Ba Le - Vietnamese banh mi and deli

Picked up two chicken Banh Mi from Ba Le for lunch today. Haven't opened them yet, but can't wait. The bread was still warm when I retrieved my sandwiches at 11:00am. I also picked up some shrimp spring rolls.

Ba Le deserves its own thread. I wish I could post some pictures or something more substantive, but I'm sure that will come up, especially with Ba Le's impending expansion.

Though I recently commented on how I prefer the sandwiches at Nhu Lan, it's worth noting that I love the grilled chicken over sticky rice that's usually packaged up by the register at Ba Le. Great stuff - the juices from the chicken soak in to the rice, it's got bits of chinese sausage, pork roll, cilantro, and fried shallots. A solid squirt of Siracha over the top and it's a cheap & quick weeknight dinner for me.

-Dan

I just finished my lunch of chicken banh mi and shrimp spring rolls. The bread at Ba Le is outstanding, and certainly my favorite non-French French bread in Chicago. It works great with sandwiches. Enough structural integrity to avoid getting soggy, light enough to eat without chewing until your head hurts while maintaining a substantial crust/crumb. Excellent.

The chicken in the sandwich is a bit bland. Unlike Nhu Lan's chicken, which is heavily spiced with lemongrass and other seasonings, Ba Le's is simply grilled. The other elements of the sandwich make up for this - spicy jalapeno, a judicious squirt of mayonnaise, Vietnamese pickled radish and carrot and fresh onion. Still, the chicken could be more assertive. Ba Le's other sandwich meats (almost exclusively pork) don't suffer from this problem as far as I know, though the last time I had a pork sandwich at Ba Le was some years ago.

To add additional substance to this new thread, I would like to point out that Ba Le was one of Chicago's first dedicated banh mi shops/Vietnamese deli. Other Vietnamese restaurants probably sold banh mi before Ba Le was around, but Ba Le was the first to put an emphasis on banh mi. They've been going strong for over 10 years now.

Other offerings at Ba Le include the delicious grilled chicken thigh and sticky rice Dansch describes above as well as an assortment of house-made charcuterie, Vietnamese jelly and bean drinks, fresh smoothies, fried spring rolls, sticky rice stuffed with meat in lotus leaves, pork-stuffed pastries, salads and other prepared Vietnamese meals.

Ba Le is currently expanding into the former Thai grocery two doors (if you count the parking lot) south of the original space. I'm looking forward (hopefully) to additional menu items.

Ba Le is by no means under-appreciated or a hidden gem. Customers are always packing the place. Given LTH's role as THE go-to sight for comprehensive information on Chicago's great eateries, especially those serving obscure, "ethnic" foods, it's high time that Ba Le get its own thread. Praise and criticism are equally welcome.

Ba Le
5018 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 561-4424
http://www.balechicago.com

i'd be shocked if there weren't already at least one or two dedicated threads to ba le. though LTH doesn't let you search for them very easily:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=103
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=24526
as examples

i like their product and i think ba le wins the award for "user friendly" appearance... they're decidedly hipper looking than a lot of other places in the area, and along the same lines i think their "new" location next door is opening soon.

Argh.

LTH's search function doesn't work for words that are less than 3 letters. I searched "Ba Le" in topic titles and found nothing. Hence this thread, which is superfluous because it doesn't fix the can't search for "Ba Le" problem. I'm stumped. Moderators, feel free to merge the thread.

Changing the thread title from "Ba Le" to "BaLe" would work. I can't seem to do that, however. Moderators?

Blah,

Habibi

Habibi wrote:Argh.

LTH's search function doesn't work for words that are less than 3 letters. I searched "Ba Le" in topic titles and found nothing. Hence this thread, which is superfluous because it doesn't fix the can't search for "Ba Le" problem. I'm stumped. Moderators, feel free to merge the thread.

Changing the thread title from "Ba Le" to "BaLe" would work. I can't seem to do that, however. Moderators?

Blah,

Habibi

Indeed. I pretty much solely rely on Google to search LTH...the ability to enclose things in double quotes solves problems like this one. Searching for Ba Le worked pretty well that way.

I haven't had the pleasure of Nhu Lan just yet, but Ba Le's vegetarian banh mi is delicious. The tofu isn't particularly spiced, I'm sure it could be and perhaps it would become a more assertive part of the sandwich, the each of the ingredients comes through. Their bread is amazing, crisp on the outside, light inside and sold in handy 3-packs for my freezer.

Looking forward to more than 3 tables in the place. Hoping the prices don't have to be raised too much to cover them.

