey, did you guys run out of sandwiches yet?»
Employee? #2 — «SANDWICHES???»
Back room voice — «some, some, yeah»
Employee? #2 — «nice, which sandwich would you like?»
Me — «let me try the Banh Mi Dac Biet»
Employee? #2 — «would you like that spicy or mild»
Me — «Spicy, definitely»
Employee? #2 — «BANH MI DAC BIET, SPICY!»
PAUSE
Employee #1 — «fuck, I need another phone man»
Employee? #2 — «get a fuckin blackberry»
Employee #1 — «I need a sidekick»
Employee? #2 — «FUuuuucccckkkkk the sidekick, I fuckin hate sidekicks… aight, I’ll see if I have one at home»
Employee #1 — «what kind»
Employee? #2 — «Sidekick 3, I fuckin hate sidekicks, get a blackberry»
PAUSE
Employee #1 — «bitch broke my phone»
PAUSE
Employee #1 — «here you are, would you like anything else?»
Me — «I’ll take a Foco Thai Tea, how much?»
Employee #1 — «$ 4.75»
Me — «FUCK!»
So what did I learn from my experience at A Chau? The service is amazing, they are super friendly and even if they don’t work there they will probably help you with your order. A Chau employee #1 and employee? #2 love cell phones, they FUCKING love cell phones. A drink and a sandwich at A Chau is cheap enough to drive me to the cuss.
When I got back to my office to eat lunch I opened my sandwich and noticed two things. First, this sandwich looked amazing. Second, this sandwich was a creaser, I hate creasers.
Creaser — A sandwich where all ingredients are laid on the bun while it is fully open. When folded, a creaser leaves a majority of the meat on the hinge of the bun while all other ingredients push out toward the open end of the sandwich. When eating a creaser horizontally one must either bite the entire width of the sandwich at once to get all of the ingredients in one mouthful, or bite a veggie side and a meat side.
Moving past my hatred for creasers this sandwich had a lot going on. Apparently when you ask for spicy what you are getting is a lot of black pepper to go along with the Jalapenos, Daikon, Carrots, Cilantro, Cucumber, Meat and Mayo. I love spice and I love black pepper, so far, so good. The meat was nothing special but I wasn’t expecting amazing at two in the afternoon, figuring the choicest pieces had already been used for the day. The baguette was the gold star on this sandwich, warm, crispy on the outside and soft/​chewy/​moist on the inside. The Cilantro and other veggies were all very fresh and the Daikon and Carrot had just enough pickle in them.
It took me about 3 minutes to pound the sandwich and the Thai Tea Drink which I had never had out of a can before. While the spice may have overpowered the other flavors a little bit, with mediocre meats it was worth getting the extra spice.
I would hook A Chau up with a 4 star rating if the sandwich hadn’t been a creaser and the meat hadn’t been mediocre. I am definitely going to drop in again, to see if the meat is any better and to check in on the cell phone situation.

It could be bad luck on my end but it just seems I am not seeing the magic that others see in this place. My sandwich has tasted increasingly worse during each visit and the only reason I do is because their banh mi happens to be among the cheapest in Chinatown.
The preparation is decent, with a solid array of meats, toppings, and fillings but for some reason they don’t always taste that fresh. The Char Siu Banh Mi has been the best choice but even that has been failing me as of late. The place is small enough to sit for a quick bite but not group friendly at all. The service has always been very nice to me, but unfortunately doesn’t make up for their lack of tasty sandwiches.

*** UPDATED: 05÷02÷07 ***
Items sampled included the Banh Mi Dac Biet (basic Vietnamese sandwich with all the pork fixin’s: Pâté, Cha, etc.) and Banh Mi Char Siu. Word on the street says they do a decent Bun Rieu (Crab and Tomato Soup), but that’s only available Saturdays. Seems to me that their soups fare better than their banh mi …
I did try the Bun Bo Hue (Spicy Pork Hock Soup). 4-​stars! Indeed spicy. Well-​balanced, with fat banh canh noodles and the requisite fresh herbs. It’s an oily soup by nature and this one is no different. Items to also try are the Coco Glacé (synthetic coconut drink served in a coconut shell) and Goi Du Du (Green Papaya Salad).

The 2-​star sandwiches, in sum …
Filling: 2.5 for the skimpy flat toppings. Like an Asian girl in a 32AA. Present company included.
Bread: 3.5 for bread-​resuscitation via toaster.
Pickles, peppers, cilantro, etc: 2.5, a little more Maggi wouldn’t hurt …
Assembly: 1. For asymmetric assembly and a whacked-​out bread-​to-​filling ratio. Upon splitting a sandwich, Isaiah S. and I discovered that he held all the char siu, and I had all the pickles. Moreover, the sandwich had a good 2″ of naked bread ends.
Perks: 4. Cashier had MCAT flashcards, and the Bun Bo Hue had cubes of congealed pork blood. Testaments to authenticity! Mad props to my peeps for keepin’ it reals.

Excellent banh mi. They use really good, crusty baguettes for the sandwiches, which is key. I’ve only had the meatball so far, but I’m definitely going back.

This shop has the most authentic and arguably the best banh mi sandwiches in NYC. They use the freshiest ingredients and crispy french bread for their sandwiches. Cheap at 3 dollars for the classic banh mi and 2.75 for the streaded ground pork and pork/​chicken ham sandwiches. The sandwiches are prepared quickly and with great care. Highly recommended.