Banh Mi from Little Saigon Deli, San Francisco

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

Banh mi at Cam Huong, Oakland

There's a hole-in-the-wall banh mi place in San Francisco that the Sergeant likes, but we missed the ferry and opted for Oakland instead. Cam Huong gets mixed reviews on Yelp, but we were quite pleased with the place. It's a tiny, narrow space, with a display of deep-fried goodness in the front window, a long counter packed with extra snackage, and a handful of booths in the back.

There was a steady stream of customers in and out, even mid-afternoon on a Monday. I got some ribbing for taking photos until I explained that I was looking forward to seeing how their banh mi compared with Denver's.
The guy behind the counter (whose name I should have asked!) told us they've been there for 23 years. His grandmother is/was friends with the original owner of the Ba Le franchise. His grandma stuck with restaurants (they have four), while her friend went into making wholesale ingredients (including headcheese!) and franchising. Some of Cam Huong's ingredients come from Ba Le wholesale, but they also have their own bakery up the street, so the rolls are fresh.
We couldn't wait to take a bite of our large sandwiches! They are about 8 inches long compared with the usual 6. The Sergeant got the curried tofu sandwich:
While I opted for the barbecued pork:
The sandwiches are heavy on the vegetables, which I like. If you prefer meatier, you can ask to double up on it. I got mine without jalapeños, but I should have taken them anyway and given them to the Sergeant. I do like the little bit of bite they add for having been in the sandwich briefly.

On the way out I help my camera up and snapped the security mirror:
Parking in the neighborhood can be tricky, but it's worthwhile to find a spot and do a little exploring in the Chinatown shops while you're there. Or you can have a friend circle the block while you get some banh mi to go.

Give it a try!

Cam Huong
920 Webster St
(between 10th St & 9th St)
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 444-8800
7 a.m.-7 p.m. daily

I love me some bánh mì

I recently started reading the blog of White on Rice Couple and discovered that they are also part of a site about bánh mì, or Vietnamese sandwiches. There's a directory of banh mi places around the U.S., but for local listings it only has Vinh Xuong Bakery listed, and no reviews. So guess what I had to pick up on my way to work?

The bakery is the first place I had bánh mì, which I'd read about in one of John Thorne's books. I was in an Asian grocery and asked if they had them. "Next door!"

The bakery is a little hole-in-the-wall place, and there's nothing to indicate they sell sandwiches. "Bánh mì?" I asked and got the reply: "How many?" Um, one?

So the lady goes in back and makes me a sandwich. Darn good one, too, with pâté and sausage filling, pickled daikon and carrots, cucumber, jalapenos and mayonnaise. And fresh cilantro. Very crusty French roll. The cost? $2. Yes, TWO dollars.

I was hooked.

I've been back to the bakery many many times, but that's not where I went today, mainly because of traffic logistics. Today I went to Ba Le, which is part of a chain, I think.
I started going there when a Vietnamese cow-orker told me about it. He said he likes the bread there better, and the variety of fillings you can order (instead of the complete lack of choice at Vinh Xuong).
But I have mixed feelings about Ba Le. The sandwiches are tasty, and yes, the bread is a little softer, but it doesn't quite have the charm of the bakery, nor the fabulous treats you can get for dessert.

You can pick up some spring rolls, assorted sausages and pâtés, and a rainbow of ... something. I have no idea what this is. I would've asked, but had to get to work and didn't want to get into a lot of conversation.

Plus, the gal behind the counter seemed a little freaked out that I was taking pictures. "I want to show my friends," I told her.

You're my friends, right?
So here's my BBQ pork sandwich with iced coffee. Yummy. The sandwich is $2.50. The coffee, too (which I think is overpriced, but I can't resist it).

Ba Le is at 1044 S. Federal. It's in a strip mall on the east side of the street, just north of Mississippi.

Vinh Xuong Bakery (which I'll post about with pictures another day) is in the Far East shopping center at 375 S. Federal (the shopping center with the pagoda over the entrance to the parking lot, just south of Alameda). The bakery is in the back left corner (i.e. southwest) as you enter the parking lot from Federal.

If you're in Denver, go get you some banh mi!

Saigon Wraps and The Hobnob

A couple of belated notes on Bay Area eateries:
I'm a big fan of Vietnamese sandwiches, called banh mi. I know of a couple places in Denver where I can get them: a bakery that doesn't advertise them (you have to know, and they only have one kind, and the sandwiches are $2 apiece), and Ba Le, a chain that has maybe a dozen varieties at $2.50 apiece. I like them both.

I figured there must be some really good banh mi places in the Bay Area. Saigon Wraps is not one of them. They're in Oakland's Fruitvale Village, next to the BART station. The service was sullen and the bread was stale stale stale. I saw it being put in the microwave, for pete's sake. The fillings were unexceptional, and overall the sandwich was dry and bland. Maybe they were better when they first opened, but just don't get a lot of business now. I don't know. But I won't be going back.

Meanwhile, Kelly's on Park Street in Alameda is now The Hobnob, featuring "American tapas." Which is a fancy way of saying all dishes are à la carte. Sort of. They're not small plates, anyway, so we ended up with a lot of food. Cesar salad, baked salmon with mash, fish and chips, olives and cheese, grilled artichoke with aioli, crab cakes. It was all good! And not very expensive.

I took some photos of the food, but really, the light wasn't good, so I won't post them. I can attest that the mojitos are yummy, and I thought not very strong, so I had a "cucito," too ... or cuke-ito, made with cucumber. Also tasty and whoa, the two drinks left me looped. Ice cream from Tuckers afterward helped.

The Hobnob also has a huge selection of board games and is kid-friendly. It's on my recommended list now.

Banh Mi from Ba Le

Continuing the Vietnam theme, again via cellphone, I present the lovely Vietnamese sandwich and iced coffee I am enjoying for dinner at my desk. Yum.