FWIW, though it's not always available, the lemongrass sausage banh mi was always my favorite at Ba Le by a wide, wide margin.

dddane wrote:i'd be shocked if there weren't already at least one or two dedicated threads to ba le. though LTH doesn't let you search for them very easily:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=103
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=24526
as examples

Ba Le was always actually a very big board favourite - not just on LTH, but even pre-dating LTH, back in the Chowhound days. Thats what first led me to my personal discovery of bahn mi, many years ago - the constant raving about Ba Le on Chowhound (where the sandwiches were 2.25 IIRC, and some claimed were the best sandwiches of any kind in town - and they werent far wrong). Back then Ba Le also clearly had the best bread for a bahn mi in town - a couple of the Vietnamese grocery stores might have had better ingredients, but couldnt ever match the bread. Nhu Lan was the first actual bakery "competitor" for Ba Le in that sense - where they baked fresh bread a couple times of days (Ive been lucky on a couple of occasions at Nhu Lan in that sense - hit them just as their warm bread is coming out the back - and the sandwiches are especially amazing then).

c8w

does anyone know when the new location is set to open? (directly south of the existing)

it loooooks like it will be the new "too cool for school" kinda hip Vietnamese place.

I'm sure some ba le regulars might be upset by this "upgrade" (for that matter, the place they're in now has been upgraded a lot), but this could also be a very good thing for their menu and selection, who knows.

are they planning to close the current shop or will the new shop have different fare from what they have now?

as modern as it looks on the inside, from the outside it reminds me of of something you'd actually see in Vietnam




i'm curious if with the move will come an expanded menu beyond the bahn mi and small tidbits they sell now... I assume they'll have pho ... they seem to be affiliated with another location in Philadelphia (or rather "headquartered" there?), which according to a quick search shows they have almost a buffet appetizer kind of bar. i wonder if this will be here as well, or more cook to order

Other than the name (which I think means "Paris" in Vietnamese and is a common theme for Viet bakeries), is there anything making a connection to the Philly place? I've wondered myself.

JeffB wrote:Other than the name (which I think means "Paris" in Vietnamese and is a common theme for Viet bakeries), is there anything making a connection to the Philly place? I've wondered myself.

Can't speak to the Philly place, but there are one or two in DC that are run by relatives of the Chicago folks. No comparison, however.

Was just there this morning for bahn mi #1 and some cha gio and spring rolls.

The girl at the counter said the new store would be open in mid-April and they will close the current space.

I've been going to Ba Le since I was a kid in the 80's. The quality has been consistent regardless of cosmetic upgrades. The new space looks super cute!!

JeffB wrote:Other than the name (which I think means "Paris" in Vietnamese and is a common theme for Viet bakeries), is there anything making a connection to the Philly place? I've wondered myself.

i believe so. when you buy their bread, it actually comes in bags that have the Philadelphia address. it actually kinda made me wonder if they got their product par-baked from their Philadelphia bakery, but that seems like a lot of work/transport for something relatively easy to reproduce here.

Yeah I can second (or third) that they will be closing the old place when they transfer to the new cafe. Still seems like not much seating to me. They did have a lot of square footage in the original spot that was wasted, but I don't suppose they really wanted people to stick around. Hope they don't change too much!

dddane wrote:does anyone know when the new location is set to open? (directly south of the existing)
...
i'm curious if with the move will come an expanded menu beyond the bahn mi and small tidbits they sell now... I assume they'll have pho ... they seem to be affiliated with another location in Philadelphia (or rather "headquartered" there?), which according to a quick search shows they have almost a buffet appetizer kind of bar. i wonder if this will be here as well, or more cook to order

I went to Ba Le for lunch a few minutes ago and was told that the new space will open next week. The sandwich menu will stay basically the same, but they'll be phasing in cook-to-order items - various rice and noodle dishes. I didn't pry for specifics, but I'll certainly drop by next week to check it out.

On the downside, the bread for my #6 (sardine) sandwich is sadly stale. Nhu Lan continues to be my favorite banh mi in the city - lemongrass tofu on still-hot, fresh bread last week was spot-on.

-Dan

The new location is open. Its sleekness is quite a jarring contrast for those used to the slightly dingy look of the old place. Another change is that you can basically see them make your sandwich in front of you, which is a big plus for me. Menu is exactly the same, but there are some new pastries on display as you enter, including some very nice looking mousses. Didn't ask if they're made in house.

They've started toasting the bread, at least for hot sandwiches. Not sure how I feel about that. The lemongrass sausage is still righteous, though.

There's a banner advertising a "Free Food Tasting" coming up. (Some day the week after next, I think.) Lovers of insane crowds should go check it out.

