Last Monday the Sergeant and I wandered over to San Francisco to meet up with a friend for drinks, and we stopped at Little Saigon Deli for some banh mi. If you work in the financial district or are headed to a ballgame on a weekday, you can get a nice sandwich here for $4. When the weather is warm, the order window on the street side is open; otherwise you enter Steuart Place and order inside.
There are seven sandwich varieties: pork, fancy pork, chicken, meatball, tofu, a couple combos and an egg ham and cheese croissant. I got the fancy pork, which was slices of paté – I'm not sure what made it "fancy."You'll want some iced coffee, too, and maybe a green coconut waffle for dessert. The bay is right there, so wander on down toward the bridge, where you'll find a table and a view.
I wasn't particularly impressed by this sandwich, though it wasn't bad. The pickling for the carrots and daikon was a little sweeter than I'm used to and I didn't think the pork was all that exceptional. Still, for $4 in downtown SF, it's a great deal (anywhere else it would be $2.50; I'm guessing the rent there is pretty steep). I sure enjoyed that waffle, and the coffee is most excellent.Little Saigon Deli
131 Steuart St, Suite 101
(between Howard St & Mission St)
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 284-7375
It sure is a pretty sandwich. Pate, huh? Sometimes fancy isn't always better.
ReplyDeleteThe extra $1.50 was for the view, something you couldn't find anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteWait, I thought banh mi had pork AND paté anyway. That's how they are here. In authentically Vietnamese Nashville.
ReplyDeleteAnyway. I've been making them with chicken lately, from a Food and Wine recipe from last year. I'm addicted.
Betts, well, it wasn't bad just not great.
ReplyDeleteZoomie, that's very true!
DG, it was two kinds of pate, really. The spreadable kind and then the slices. I'll have to try your version! But I like them in part because they're so cheap to buy. Super-tasty and convenient without breaking the bank.