1 Strip Mall, 3 Banh Mi – Tan Ky Mi Gia, Ba Le, and Express Deli – Mira Mesa

If there ever was such a thing as Banh Mi weather, it would have been this past weekend….. man has SoCal turned me into a weather sissy. Anything over 85 seems just plain scorching. Not feeling like eating anything real heavy, I decided it was time….. for another Banh Mi post. But not just any other Banh Mi post. Last year, I noticed that Tan Ky Mi Gia had started selling Banh Mi. This brought the number of places selling Banh Mi in the strip mall on the 9300 block of Mira Mesa to an uneven three, something I thought was quite unusual. I know that Cafe Dore and Saigon Sandwiches and Deli coexist a few doors from one another, but I couldn't think of another location that had three places selling Banh Mi within fifty yards from one another.

Curious, I thought I'd check out all three during one visit, and kinda see how they lined up side by side. I decided that even though I have my own favorites at Ba Le and Express Deli, I'd go with the good 'ol #1, what's usually the Dac Biet (special). I started at Express Deli in Lucky Seafood.

Hit up Ba Le, then ended things buying my last sandwich from Tan Ky Mi Gia. One of my assumptions was crushed before I even walked to the car and ate my Banh Mi. I'd thought that prices would be pretty much in line because of competition…. I could not have been more wrong. The sandwiches ranged from $3.25 at Express Deli to $4 (gasp!) at Tan Ky Mi Gia. Ba Le came in at $3.50. So here goes……

Express Deli:

Is the little fast food stand in Lucky Seafood which I last posted on in March of 2006. There was nothing defined as "Dac Biet" here, so I got the Thit Nuong, which they call their "French Sandwich". The Banh Mi here was the least expensive at $3.25, which may not be something to celebrate. Back in 2006 it was $2.25!

 
Not surprising was the fact that this Banh Mi had the least amount of meat, which are cut in thin slices. What most surprised me was that I enjoyed this Banh Mi the best out of the three. If all remains the same, I believe the bread is from Le Chef Bakery. It was toasted fairly well. Initially, I thought there was too much "spread" on the sandwich, but it was a decent amount. The jalapenos weren't overpowering, and the pickled veggies had a nice crunch in addition to a good sweet-vinegary flavor.

 
I could have done with a bit more meat(especially since I like Jamon) and even more pate. There's a tendency for the staff to go a bit crazy with the Maggi, but today it was just enough.

Express Deli
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd (inside Lucky Seafood)
San Diego, CA 92126

Ba Le:

 

Over the last couple of years, I've been pretty disappointed in the Banh Mi from Ba Le. I wasn't very enthusiastic about getting a Banh Mi here. Especially since I went with the Dac Biet instead of Nem Cha Lua. Ba Le has a tendency to toast the bread to death, until it feels like you're eating a giant crouton that rips your mouth to shreds. So I opened my Dac Biet($3.50) with some reservation.

Also, the pickled veggies tend to be very thick and crudely sliced. On this day, the bread(thankfully) wasn't over toasted. It was however, a bit on the stale and dry side. This sandwich had the most amount of meat by far, but that BBQ pork was very bland and terribly dry as well.

The jalapeno peppers in this sandwich were pretty spicy….. which means you played that always fun game; jalapeno roulette.

I'm still not particularly enamored with Ba Le's sandwiches. More filling doesn't mean that much when proportion and texture means much more to me. To me, a Banh Mi isn't a over-stuffed sandwich.

One interesting note; it seems that Ba Le serves up Bun Bo Hue on weekends……

Ba Le French Sandwiches
9396 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Tan My Mi Gia:

**** Tan Ky Mi Gia is no longer

You really couldn't miss the fact that Tan Ky Mi Gia now made Banh Mi…..

 
 I think I've mentioned how much this place loves signs before. One interesting thing…. even though they have a huge Banh Mi sign hanging from the back of the restaurant…. I didn't see any prices listed. So when the always "interestingly" attired and made up young man told me "four dollars" I was a bit surprised. Oh my, Banh Mi has crossed the four dollar mark! I was brought back to planet Earth when the young man snapped his fingers and held out his hand…. I was taking to long to pay I guess….

 
Honestly, this sandwich had potential. I enjoy the long baguette more than the usual Banh Mi, but this wasn't toasted enough. In fact it was kinda cold, even though I bought this last, and ate it first. It was just not crustly/flakey enough for me.

There was just a scant amount of pate, and the veggies weren't pickled enough. Also, there were almost no jalapenos, but maybe they thought I was not up to the task. The amount of meat in contrast to Ba Le was positively endangered. On the other hand, I enjoyed the choices of meat for the Dac Biet. And you could actually make them out in the sandwich.

Which is why I enjoyed this more than what I had from Ba Le.

Tan Ky Mi Gia
9330 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Perhaps the next time you want a Banh Mi fest, and don't want to make multiple stops……..