The Lovely Dining Companion just returned from her inaugural visit: it's a regular stop on her neighborhood jogs. Her unequivocal opinion: yuck! The "decor" put her in mind of the new Sun Wah and many peoples' dislike for the starkness/sleekness. She notes that prices may have risen (her orders vary and she's not absolutely certain), the staff (at least on this visit) was completely different, the ordering method different, and we both found the quality to be poorer. Not bad, mind you, but not a change for the better. This is only her first visit since they re-opened, so I'm somewhat inclined to discount her dismay. On the other hand, they've been open for a bit now and LDC is absolutely a regular. So, I've no doubt she'll try once more (possibly twice) but if the quality continues to suffer, we're going to be forced to look elsewhere.

The prices haven't changed. The old staff is still there, although they may have hired a few new people.

Went to the new location for the first time. A fair line but it moved quickly. The sleekness and modern decor didn't bother me at all. Quality seemed to me as good as ever, a ham-pate and a roast pork banh mi, and some shrimp/pork spring rolls. About $11 altogether. Two thumbs up.

While dining at Tank tonight, I noticed that Ba Le now has a number of tables set up outside.

I eat at Ba Le frequently, and the new location has been fine. Yesterday, however, the BBQ pork was about the saltiest thing I've ever tasted - almost inedible. And, the tapioca in the smoothies had a bizarre, mushy/gummy texture which was quite unpleasant. I'm hoping it was just an off evening.

jpo wrote: the tapioca in the smoothies had a bizarre, mushy/gummy texture which was quite unpleasant. I'm hoping it was just an off evening.

I have noticed this tapioca texture problem at Ba Le, on a couple of occasions. I have just stopped getting tapioca in smoothies there. It is not enough of a flaw to keep me away from the delicious sandwiches. I had a BBQ pork sandwich just last week, and it was not any more salty than usual (I am quite sensitive to salt).

BR wrote:While dining at Tank tonight, I noticed that Ba Le now has a number of tables set up outside.

Earlier this summer, I saw a DJ spinning in their outdoor seating area. I know this isn't a regular occurrence, but I still thought it was funny--consistent with their new look, I guess.

jpo wrote:I eat at Ba Le frequently, and the new location has been fine. Yesterday, however, the BBQ pork was about the saltiest thing I've ever tasted - almost inedible. And, the tapioca in the smoothies had a bizarre, mushy/gummy texture which was quite unpleasant. I'm hoping it was just an off evening.

I'm a regular visitor, too, and like the new digs. I never used to eat in at the old location, but now I almost always stay. However, I have noticed decline in the quality of food. I don't know who's wrapping the goi cuon these days, but whoever it is is having trouble with the rice paper--it's now consistently gummed up and torn, often with the rolls totally coming apart with one bite. I always search the refrigerated case for ones that look better, but sometimes the whole case will be filled with very sloppily made goi cuon.

stopped by yesterday for lunch and found a "check please" photo shoot in progress!
look for it to air sometime in Oct..

dug wrote:stopped by yesterday for lunch and found a "check please" photo shoot in progress!
look for it to air sometime in Oct..

Thanks for the heads up. This probably means you'll want to avoid this place for a while following the air date.

happy_stomach wrote:I'm a regular visitor, too, and like the new digs. I never used to eat in at the old location, but now I almost always stay.

Stopped at Ba Le after a terrific bowl of shrimp dumpling soup w/noodles, roast duck and roast pork at Sun Wah. Liked the new space, open airy with in and out door seating. Got two sandwiches to go, extra jalapenos. Ended up eating the sandwiches the next day so can't comment on the bread, but they forgot the jalapenos entirely and the sandwich did not live up to my memory of Ba Le or, most certainly Nhu Lan. The difference may be attributable to eating the sandwiches 24-hours after purchase, but I noticed a difference in both veg and meat used. At the price point, cheap, I will certainly give Ba Le another go, and I like the iced coffee and space, but my initial impression is one of ever so mild dissatisfaction.

Enjoy,
Gary

Not used to quoting yet. Sorry..

Ba Le is not Vietnamese for Paris.....Pa-ri is Vietnamese for Paris. Ba means 3. It's 3 something.


Connections to Philly? No idea but I know that this a franchise people. You want to give them some competition? Buy a Ba Le franchise and open it in Lakeview. I would love that....

Nhu Lan sounds good and it sounds like a mom and pop shop from what I've seen driving buy it. I haven't had a chance to try because it really suffers from bad location! I've heard more rave from Vietnamese people about Nhu Lan. My mom doesn't like Ba Le b/c it's a franchise. They're both good though. Go get a sandwich. Try the headcheese if you dare...I don't.

