Nhu Y Deli

Another Banh Mi only review.
This is the kind of place that gives banh Mi’s their bad reputation. Small, stale rolls that were warmed slightly to try and hide their day old softness. Tiny portions in the filling which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the BBQ Pork and chicken were over salted in a desperate attempt to imbue them with flavour — any flavour.
This place was SO bad I wanted to Unilocal it right away to remind me to never come here again

*this is a banh mi review, i didn’t try the other deli items sold at the store*
Going to school in florida I would frequent a place in orlando’s chinatown area called phở 88. as the name would describe their phở is quite good but it was there that i was introduced to a little vietnamese sandwich called banh mi. The banh mi was good with crusty but soft bread, good amount of meat, a hint of spice from the fresh jalapenos and a nice crunch from fresh cilantro. The viet deli meats used in the sandwich were also well seasoned but not salty. After that faithful trip i was hooked and when i was going to school it was always a short drive away, since i would always be in orlando for some reason or another. However since Orlando is now close to 7 hours away I had to find another place for my sweet sweet addiction to banh mi and no making it at home is not an option since i can barely recognize half of the items in the sandwich. So my Atlanta banh mi journey began.
One of the first stops of my culinary journey brought me here to Nhu Y Deli next to Phở Dai Loi 2. As we were pulling up to eat at Phở Dai Loi i noticed this deli and realized that the sign stated banh mi. The spelling looked correct as did the accent marks so after ordering my phở i hopped over to Nhu Y Deli.
From inital impressions on the outside it seemed that traffic into the deli was slow. No one was really inside and there were a few browsers in the aisles looking at the prepared foods that were laid out. More browsing than buying however since a few people left without purchasing anything. The store seemed pretty clean so i got the attention of the clerk behind the counter. Knowing just enough vietnamese to order the all inclusive special banh mi (banh mi dac biet) i wanted as my sandwich was made. Since i didn’t want 6 sandwiches i just got one for around $ 2.5 as opposed to the usual buy 5 get 1 free deals that vietnamese deli’s have. After 5 min the gentlemen from behind the counter with my sandwich wrapped in parchment paper.
Exicted i hopped back to phở dai loi2 and unwrapped my sandwich. Everything seemed to be in order but the bread was a little stiff (stale) and the filling seemed to be lacking. It was a relatively thin layer of meats and greens. Perhaps it was more flavorable thus less is more? Nope just stingy. Taking the first bite it was almost all bread with little meat. Next bite? same thing… it wasn’t till i got through ¼ of the thin sandwich that i tasted any processed meat by then i had already written off the sandwich as a loss. I finished the rest of sandwich as is and it was a lesson learned.
Overall if Nhu Y Deli only served banh mi it would be out of business in a matter of weeks. The meat was rather bland and lacking and the bread was stiff. The price was on par with other places on buford but the goods definitely weren’t there. There are plenty of other places on buford that sells quality banh mi (lee’s bakery isn’t bad, quoc huong is pretty good, and there’ s a place next to the CDC which has very good banh mi tho slightly salty). Want banh mi? don’t waste ure time here at Nhu Y Deli… Happy eating!