August 17, 2026 - Brooklyn Downtown Star

From Saigon to Chinatown: The Family Story Behind Bánh Mì Cô Út

BQE Admin on August 17, 2026

By John Sanchez

—

For Brooklynites willing to cross the bridge for a great sandwich, one of New York City’s most compelling Vietnamese food stories is just a quick bike ride away.

In Manhattan’s Chinatown, Bánh Mì Cô Út has built a loyal following around something deceptively simple: authentic Vietnamese bánh mì made with the flavors owner Kim grew up with in Vietnam.

But behind the sandwiches is a story about family, immigration and preserving a taste of home.

Born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City, Kim came to New York after previously working as a chef. In 2020, during one of the most uncertain periods the city’s restaurant industry had ever experienced, she opened the original Bánh Mì Cô Út at 83 Elizabeth Street.

Even the restaurant’s name is personal. “Cô Út” is a Vietnamese term associated with the youngest child in a family — a fitting name for Kim, the youngest in hers. With the support of her husband and family, the tiny Chinatown sandwich counter eventually grew into a small family of Vietnamese businesses.

Today, Kim and her family operate two Bánh Mì Cô Út sandwich shops just blocks apart. The original remains at 83 Elizabeth Street, while the second location opened nearby at 103 Eldridge Street. The newer outpost has helped the family expand production while keeping the grab-and-go spirit of the original shop.

Their third concept, Kitchen Cô Út, is a full-service Vietnamese restaurant located at 85 Chrystie Street. Opened after the success of the original bánh mì shop, Kitchen Cô Út gives the family more room to showcase Vietnamese cooking beyond sandwiches, including pho, bún bò huế, hủ tiếu, rice dishes and other traditional favorites.

At the two Bánh Mì Cô Út locations, however, the sandwich remains the star.

The shop’s bánh mì pair crisp, airy Vietnamese baguettes with savory meats, pâté, mayonnaise, cucumber, cilantro and pickled carrot and daikon. The combination reflects the fascinating history of bánh mì itself. The sandwich traces part of its history to the French baguette introduced during the colonial period, but Vietnamese cooks transformed it into something entirely their own — lighter, crispier and filled with ingredients rooted in Vietnamese cuisine.

For first-time visitors, three sandwiches offer a great introduction to what Bánh Mì Cô Út does best. The Bánh Mì Cô Út Special is the signature, loaded with pork belly, boiled and fried Vietnamese ham, jambon, pork floss and pâté, balanced by mayo, cucumber, cilantro and pickled carrot and daikon.

The Bánh Mì Thịt Heo Nướng Ngũ Vị offers a different experience, built around flavorful five-spice grilled pork and currently ranking among the shop’s most popular selections. Then there’s the Classic Bánh Mì Thịt Ba Rọi Chả Lụa, a more traditional combination of pork belly, Vietnamese ham, pork floss and pâté with the familiar crunch and brightness of fresh herbs and pickled vegetables. Together, the three showcase what has made Bánh Mì Cô Út a Chinatown favorite: crisp bread, generous fillings and the balance of savory, rich, fresh and tangy flavors that defines a great bánh mì.

For Brooklyn readers, the three locations also make for an easy food adventure. From Downtown Brooklyn or Williamsburg, hop on a bike, cross into Lower Manhattan and you can be in Chinatown before long. Grab a bánh mì and Vietnamese iced coffee, or make the trip a full meal at Kitchen Cô Út.

The family’s three locations are:

Bánh Mì Cô Út — 83 Elizabeth Street, New York, NY 10013
Bánh Mì Cô Út 2 — 103 Eldridge Street, New York, NY 10002
Kitchen Cô Út — 85 Chrystie Street, New York, NY 10002

What began as one small Chinatown storefront has become a growing family business, while remaining concentrated within the same neighborhood that first embraced Kim’s food.

Bánh Mì Cô Út is also represented by BQE Media & Marketing, the parent company of The Brooklyn Star. Led by John Sanchez, the agency works with the family on marketing and storytelling as Bánh Mì Cô Út continues to introduce more New Yorkers to the food and traditions behind the family’s Vietnamese roots.

SCHWARTZ: The Real Reason Why It’s So Hard to Get From Brooklyn to Queens

BQE Admin on August 17, 2026

“As someone who grew up in Queens, at a time before avocado toast, I developed a terminal case of Bridge and Tunnel Syndrome.” (Photo: Wikimedia)

By Lana Schwartz | lana.schwartz925@gmail.com

If you have ever lived in Brooklyn and have had the misfortune of having someone close to you live in Queens, or lived in Queens and had the misfortune of having someone close to you who lives in Brooklyn, then you know — traversing between the boroughs is not for the faint of heart. Going from Crown Heights to Forest Hills. Flushing to Bushwick. Bay Ridge to Woodside. All of these are one hour-plus subway rides, with your best option involving going through Manhattan to reach your final destination. Unless the person you are trying to see is standing on one side of the Kosciuzsko Bridge and you are on the other, you will face some sort of trial and tribulation trying to reach your destination. Maybe even so if that’s the case. Have you ever walked over the Kosciuzsko Bridge when cars are speeding across it and the bridge shakes, forcing you to question the bridge’s structural integrity and if you’ll be one of the unlucky people on the Kosciuzsko Bridge when it goes down?

Anyway. I know there are reasons for interborough travel beyond seeing friends, but I, for one, have limited mine.

A few weeks ago, I said that the reason why it’s so hard to travel between Brooklyn and Queens is to “keep us weak.” I was joking — but only at first. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was true. As someone who grew up in Queens, at a time before avocado toast, I developed a terminal case of Bridge and Tunnel Syndrome. Hailing from the furthest reaches of a tertiary borough, I dreamed of making it amongst the skyscrapers. Now, things are different. I live in Brooklyn. I work in Brooklyn. My friends live in Brooklyn and sometimes in Queens. I have exactly one friend who lives in Manhattan, and when we hang out, she comes to Brooklyn. I often forget Manhattan is even there, except when I have to move through it to go somewhere else, or I am seeing a movie. And I would hazard a guess I’m not alone in this. I do still have that Bridge and Tunnel Syndrome, though it has since manifested itself differently, and become a general chip on my shoulder, non-borough-specific.

Could you imagine what would happen were the marrow between Brooklyn and Queens to become navigable? Would the entire GDP of Manhattan sink? What else might the Commie Corridor accomplish? For what Manhattan now lacks in cultural cache, it makes up for in its retention as the city’s cradle of wealth and power.

Years ago, I said I dreamed of a future where there was an easy way for my children to get to Williamsburg to Astoria. Those children are no closer to existing, but neither is that interborough express. As of this writing, there is no way to tell which will come first.

Lana Schwartz is a writer who was born and raised in Queens and today lives in Brooklyn. Her writing has appeared on The New Yorker, The Onion, McSweeney’s, and more. She is the author of the books “Build Your Own Romantic Comedy” and “Set Piece.”

Fill the Form for Events, Advertisement or Business Listing