After some quick googling, I guess Ba Le is the franchise owner's name.

http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/vi ... 77f2eaa996

I've seen dozens of Vietnamese bakeries named Ba Le, almost always with an obvious association with Paris (Eiffel Tower graphics, eg) and have seen Ba Le very routinely explained as Vietnamese phonetics for Paris. Most recently, I visited part of the Ba Le chain in Hawaii (Maui), weeks after visiting part of what I take to be an unrelated chain in Philly.

Here's an excerpt from an old AP story about the guy who owns the Hawaiian chain:

Ba-Le owner gets national award

Associated Press


President George W. Bush congratulated small-business award recipients, including winner Thanh Quoc Lam, at the White House yesterday.
White House photo

A sandwich shop and bakery owner who built his business in the Islands selling Vietnamese-style sandwiches on French bread was honored yesterday as the Small Business Administration's national small-business person of the year.
Thanh Quoc Lam, president of Ba-Le Inc., was honored at National Small Business Week ceremonies in Washington, D.C.

Lam's company sells Vietnamese-style sandwiches, pastries and noodle dishes, and wholesale baked goods and deli sandwiches to airlines, caterers, hotels, supermarkets and restaurants statewide. The company is expanding with shops in Japan and China.

Lam, 43, fled Vietnam in 1979 aboard a boat with 186 people, landing at a Malaysian refugee camp. When he arrived in the United States, he had little money and minimal knowledge of English.

He opened his first Ba-Le — "Paris" in Vietnamese — sandwich shop in Chinatown in December 1984 with four employees.

The business now has 22 outlets. Lam employs 70 people at his headquarters and bakery. The company's 2001 earnings topped $5 million.

Lam is the second Hawai'i small-business owner to win the national award. Charles Nishioka of Charles K. Nishioka and Son Inc., which operates gas stations and tire outlets, was the 1987 winner.

JeffB wrote:I've seen dozens of Vietnamese bakeries named Ba Le, almost always with an obvious association with Paris (Eiffel Tower graphics, eg) and have seen Ba Le very routinely explained as Vietnamese phonetics for Paris. Most recently, I visited part of the Ba Le chain in Hawaii (Maui), weeks after visiting part of what I take to be an unrelated chain in Philly.

Here's an excerpt from an old AP story about the guy who owns the Hawaiian chain:

Ba-Le owner gets national award

Associated Press


President George W. Bush congratulated small-business award recipients, including winner Thanh Quoc Lam, at the White House yesterday.
White House photo

A sandwich shop and bakery owner who built his business in the Islands selling Vietnamese-style sandwiches on French bread was honored yesterday as the Small Business Administration's national small-business person of the year.
Thanh Quoc Lam, president of Ba-Le Inc., was honored at National Small Business Week ceremonies in Washington, D.C.

Lam's company sells Vietnamese-style sandwiches, pastries and noodle dishes, and wholesale baked goods and deli sandwiches to airlines, caterers, hotels, supermarkets and restaurants statewide. The company is expanding with shops in Japan and China.

Lam, 43, fled Vietnam in 1979 aboard a boat with 186 people, landing at a Malaysian refugee camp. When he arrived in the United States, he had little money and minimal knowledge of English.

He opened his first Ba-Le — "Paris" in Vietnamese — sandwich shop in Chinatown in December 1984 with four employees.

The business now has 22 outlets. Lam employs 70 people at his headquarters and bakery. The company's 2001 earnings topped $5 million.

Lam is the second Hawai'i small-business owner to win the national award. Charles Nishioka of Charles K. Nishioka and Son Inc., which operates gas stations and tire outlets, was the 1987 winner.

Do you have a link of the source? This is really troubling that people think Ba Le means Paris in Vietnamese. How does that even make sense? Maybe I'm just a bad Viet. At least we can agree that it's a franchise.

Excerpt from above mentioned article:
Today, Ba Le, retired at 75, can look back with pride as he sees Lee’s Sandwich Shops in Northern and Southern California, Chandler, Ariz. and Houston, Texas. All are owned by the families of Chieu’s nine siblings and Yen’s 13, making it a true multigenerational family operation. Chieu said his eldest son, Minh, had the vision to create a new type of sandwich shop that would be a mixture of an entertainment café and Asian American cuisine. Unfortunately, Minh died in an auto accident in 2001, without seeing the fruition of his dream, but he would be proud to see that their shops have attracted patrons from the mainstream, who enjoy seeing the computer monitors suspended from the ceiling flashing special deals, colorful bilingual menus signs and even chances for a free meal based on order numbers given to customers.

Just cuz it's a franchise doesn't it's not still good. If you have a prob with franchises, eat at Nhu Lan.