The Early Word on Kampuchea Revamp Bun & Co

Suffering due to a migration to Brooklyn from their Lower East Side clientele, popular Cambodian spot Kampuchea closed and quickly reopened as Bun & Co.. The new iteration, inspired by owner Ratha Chaupoly's son, is a more casual sandwich bar & grill. The mission here is to better utilize the pricey space to make it worth it to stay in business. Also, one assumes they'd like to impress with their food. How are they doing? To the early word:

The "OMG CUTEST MEATBALL SUB EVER!!!" News: Yelper Lawrence C. arrives early on the scene (the first day, actually) and files a lengthy all-positive review. That it's lengthy can be attributed to the extensive menu - "no fewer than 9 main fillings to be paired with 7 toppings, not to mention 6 or so sides and 4 non-hot-dog-bunned specials." He eventually chooses 3 fillings with special over-the-top praise for the lamb meatballs. "Those meatballs overflowing the hot dog bun were like the OMG CUTEST MEATBALL SUB EVER!!!" He saves his one minor quibble for the baked beans, noting that they "came out drier than I expected, and undersalted." [Yelp]

The Just Okay News: Blog Lunch with Front Studio doesn't care much for the name, stating that it's "an odd departure from the far more elegant Kampuchea." They like the food save for a few criticisms. "We tried the veal meatball, sloppy joe and pulled pork sandwiches along with a side of curly fries and cole slaw. Overall everything was pretty nice although in our humble opinion the meats could have been a smidgeon more salty and a trifle less sweet, ditto for the cole slaw. Or maybe more spicy and tart and less sweet?" [Lunch with Front Studio]

The Great News: MenuPages commenter Mike files an enthusiastic review. "Bun & Co is new and exciting! (Sort of the same excitement that the Meatball Shop had...) I picked up lunch for my girlfriend and me, after a night of beer drinking. I probably ordered a bit too much because everything looked good!. . . The food was good and interesting, and it is a good value. I highly recommend checking it out!" [MenuPages]

The "Bangin' Meal" News: Bloggers Jerry and Amanda of Jemanda have a rave for the stuffed dog: "What would I consider a bangin’ meal? We’ll my co-worker has shown me the way! Kampuchea a noodle spot on Rivington St. is closed and Bun & Co. Sandwich Bar & Grill has replaced it. This is the Stuffed-dog w/ jalapeños, cheddar & sour pickle. I got two to satisfy my hunger. How good was it? Bangin’! I’ll definitely be back to try mac and cheese, spicy chicken wings and shrimp roll." [Jemanda]

The Bad News: Also on MenuPages, commenter Bahn Mi To Hell! experiences every sandwich lover's worst nightmare: "The most disappointing sandwich ever. Soggy bread and meat that tasted like broth. And not even meaty broth!" [MenuPages]
—Zachary Feldman