| rev:text
| - If you read my other reviews, you know I have high standards for sandwiches. (I blame this on having grown up in DE, which means Capriotti's is my standard of comparison.) I've been on the hunt for a great sandwich in PGH for some time now, but thus far, nothing has inspired me to think, "Wow, what a stellar sandwich!" Yesterday, however, my hunt for a great sandwich in PGH finally came to an end when I discovered Lucy's.
For those of you unfamiliar with Lucy's, it is a humble stand set up next to Bar Marco. The stand is run by its owner, Lucy, an elderly Vietnamese woman, along with one or two helpers (a younger woman and a man when I stopped by). From what I've heard, Lucy maintains limited hours, and is only available during the warmer months (roughly May-Oct.). Also, she accepts only cash as payment. Despite all of these caveats, Lucy produces some of the most flavorful sandwiches your taste buds will have the privilege of meeting in PGH or anywhere else.
Lucy's sandwiches are banh mi, a Vietnamese sandwich consisting of roasted pork and chicken, pickled carrots and cauliflower, and jalapenos, dressed with sriracha and hoisin sauces and topped with cilantro. If you're intimidated by all of the ingredients, don't be. Together, they cover the entire spectrum of taste sensations--savory, sweet, and spicy, with slight hints of salt and bitterness--along with the entire spectrum of textures--tender, chewy, crunchy, etc. All of these flavors and textures combine superbly, creating an explosion of taste like you've never experienced on a sandwich before.
Given that the sandwich I received from Lucy's was my first banh mi, I readily admit that I don't have a standard of comparison. However, my 5 star rating is based on my comparison of this sandwich against all of the other sandwiches I've tried in PGH, which don't even come close to the perfection of this culinary work of art on a roll. If you've never tried a banh mi before, Lucy's is an excellent place to have your maiden experience with one. If you have, I dare you to compare other banh mi you've had elsewhere to Lucy's version--I'm pretty sure the odds are stacked in her favor (get it--stacked?!?).
For $1 more than a $5 footlong at Subway, Lucy's will provide with you with a sandwich of the same length that's a gazillion (that's a scientific term, in case you're wondering...) times better. For those of you who are budget conscious (as I am), this sandwich is a steal by PGH standards (the citywide average for a sandwich at present is $7.50). So, stop by Lucy's stand ASAP and upgrade from ubiquitous sandwich mediocrity to local sandwich bliss--just be sure to bring cash!
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)