Xie Xie, NYC

ew Yorkers sure like themselves a good bandwagon. It seems every few months, citizens pick a new hot food item – pizza, sushi, bubble tea, countless others – and start seeking it out like the nectar of the gods. As everyone searches for the best “hidden gem” in New York City, restaurateurs take note, and inevitably a big name chef will find a way to co-opt it.

To see the pattern at work, you need look no further than Midtown’s Xie Xie. Ever since the plans for the Asian sandwich shop were mentioned, it has been enveloped in a wave of anticipation and media scrutiny (and since it opened months behind schedule, that was a lot of anticipation and media scrutiny). Why so much hoopla about an Asian sandwich shop, especially when New Yorkers have already eaten up and spit out the banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) trend like so many others?

For explanation, you may want to take a look at the C.V. (or at least chefdb) of Chef Angelo Sosa and his collaborators Emilio Barletta and Giuseppe Manic, which reads like a list of trendiest New York restaurants: Yumcha, Merkato 55, Cascina, Zanzibar, Buddakan, and of course, Jean-Georges. When heavyweights like these are throwing themselves into a fast food concept, you know it has to be one with legs.

With this kind of talent on board, you know Xie Xie will at least be well-thought out and worth a try. Of course, this would be ignoring the old tenet to never trust an Asian restaurant owned and operated by white people, but that’s not going to stop the New York City culinary sheep from flocking over to Xie Xie, even if they don’t quite know how to pronounce it (it’s something like shay-shay, although that’s admittedly a bastardization of the Mandarin).

Sosa is quick to distance himself from the “banh mi” label; instead, the restaurant is a combination of pan-Asian and North American influences from his many culinary travels. The signature sandwich is the Asian Lobster Roll, complete with crispy fried shallots, kewpie mayo, and tarragon. At $8.50, it’s a sprucing up of an old Asian standard, but also a much more expensive version. Other options include Vietnamese BBQ Beef (with basil mayo and carrot kimchi), Shredded Braised Chicken (with smoked egg salad and cilantro), Sweet Glazed Pork, and Fish Chaca La Vong (with onion jam, sriracha mayo, and dill). Many will find their eyes drifting towards the dessert menu, where a “1000 year old” Ice Cream Sandwich, which sounds, at the very least, adventurous.

The modern design of the spot, that seems as if it belongs in Shinjuku not New York, is definitely an upgrade on the sterile blandness of many fast food spots, and there are already plans for a second location, but we’re still not sure Xie Xie has the wherewithal to avoid becoming the latest New York fad. Only time will tell.

Address: 645A 9th Avenue, New York, NY
Contact: 212-265-2975
Cuisine: Asian
Area: Midtown
Venue: Restaurant
Hours: Daily: 11:30am – 8:30pm
Price Range: $$ (Affordable)
Payment: Master Card, Visa, American Express

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