in search of fabulous Bánh mì

My husband and I used to live next door to an amazing hole in the wall viatnamese sandwich shop in san francisco. Since moving to chicago, he has been searching for a delicious equivalent. He has tried BA LE FRENCH BAKERY upon recommendation but it still left a little hole in his heart, longing for the delicious S.F. version.

Any suggestions??

We also have a longing for burritos that use black beans instead of refried. Help--we have been resorting to chipotle. Our chicago burrito samplings have been disappointing.

Try typing banh mi into the search engine. This topic has been explored exhaustively among several threads.

as for Mission-style burritos: you'll be hardpressed to find those in the city. Chicago is not a burrito town. We have a plethora of regional Mexican cuisines...but West Coast "burritos" aren't among them.

Searching on this site under "bahn mi" gets you off to a good start.

Here's one of many discussions:

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5539

As for burritos, Chicago is long on Mexican, short on Mission. Authenic antojitos such as tacos al pastor, huaraches, etc. are everywhere (as are the greasy Big Ten burritos as big as your head that have become well-enough known that some places in Mexico designate them as "Chicago style," according to an old CH post), but a veggie or chicken burrito stuffed with black beans, lettuce and rice is less common. You might try Burrito Buggy, in the Loop on Van Buren near Franklin. The "killer veggie" could pass muster, and may include well-seasoned black beans. (Haven't had one in forever.) Also, Dona Torta on Ashland has a fair selection of veg-heavy burritos.

I've enjoyed the Banh Mi at Pho Xe Lua (as recommended by LTH), but I like Ba Le just fine too, so YMMV. A search of LTHForum is your best bet.

As for black beans in burritos, Christopher Gordan is right - forget Mexican restaurants - what you need is a Costa Rican burrito. Huh? Yeah.

The veggie burrito at Irazu is one of the finest burritos in the city, go figure. Don't skip the oatmeal milkshake, which is excellent and a true example of food you might find in Costa Rica, or so I've been told as I've never been.

Pho Xe Lua
1021 W Argyle St
Chicago, IL 60640-3716 View Map
(773) 275-7512

Irazu
1865 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647 View Map
(773) 252-5687

MJ

Good call on Irazu. No burritos in CR, except for the ones carrying sacks of coffee beans and maybe some beach cantinas feeding surfers, which might make the CR Cal-Burrito connection, if there is one, which I very much doubt after significant CR travel. But Irazu is good for CR and other food, and the burritos have become renowned for reason. Probably the answer.

I had been wanting to try Irazu and then kind of forgot about it. I just printed its address and am going today. Woo hoo!

If JeffB's hunch is correct that what you seek in a burrito is chicken or veggies, black beans, lettuce and rice (and why wouldn't it be ), then Burrito Beach may suit your needs. Their standard order includes all that, plus options for cheese, sour cream, onions & cilantro, etc. The black beans are to my taste undercooked, and I also usually skip everything but the onions, cilantro and green hot sauce, but that's just me, and they will really pack it in there, "Chicago style," if you ask. Weighs about 24 oz or more fully loaded. They have several outlets in Chicago.

for banh mi, i like ba le, but then again, i don't have what i am sure are super SF banh mi offerings to compare the ba le banh mi to. i'd be curious to know what made the SF banh mi so excellent.

vin phat bbq has, iirc, only one type of banh mi, but i know others really like it (i had it once, and i thought it was ok). tank's banh mi also gets high marks, too.

for burritos with black beans, i second the burrito buggy recommendation. the loop has, for all intents and purposes, an incredible lack of decent food, both high- and low-end. but burrito buggy, from my many experiences, offers a fantastic burrito with black beans.

Ba Le French Bakery & Restaurant
5018 N. Broadway
Chicago

Vinh Phat BBQ
4940 North Sheridan Road
Chicago, IL 60640

Burrito Buggy on Van Buren
206-208 W. Van Buren St.
Chicago

Burrito Buggy On Clark
201 N. Clark St.
Chicago

foo d wrote:vin phat bbq has, iirc, only one type of banh mi, but i know others really like it (i had it once, and i thought it was ok).

