Bánh Mì Saigon Bakery
I have a deep, deep love for bánh mì – the vietnamese sandwich. Coming about during the period of French colonialism in Indochina, the bánh mì combines the ingredients of both Vietnamese and French cultures. The bánh mì traditionally consists of ham, pork roll, minced barbecue pork, picked carrots, daikon radish, cucumber, cilantro, pork liver pate – all sandwiched in a crisp french baguette. The sheer amount of pork products ensure an always enjoyable experience.
Bánh Mì Saigon Bakery is located at 138 Mott St. and doubles as a sandwich stand and jewelry store. There’s a lot of hype about this place and there’s generally a line but the bánh mì is worth it.
Saigon Bakery’s bánh mì features a hefty portion of sweet glazed barbecue pork and the addition of mayonnaise makes the sandwich a hit. When you ask for spicy, you get ridiculously fresh jalapeños. My general complaint about bánh mì’s is that they are usually not packed tight enough to have a cohesive flavor, and I feel like I’m getting every bit of taste in sections. As pictured, you can see how the barbecue pork is off to one side while the pork roll with carrots and daikon are off to the other one. Very minor annoyance. Sandwich is still delicious. At $3.75, Saigon Bakery’s #1 bánh mì is huge bang for your buck. A big-ass tasty sandwich filled to the brim of the baguette! Go get one! The line goes fast!
Sigh. You just made me miss NYC more. I betrayed Saigon Bakery by going to Baoguette more often, but really, nothing beats the #1 at Saigon Bakery (although their meatball one is amazing, and even their vegetarian one is fantastic).
Can’t go wrong with banh mi…
I have yet to try Baoguette, but it’s chef-centric feeling urks me along with it’s upper-class decor. That being said, I have been meaning to try one and I’ll get to it and make a judgement call. I have heard that they are delicious.
And yes, I haven’t had the heart to order something aside from the #1 at Saigon Bakery, but the other options have perked my interests… meatball one next time!
irk