In the land where thinly sliced and not–so–prime steak is a bun’s best friend, you wouldn’t expect to find hoagies–gone–healthy. But on 47th and Baltimore, Fu–Wah Mini Market is pulling a sandwich coup d’etat.
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Vietnamese hoagie a.k.a banh mi (pronounced BUN-mee) usually has pickled vegetables, cilantro and meat or tofu on a sub roll with a swipe of a mayo–like condiment.
Fu–Wah, a compact bodega in West Philadelphia’s Cedar Park, looks from the outside a bit sketchy, and from the inside a bit ordinary. The Vietnamese guys who run the outpost sell everything a mini–mart’s supposed to: toilet paper, Rice Krispies, cleaning solvents and a pretty good assortment of higher quality foods and lesser–known candies, like Japanese Hi–Chews. But featured un–prominently on their list of corner–store subs are three hoagies that put the n, e, a and t back in Vietnam, and at three o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, I was not the only West Philadelphian who had to have one.
The man working the counter was confident about his sandwich–prowess, but I was unsure about having my lunch handed to me over a rack of Trident. When I asked which hoagie was the most popular, he laughed (at me) and said, “all of them!”
I picked the Tofu Hoagie made spicy ($4.30), but for those of you who find meatless heroes meek, Fu–Wah offers a pork or shredded chicken option (both $5.40).
There’s nowhere to sit inside (the next best option was hailing a cab back to campus to avoid losing a limb to the cold), but the hoagie was worth the wait. Nestled in a toasted sub roll, the tofu was some of the best I’ve had—flavorful, not too fried and dressed in a tangy hot sauce. And I have to hand it to the condiments: shredded carrots, cabbage, jalapeño and cilantro made the sandwich as good–looking as it was tasty. Beats Cheese Whiz any day — at least in my book.
Fu–Wah Mini Market 810 South 47th St. Philadelphia, PA 19143-3613 (215) 729–2993