You mean next door / connected to Vinh Phat? That's La Banh Mi Hung Phat - see the link in JeffB's post earlier. They have several kinds of bahn mi. See the translation in useful stuff - here

sazerac -- thanks for the clarification. i'm giddy about the info you provided as to extra offerings.

I find the Bahn Mi at most all these places to be a little dry compared to what we'd find in San Diego's Vietnamese shops. I don't know if if i'm ordering the wrong ones, but whatever we had in SD -- whether the tripe specials or the BBQ pork or chicken -- they were always moist. I don't know if they slathered a lot more pate on the bread.

trotsky wrote:I find the Bahn Mi at most all these places to be a little dry compared to what we'd find ****

shops "here" don't utilize enough pate/pickled dicon/mayo/soy sauce to wet the sandwiches. banh mi in this town tastes like drywall. want fabulous? do what we do, fly banh mi in from west coast. on the way from San Jose earlier this month, i saw a student carrying literally a dozen banh mi in her back pack. they were Lee's, not even my favorite, but about 100% better than local offerings.

TonyC wrote:they were Lee's, not even my favorite, but about 100% better than local offerings.

Tony,

I think distance is making the heart (stomach) grow fonder.

Lee's banh mi are fine, but not 100% better than local offerings. In fact, I prefer Tank or La Banh Mi Hung Phat.

Lee's

Lee's banh mi


Enjoy,
Gary

Lee's Sandwiches

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

Tank Noodle
4953 N. Broadway St
Chicago, IL
773-878-2253

HI,

You can also refer to this menu of Bahn Mi scouted out by Erik M from:

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

which Gary refers to as:

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

I know we are both thinking of the same place, probably the very same people though maybe there has been a name change. Poster M'thu'su once attempted to order one of everything and was declined once the management decided he had ordered enough.

Regards,

Gary, you have posted photographs of some outstanding looking sandwiches. An now, one very sorry looking banh mi.

That Lee's sandwich looks pretty pathetic, but I guess it's a saving grace in places like Chandler, AZ, where it's the only thing open 24 hours. Here in Chicago, I can do better than that at Ba Le. I usually get the roast or BBQ pork, extra cilantro, which is much better than their dac biet. The egg rolls sitting in the heated case are usually stale and of poor quality, but when fresh (that seems to be about 1 of every 5 visits), are outstanding.

I'd expect a Lee's in Chicagoland (who knows where--my guess is Hoffman Estates/Schaumburg/Rolling Meadows, or Niles/Skokie) in the next few years, probably about the same time we get a 99 Ranch Market.

G Wiv wrote:I think distance is making the heart (stomach) grow fonder.

hah! perhaps... i bear no fondness for Lee's, but Vinphat's still tastes like drywall. they've always refused to make me a fresh dac biet, instead handing me pre-stuffed baguettes. it seems everyone on the board is more persuasive than i am.

if any of the banh mi joints on the west coast sold prestuffed baguettes, they'd be out of business. (tho there are exceptionsn to this, eg., Toronto's Banh Mi Nguyen Huong. wait. n'mind, that's not west coast..)

I recall a Reader article about BaLe -- the tactic is to order a Banh Mi with something other than standard to force them to make it fresh ... or leave out a standard item ...

I like to get a lemongrass sausage bahn mi at BaLe. It's the size of a brat. They always slice one up to order and make the sandwich fresh.

SGFoxe wrote:I recall a Reader article about BaLe -- the tactic is to order a Banh Mi with something other than standard to force them to make it fresh ... or leave out a standard item ...

I'm pretty sure they have that article posted on the wall by the front door, in case you forget the strategy!

SGFoxe wrote:I recall a Reader article about BaLe -- the tactic is to order a Banh Mi with something other than standard to force them to make it fresh ... or leave out a standard item ...

I inadvertantly discovered another tactic today. Go in right after two large orders have just been completed. That happened to me today at lunch and, boy, that was the best banh mi I've ever had at Ba Le. It was the #9, BBQ Pork. Bread was warm and flaky/chewy, cilantro was fresh, the pork was juicy and flavorful--a great sandwich.

Is good banh mi available anywhere in the western suburbs?