I really had no good reason for not trying Bale on University, I've passed it many, many times. But for some reason I just never felt compelled. I think it had something to do with the parking lot.
I think it had something to do with the parking lot, what little there is of it. Many times I've driven past, and alas, no parking. Sometimes Cabs are double and triple parked, blocking the sidewalk. The Somali Coffee Shop next door does some bang up business.
However, things changed a few months ago. During a conversation about Pate, FOY TammyC told me that Bale on University had a nice version made in house. For some reason I had thought that a trip to this location of Bale would be a redundant exercise. Boy was I wrong. The menu was different from the other location(s) of Bale in San Diego.(I still haven't tracked down the "relocated" Linda Vista Bale).
Well, I should say "menus". There are 2 menus here. The one above the counter has sandwiches and other items listed by number. The one on the back wall has the same sandwiches listed, but with different numbers! Ha, sandwich roulette anyone? Banh Mi Ga(chicken) over the counter is #9, on the back wall it's #8. If you did it by number you could get Banh Mi Bi! Thinking you ordered Banh Mi Chay(vegetarian Banh Mi – usually tofu), you get Banh Mi Pate Cha. Now that would be a nice surprise.
Also, Tammy warned me about the "funky smell", and yes, once when I visited, there was a strange dank-medicinal smell. Other times, it was just like a worn, slightly seedy little sandwich shop should be.
But of course I was here for the sandwiches. And I ordered the Banh Mi Pate Cha($2.75):
And Tammy was right, this was a good Pate, slightly "livery", but quite smooth, and without the "grainy" bits. It was mildly fatty, but not much so. The Cha Lua was interesting for me, not as dense as other versions, with a slightly spongy initial bite. In retrospect, this version of the defatted pork sausage was very close to what we had in Vietnam.
There were 2 things I really didn't care for in this sandwich. First, the bread was pretty lousy, barely toasted, with a texture almost like that of stale bread(Tammy had warned me about the bread). Second, the pickled vegetables were on the sweet side. I prefer mine with a nice refreshing "bite", these stood out too much, and detracted from the overall flavor.
Of course I bought the Missus a Banh Mi Bi(shredded pork – $3.00):
Man was this a "load of Bi". The Missus didn't care for it. She found the Bi dry and tasteless. And didn't like the bread at all.
A few weeks later I found myself in the neighborhood, and tried out the Dac Biet(special – $3.25).
Bale's version was pretty filling. The sandwich had 3 different cured meats; a the Cha Lua, Pork Belly(Ba Chi), and some nicely flavored "Ham", to go along with a generous smear of the savory Pate.
Just as before, the pickled vegetables were on the sweet side, and the bread was not to my liking.
The thick stems of cilantro did not do much for me either.
Funny thing, the photos for this post have been sitting around for a while. 
And after returning from Hanoi, I was a bit curious to see if my tastes had changed substantially. So recently I made another drive up University, made a perilous U-Turn, and managed to find parking(though backing out of the parking lot was another story). This time, the gentleman who I'm assuming is the Owner actually understood me when I ordered my sandwich. I also noticed the huge block of Pate in the deli case, which I inquired about. He told me with some pride, "we make it here….$4.50 a pound. We make almost everything here."
Thoughts of purchasing half a pound, and getting some Gio Lua from Da Nang danced in my head. But first, I need to find some good bread. After getting home, I bit into my Banh Mi, and my original opinion of the sandwich stood. You gotta love consistency!
Ba Le French Sandwich Shop
4879 University Ave # A
San Diego, CA 92105
Open 6am-6pm Monday-Saturday
7am-4pm Sunday
BTW, the White on Rice Couple have a very nice post on Banh Mi. You can find it here.
Thanks for all the great recommendations TammyC!