Sunny and Annie's Deli

The Korean deli is a New York staple. Where else can you find made-to-order sandwiches and salads, soups, groceries, a hot and cold buffet, sushi and udon noodle soup all in one place? It is the perfect lunch standby for the mercurial and demanding New Yorker. The key, of course, is to figure out which delis excel in whatever it is you're craving at the moment.

Upon moving to the East Village this past summer, I did a quick search on Yelp, which revealed that Sunny and Annie's was the place for sandwiches in the neighborhood. Specifically, the P.H.O. Real Sandwich - pho masquerading as a hoagie.

Sunny and Annie's does an impressive job of capturing the flavors of a bowl of pho between two pieces of bread. All of the necessary aromatics - bean sprouts, cilantro, onions and basil - are in there, along with some unconventional but welcome additions, such as avocado and tomato. In lieu of mayo and mustard are squirts of sriracha and hoisin sauce. Crammed into the heart of the sandwich is a generous amount of roast beef. Unfortunately, the beef is dry and well-done. A bloodier, moister roast beef would better mimic the rare beef that is usually sliced into the broth. I can picture a more upscale establishment taking the concept even further, serving a star anise spiked beef broth with the sandwich for an Oriental riff on a French dip sandwich.

The P.H.O. Real sandwich may not warm you up like a bowl of noodles would on a cold winter day, but if you happen to be running around Alphabet City one day with a hankering for pho, the P.H.O. Real at Sunny and Annie's is a stand-in that's worth a try.

Sunny and Annie's

94 Avenue B
New York, NY 10003