Tuesday, August 23, 2011

QT Vietnamese Sandwich

48 N 10th St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(267) 639-4520

I hadn't been to QT in quite some time. I remembered it being quite good the few other times I had eaten there, but my last visit was less than desirable. QT is a tiny store-front shop located in Chinatown, and boasts a lemongrass tofu banh mi as one of the highlights of the menu.





Unfortunately, the version I received was dry. Not only was it dry, but it was absolutely devoid of flavor. No lemongrass, no spread, barely any zip from the vegetables. To put it politely, this was not a good sandwich. However, at least it was edible. I also got my favorite, BBQ pork.



Once again, dry as a bone, but what really got me was the poor quality of the meat. It was basically pork spam. I mean, look at it. Does that hold any semblance to BBQ pork YOU have ever seen? Because to me, it looks like processed pork product. Not to mention, wheres the BBQ? Non-existent. One thing they had going for them: the bread was decent. Is this enough to earn them a return trip with all of the other DELICIOUS banh mi spots around the city? Absolutely not.


Sadly, this was how the sandwiches were lain to rest. In the trash. I cut my losses and went to RTM for some Pad Thai. I absolutely HATE throwing away food, but I couldn't bring myself to eat this sorry excuse for banh mi. It's supposed to be bursting with flavor, not SPAM (unless you ORDER SPAM).


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

you ordered wrong. Grilled pork (the bbq means it was technically bbq'ed, not that it's like what people think of here), and if you get the lemongrass tofu (instead of the other one), you have to ask for condiments to be added.

it's unfortunate they have weaknesses on the menu like that because the grilled pork banh mi is the truth.

Anonymous said...

the tofu is much better if you get the tofu with mushrooms and onions. i absolutely love their banh mi sandwiches! and also, they are much better if you order them spicy!

Philly Phoodie said...

Anonymous, don't you think that maybe they ought to let customers know about those options? To me, that is part of the problem. They are not worth the effort of remembering a "secret menu" when there are better banh mi around.

Dan said...

I agree the bbq pork is a disappointment, but I keep going back because the house special is greeeeeeaaaaat! Also, the chicken congee is nice.

playonplaya said...

i love this place, i get the grilled pork or lemongrass chicken. i cant remember the last time i got one and it lasted more then 3-4 mins