Simple Sandwich Love

After a few months without a banh mi sandwich, the first one, if it is a serviceable example of its kind, is straightforward but delicious. My first Boston banh mi came from a hole-in-the-wall shop with perhaps two tables and a few chairs for old men with their hot drinks and newspapers. The bread was warmed to receive pate and headcheese. I think of banh mi as the epitome of sandwich balance – a respectable handful of protein, one layer of pickled vegetables, smears of pate and mayonnaise, not “overstuffed.” The crusty outside and soft inside of the baguette is important and limits how much you can put in the sandwich and have it still be convenient to eat with hands and (sometimes waxed) paper bag alone.

My second Boston banh mi was fine except for this strange, almost translucent, sweet, and gloppy mayonnaise. That freaked me out and I will not be having another one of their sandwiches. But my first shop was unavailable due to a building on its block kind of falling down spontaneously? Scaffolding has been up for a few weeks now which means I had to resort to Yelp. I’m not a big fan of Yelp but it did lead me to New Saigon Sandwich, a slightly better lit hole-in-the-wall with a rotating staff of friendly Cantonese women.  Their sandwiches are $3.25 each, shakes are $2.50 each, and they also have noodle and rice boxes for $3.75-$4. I’ve had three of their sandwiches in the past five days. The only drawback to so much banh mi is baguette scratches on the roof of my mouth (still worth it).

Vietnamese Cold Cuts

BBQ Beef. I also had a Banh Mi Roast Pork.

Pina Colada shake goes well with BBQ Beef

With only Teriyaki Beef left to go, I’m about ready to move on to the rest of their menu…