I noticed this little shop on my way to Hawaiian Fresh Seafood a couple of weeks back. There used to be a little sandwich shop named Café Seven; that I visited last year, but never returned.
It was now named Tadian Café….interesting name. I wondered if the owners were Filipino….you see; back in Hawaii, I used to work with a fellow whose family was from the Province in the Phillipines bearing that name……we used to joke about a specific mountain in that province that had quite an "interesting" name.
After looking thru the online menu; I noticed things like smoothies, Teriyaki Plates, Broken Rice, among the sandwiches….there was a distinct fusion aspect to the menu……which, while particularly not enticing to me, made me a bit curious about the place.
So, I placed an online order and headed over to the Tadian Café. My order was ready and on the counter when I arrived….I was in and out in less than 2 minutes. The young lady prepping food was very pleasant and quite sweet.
And I headed back with my Chinese Sausage Sandwich ($7.99), which nicely priced. There are options for sandwiches online….I basically just wanted my bread toasted.
I quickly read the label on my bag which said "Tadian – Vietnamese Cuisine and Sandwiches"….which cleared up some of what I had in mi Cabeza….
This was a decent sandwich for the price and my favorite of the three that I've had from Tadian. The standard issue "French Roll" was somewhat airy; if a bit too dense to consider a banh mi. The lup cheong had been toasted and had what a pleasant chew to it….it might be a bit too tough for some; but I especially enjoyed this with the creamy avocado……lup cheong and avocado, who knew? The pickled jalapenos, you know, the type you buy at the Mexican market in a can, added acidity, a mild spice, and helped bring things together. Lettuce, tomato, onion, rounded out the sandwich, with the mayo adding richness, but being otherise unobtrusive. 
Not a bad sandwich at all.
While taking a quick peek at the photo menu behind the counter, I noticed an interesting sandwich; which I don't recall seeing anywhere before – a Thai Roast Beef ($8.50). So, the next time I had a chance, I ordered one, adding sprouts (50 cents) and thinking it might need some heat, jalapenos.
This time my sandwich was waiting for me on the shelf right inside the shop.
I'm glad I got the jalapenos as even though this was a fairly hefty sandwich; this really didn't impress me in terms of "Thai" flavors….yes, there was some sweet and savory-salty flavors; but it would have been pretty run-of-the-mill and in need of some "zip" and more assertive flavors.
The roll was nicely toasted and somewhat crusty as well; which certainly helped things.
I also noticed a pack of LKK Sweet Chili Sauce and crushed red peppers in my bag. Perhaps I was supposed to add my own flavors?
This past week; I decided to grab a sandwich on the way home to check on Frankie. On my last visit, the young lady recommended the "Pastrami Bomb" ($8.99); so I decided to order it – on toasted sourdough.
When I got home I opened things up – it was a decent sized sandwich.
You can tell what my problem was with this, right? The bread hadn't been toasted enough and it had way too much honey-mustard……..the bread was saturated as was the pastrami. I'm game to try this again; but will definitely ask for them to go easy on the honey-mustard mayo, since the pastrami tasted fine outside the sandwich and I think it would have been quite good evenly dressed.
I did however, get a tidbit of information on this visit. 
I asked the young lady about the meaning of the name and was told that in Vietnamese it means something like "let's go and eat"…..I'm sure one of my "FOYs" will let me know if that is true or not.
So basically, there's an interesting range of sandwiches at Tadian; from Grill Cheeses and interesting variations on standards and a bunch of stuff on the menu with an Asian/Vietnamese flair. As most of my regular readers know; I have an affection for these independent, family-owned sandwich shops. The young lady working is so sweet and my sandwiches have always been ready for pick-up when I arrive, I'll definitely return.
Tadian Cafe
5955 Mira Mesa Blvd. Suite K
San Diego, CA 92121
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 9am – 2pm