Banh Mi @ BA LE

It has been awhile since I was there, but the huge 20+ red sandwich menu board is gone. In its place are 6 pictures.

I asked about one of my wife's favorite (the egg omelet & shrimp) but it was busy and I was getting the rolled eye look (perceived) from the person behind the counter and ended up with a shrimp cake banh mi which was really quite good.

BA LE
5018 N Broadway St,
Chicago
(773) 561-4424

You know, I visited Ba Le a few months ago and wasn't too impressed with the sandwiches there. I must admit that they have a great variety but I prefer the french sandwich that I had in the vietnamese restaurant located in Chinatown Square. There's a small sign in the door that advertises their french sandwiches which are about $2.00. I like their version more because they toast the bread nicely and the ingredients taste fresher. There isn't as much variety but the sandwich is worth checking out since it's only $2.

What a pity. This must have been a pretty recent development, as we'd been there about six-seven weeks ago and they still had the old board. I'd been working my way down the menu (I think I got to about no. 8 on the list). We liked the place enough to take my folks there last January when they were in town from Vermont (where casual Vietnamese dining is not prevalent). On the other hand, and maybe this is sour grapes, the board did seem a bit puffed out with minor variations on the same ingredients. My experience, incidently, was that the sandwiches were always fresh.

the board is gone, but all the old sandwiches are still there, what you can do is grab one of the to go menus that are on the counter somehwere (from their catering outlet somewhere way west) and point out the sandwich you'd like, in our case we are always getting the veggie option (bi chay) for the veggie in the house.

some of the more common orders, such as the dac biet are pre-made, so if you want a fresher sandwich orders something slightly different, or a dac biet with a twist, say with extra chilis

zim wrote:the board is gone, but all the old sandwiches are still there, what you can do is grab one of the to go menus that are on the counter somehwere (from their catering outlet somewhere way west) and point out the sandwich you'd like, in our case we are always getting the veggie option (bi chay) for the veggie in the house.

some of the more common orders, such as the dac biet are pre-made, so if you want a fresher sandwich orders something slightly different, or a dac biet with a twist, say with extra chilis

great tips Zim, next time for sure, thanks.

i learned from VI to order my bahn mi without mayonnaise. that way i'm assured it's made fresh.(and i dont want/need the calories from the mayo). not that i think they are ever old. i'm sure they are made every morning with the new batch of french bread.

i am less successful, tho, in getting them to add extra jalapenos to my bahn mi. they are very lax and inconsistent about the quantities of daikon, jalapeno and cilantro they throw on, and these elements 'make' the sandwich, IMO. i love the fact that there is not a lot of filling, which makes it a lot healthier ( my fave is the #3, which contains the 3 pink 'mystery meats', and i really dont want much of them).

justjoan

While I occasionally have a sandwich from Ba Le it's not one of my favorites. I think this stems from my peeking into the back room, where the sausages are made, and having the old saw, that one should never inquire too closely what goes into sausage, pop into my head. I should point out that this was a few years ago and I now find Ba Le generally tidy.

Of the sausages I always enjoy pork with chili and lemongrass, it's shaped like a chubby polish sausage, and sandwiches, especially when ordering a la Zim. (extra jalapenos)

Enjoy,
Gary

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

I typically head to Ba Le for my banh mi fix instead of Nhu Lan because I've had less than stellar bread experiences at the later, and I often like to pick up some other goods from around Argyle. Last night however, the bread I got on my bbq pork banh mi at Ba Le was seriously off. Total lack of any crusty crunch, it was all soft and doughy and much thinner in diameter than normal. I wonder if this had anything to do with it being about an hour to closing time on a Sunday evening, because I usually go during the weekend lunch rush and have always had amazing bread. All was not lost though, as my deviation from my standard order of the classic #1, revealed some really tasty bbq pork. Considering that I go to Ba Le at least every other weekend, and have never had issues with the bread in the past, I'm willing to chalk this up as an aberration, and will be back for more of that bbq pork.

pigOut wrote:I typically head to Ba Le for my banh mi fix instead of Nhu Lan because I've had less than stellar bread experiences at the later, and I often like to pick up some other goods from around Argyle. Last night however, the bread I got on my bbq pork banh mi at Ba Le was seriously off. Total lack of any crusty crunch, it was all soft and doughy and much thinner in diameter than normal. I wonder if this had anything to do with it being about an hour to closing time on a Sunday evening, because I usually go during the weekend lunch rush and have always had amazing bread. All was not lost though, as my deviation from my standard order of the classic #1, revealed some really tasty bbq pork. Considering that I go to Ba Le at least every other weekend, and have never had issues with the bread in the past, I'm willing to chalk this up as an aberration, and will be back for more of that bbq pork.

I live down the street from Ba Le, and the freshness of the sandwiches can definitely vary from visit to visit. I'm not sure why, but I do know that when they're fresh, they're really good, especially for 2.99. However, when I get one with older meat or less than fresh vegetables, the flavors/textures are so off-putting that I reconsider whether I want to go back again.

After work, me and the wife grabbing ba-le sandwiches to go and taking them to the lakeshore for dinner watching the waves roll in. I sincerely appreciated things like that about Chicago before, but now that I'm very very far away from ethnic joints like ba le and lakeshores, it really drives it home just how special a place Chicago is for people who appreciate great food and great spots to eat it.

Has anyone been by the loop location? Has it opened yet?

http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2012/ ... e-more.php

pacent wrote:Has anyone been by the loop location? Has it opened yet?

http://chicago.eater.com/archives/2012/ ... e-more.php

Definitely not open yet...though there has been some construction happening the past few weeks.