Banh-mi Sandwiches?

I was perusing through today's Sun-Times food section and saw a picture of something they call a Banh-mi sandwich on the cover. It looks absolutely delicious. What is it, and where should I go to get it?

Ba-Le near Argyle and Broadway. Excellent lemongrass sausage. My veg friend swears by their all-veg vs, too. I know there's info on this site somewhere about another nearby store.

good thread

another good thread

I'm sure there are people that will be able to give a much more through background of the Bahn Mi, but it is a sandwich of Vietnamese origin (although with obvious roots to the French occupation of Vietnam).

It basically served on a Baguette-style bun (made with Rice flour, I think, so it is a little different from your typical baguette) - with meat (or tofu), cilantro, jalepenos, hoisen, some pickled daikon, some butter or mayo maybe. I think the meat is normally pate, headcheese, cold cuts...that kind of thing. Although you could also have pork, sausage, etc.

The most famous place in Chicago to find this is Ba Le on Broadway, although I know some say it is not the best. I had one there on Monday and it was pretty damn good though. I normally ask for mine with extra peppers so I know it is being made from Scratch.

EDIT: As expected, the links posted in the time it took for me to write this contain a lot more knowledge then I have on the subject...

The best Bahn Mi I have had, though, was in Arkansas. Go figure.

Wow. I think this is my greatest sandwich discovery since I happened upon the jibarito a year and a half ago. I used to do a lot of my grocery shopping up there in the Vietnamese/Asian places in the Broadway & Argyll neighborhood, but was never aware of this sandwich. It's a little bit of a trek, but I may just make the journey out there tonight from the Southwest Side. Anybody know their hours? Or perhaps a place a little closer to my neighborhood (near Midway)?

LionRock wrote:The most famous place in Chicago to find this is Ba Le on Broadway, although I know some say it is not the best. I had one there on Monday and it was pretty damn good though. I normally ask for mine with extra peppers so I know it is being made from Scratch.

LionRock,

Agreed, Ba Le is quite good, but my Banh Mi preference is La Banh Mi Hung Phat. Vinh Phat, which you have to pass through to get to La Banh Mi Hung Phat has quite good roast duck, and BBQ in general, as well.

Banh Mi at Banh Mi Hung Phat



Enjoy,
Gary

La Banh Mi Hung Phat
4940 North Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL 60640
773-878-8688

Ba Le
5018 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60640
773-561-4424

Vinh Phat
4940 North Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL 60640

G Wiv wrote:LionRock,

Agreed, Ba Le is quite good, but my Banh Mi preference is La Banh Mi Hung Phat. Vinh Phat, which you have to pass through to get to La Banh Mi Hung Phat has quite good roast duck, and BBQ in general, as well.


Enjoy,
Gary

Great pictures Gary. Is there anything in this world more beautiful then crispy duck skin?

La Banh Mi Hung Phat is the place I was thinking of that I have heard good things about. I will have to try it soon.

Binko wrote:It's a little bit of a trek, but I may just make the journey out there tonight from the Southwest Side. Anybody know their hours? Or perhaps a place a little closer to my neighborhood (near Midway)?

Slightly closer to you is Fan Si Pan, which buys its bread and pate from Ba Le, and makes sandwiches to order.

Fan Si Pan
312/738-1405
1618 W. Chicago Ave.
Chicago
11 a.m.-8 p.m. M-Sa

HI,

The modest Vinh Phat BBQ sells retail though it has a very healthy business selling bahn mi sandwiches wholesale to other restaurants and cafes. In the last two years, The Reader had an article where the author Mike Sula attempted to buy one of everything. They only sold him what they felt was "enough." He had to return another day to buy the balance to sample.

Over at Usefull Stuff Board, there is a translation of Vinh Phat BBQ's bahn mi offerings by Erik M.

Vinh Phat BBQ
4940 North Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL 60640
Tel: 773-878-8688

Regards,

i gave vinh phat banh mi a try again over the weekend because after 6 months of seemingly shrinking Ba Le sandwiches, we are now disallusioned. we also had the blessing of eating a friend's Banh Mi Che Cali flown fresh from LA (well, originally from Westminster, but these were from Che Cali Rosemead), by her bf, for their surprise engagement, just the day before and craved more banh mi. unfortunately, VP is STILL inedible. they:
1) ran out of bbq pork.
2) gave me pre-wrapped dac biet, AGAIN, claiming it was 'fresh'. by the time i got home, the entire car wreaked of deceased piggies much like the meat packing district.
3) the chicken was completely dry. not a bit of pate or not a dab of mayo to be found. no dressing of any kind what-so-ever. skimped on the pickled vegetables.

Chicago banh mi is dead to me... and that's quite ok, cuz off to Oakland/San Jose i go for thnxigiving.

TonyC wrote:Chicago banh mi is dead to me... and that's quite ok, cuz off to Oakland/San Jose i go for thnxigiving.

