Dong Phuong Oriental Bakery ( vi, Đông Phương, literally "The Orient") is a

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

retail and wholesale bakery, restaurant, and catering business in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. It is known for supplying the

baguette A baguette (; ) is a long, thin type of bread of French origin that is commonly made from basic lean dough (the dough, though not the shape, is defined by French law). It is distinguishable by its length and crisp crust. A baguette has a di ...

style bread for many of the city's restaurants that offer banh mi or other sandwiches, and has its own popular banh mi counter. The bakery, along with the nearby Mary Queen of Vietnam Catholic Church, were fixtures of the Vietnamese community in New Orleans even before surviving the devastation of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

. It is located at 14207

Chef Menteur Highway U.S. Highway 90 (US 90), one of the major east–west U.S. Highways in the Southern United States, runs through southern Louisiana for , serving Lake Charles, Lafayette, New Iberia, Morgan City, and New Orleans. Much of it west of Lafaye ...

in the "Little Vietnam" section of

Eastern New Orleans New Orleans East is the eastern section of New Orleans, the newest section of the city. It is bounded by the Industrial Canal, the Intracoastal Waterway and Lake Pontchartrain. Developed extensively from the 1950s onward, its numerous residential ...

. It is attached to a sit-down restaurant of the same name that serves a variety of Vietnamese and Chinese dishes, including

phở Phở or pho (, , ; ) is a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles (), herbs, and meat (usually beef (), sometimes chicken ()). Phở is a popular food in Vietnam where it is served in households, street stalls and restaurants co ...

bún thịt nướng B, or b, is the second letter of the Latin-script alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' bee'' (pronounced ), plural ''bees''. It r ...

bún riêu ''Bún riêu'' is a traditional Vietnamese soup of clear stock and rice vermicelli. There are several varieties of ''bún riêu'', including ''bún riêu cua'' (minced crab), ''bún riêu cá'' (fish) and ''bún riêu ốc'' (snail). Vietweek Ma ...

, and

bánh hỏi ''Bánh hỏi'' ( is a Vietnamese dish consisting of rice vermicelli woven into intricate bundles and often topped with chopped scallions or garlic chives sauteed in oil, served with a complementary meat dish. The strings of noodles are usually ...

History

De and Huong Tran, Vietnamese immigrants to the United States, opened Dong Phuong in 1981. Huong learned to bake pastries in her father's bakery in Vietnam and De joined in the effort to recreate his favorite childhood foods. In 2018, Dong Phuong was recognized by the James Beard Foundation as America's Classic. In the past, the James Beard Foundation has honored Mosca's, Willie Mae's Scotch House and Hansen's Sno-Bliz with the America's Classic award in New Orleans.

Culinary role in community

The bakery's banh mi sandwiches are often referred to as Vietnamese po-boys. Guidebook author Sara Roahen refers to the bakery as the Vietnamese Leidenheimer's, because Dong Phuong supplies bread for the area's banh mi makers. The bread is also used at the Borgne and Tamarind restaurants, whose unusual banh mi offerings include cured

lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

belly, slow braised pork, and sautéed shrimp marinated with crushed garlic and

kaffir lime ''Citrus hystrix'', called the kaffir lime or makrut lime, (, ) is a citrus fruit native to tropical Southeast Asia. Its fruit and leaves are used in Southeast Asian cuisine, and its essential oil is used in perfumery. Its rind and crushed leave ...

leaf. Along with fellow

Vietnamese cuisine Vietnamese cuisine encompasses the foods and beverages of Vietnam. Meals feature a combination of five fundamental tastes ( vi, ngũ vị, links=no, label=none): sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and spicy. The distinctive nature of each dish reflec ...

restaurants such as Phở Tàu Bay, Tân Định, Kim Sơn, and Nine Roses, Dong Phuong has helped develop a loyal following in New Orleans for Vietnamese staples that includes organized fan clubs. The eateries are said to have succeeded in "weaving the cuisine into the larger Crescent City culture", including among those with no direct connection to Vietnam.Susan Langenhenni
Hungry for Vietnamese? Five new restaurants expand the options in New Orleans
May 13, 2012 Updated: May 14, 2012 The Times-Picayune NOLA.com A ''

New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...

'' article cast Dong Phuong among the best banh mi makers in the U.S. and one of the most unusual in the area east of downtown New Orleans on

. A 2010 ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' article noted that most banh mi in New Orleans are made with bread from Dong Phuong and referred to the experience of having a banh mi at Dong Phuong as "one of the signal pleasures of the American South." Some 16 varieties of the sandwich are offered. The Dong Phuong restaurant is a favorite of writer

Poppy Z. Brite Billy Martin (born May 25, 1967), formerly Poppy Z. Brite, is an American author. He initially achieved fame in the gothic horror genre of literature in the early 1990s by publishing a string of successful novels and short story collections. He i ...

, and it is mentioned in his novel ''" Lost Souls"''.

Offerings

Dong Phuong offers a variety of baked goods, including a large assortment of

bánh In Vietnamese, the term ''bánh'' ( or , Chữ Nôm: 餅) translates loosely as "cake" or "bread", but refers to a wide variety of prepared foods that can easily be eaten by hands or chopsticks. With the addition of qualifying adjectives, ''b ...

, at its retail bakery. A counter offers sandwiches to go. The business also includes a full-service restaurant in adjacent space in the same building. Dong Phuong caters, and ships wholesale in the U.S.Keith I. Marszale
Dong Phuong Oriental Bakery
October 22, 2008 NOLA.com (The Times-Picayune)

References

{{Restaurants in New Orleans Bakeries of the United States Restaurants in New Orleans Pho Vietnamese restaurants in the United States 1981 establishments in Louisiana

History

Culinary role in community

Offerings

See also

References