Well, I did end up making the hike up last night to Ba Le to taste this fabled sandwich. Now, I have no point of comparison, but I think it was absolutely fantastic. I had the lemongrass sausage, w/ extra hot peppers; my brother had the BBQ pork. I loved the light, airy, crispy bread the sandwich was served on, the lemongrass sausage was flavorful, the price was great, and one sandwich was filling enough to sate me. Like I said, I have no point of comparison with other Bahn Mi joints, but generally as a sandwich shop, I give it a perfect 10--The only other sandwich place to get such high honors from me is Bari's.

And while I was out in the neighborhood, I finally picked up a huge granite mortar and pestle I've been eyeing for awhile now, for 25 smackaroos. A perfect evening by any standard.

One day I wanted a sandwich and Bale was closed, so I went to sketchy-looking Pho 888 right on Argyle, just east of Broadway. Atmosphere was nothing to speak of, but the sandwich was awesome. Since I'm not a meat eater, I can only compare the vegetarian options at Bale and Pho 888. Bale's filling is pretty dry, whereas Pho 888's was moist and steaming hot. Both are good sandwiches, but Pho 888's filling tasted fresher and it had a delicious gravy. If I remember right, it only cost $2 for a very filling sandwich.

They're not great English speakers over there and the tables are mostly taken up by regulars who are smoking heavily and watching the huge projection TV. It wasn't the most comfortable atmosphere because people kept looking at me for some reason, but if you're hungry and in the neighborhood, it's definitely worth getting takeout there. Yum!

For the longest time, I read these posts about banh mi and thought, "Those sound interesting, but not for me (since I'm not much of a jalapeno eater and not much of a pork eater)." Then, one day about a month ago, I was reading a banh mi thread at lunchtime, noticed that someone mentioned banh mi ga (chicken), and decided to jump in the car, head up Broadway and check out the offerings at Ba Le.

OMG.

Let's just say it's become a once or twice a week habit. A couple weeks ago I convinced another work-at-home friend (a banh mi newbie) to join me for lunch. He was halfway through his when he proclaimed that it had just moved onto his list of top 5 favorite sandwiches. I feel the same way.

Having no frame of reference, I'm happy with the banh mi ga at Ba Le. (Though sometimes I think they skimp on the chicken.) But I'm curious: Does anyone think other places do a better banh mi ga?

Thanks!

Nhu Lan. Once I had their banh mi, I never felt the need to return to Ba Le. Everything is a big notch up on the freshness and tastiness scale. Closed on Tuesday, I think?

Nu Lan
2612 W Lawrence Ave
Chicago, IL, 60625
(773) 878-9898

Correct, Suzy Creamcheese, Nhu Lan is closed on Tuesdays.

Nhu Lan will omit jalapenos on request and has no trouble doing one sandwich without for my wife and one with for me. Several of their options use chicken or tofu although ones with pork taste better.

chgoeditor wrote:But I'm curious: Does anyone think other places do a better banh mi ga?

Though I've not had the chicken banh mi I'm partial to both Nu Lan and Tank, both of which I prefer to Bale Le. For a while I was enamored with La Banh Mi Hung Phat, but it's been well over a year, though I imagine they are still producing an excellent banh mi.

Enjoy,
Gary

Tank Noodle
4955 N. Broadway St
Chicago, IL
773-878-2253.

La Banh Mi Hung Phat
4940 North Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL 60640
773-878-8688

Ba Le
5018 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60640
773-561-4424

Question - is the chicken banh mi you are referring to the lemongrass chicken? That's what I had, and it was very good.

The lemongrass chicken at Nhu Lan is good, but I still like any of the pork versions better.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:Question - is the chicken banh mi you are referring to the lemongrass chicken? That's what I had, and it was very good.

Not sure who you're asking, but I've only had the non-lemongrass version. I know that Ba Le has a lemongrass pork listed on their board, but no lemongrass chicken. Does a chicken lemongrass exist there, and is it worth trying?

G Wiv wrote:I'm partial to both Nu Lan and Tank

Does Tank offer takeout counter service? I've only ever eaten in, and each time I've sat in the southwest corner, so I haven't paid attention to what's happening near the register.

Thanks for the suggestions!

I don't know how they prepare the tofu banh mi at Nhu Lan, but it is just amazing. You would swear it's meat. It's got a great chewy texture and is very generously seasoned. I think it may be double-fried or something.

chgoeditor wrote:Does Tank offer takeout counter service? I've only ever eaten in, and each time I've sat in the southwest corner, so I haven't paid attention to what's happening near the register.

Tank does a brisk takeout business.

LionRock wrote:It basically served on a Baguette-style bun (made with Rice flour, I think, so it is a little different from your typical baguette) - with meat (or tofu), cilantro, jalepenos, hoisen, some pickled daikon, some butter or mayo maybe. I think the meat is normally pate, headcheese, cold cuts...that kind of thing. Although you could also have pork, sausage, etc.

Re: the pate and headcheese- is that in addition to the chicken, pork or sausage? I'm not a liver fan and not brave enough for headcheese. Everything else on there sounds good, but I'd like to avoid those items.

abe_froeman wrote:Re: the pate and headcheese- is that in addition to the chicken, pork or sausage? I'm not a liver fan and not brave enough for headcheese. Everything else on there sounds good, but I'd like to avoid those items.

Most, not all, but most banh-mi start with a smear of paté on the baguette.