Well, though it's been a while, I hadn't intended on revisiting Saigon Sandwiches & Deli….which kind of always slips my mind. I intended on checking out Da Nang Restaurant and Coffee which had replaced the longstanding Cafe Dore in the strip mall on the south corner of University and Marlborough. This was actually my second try as the first time went at the researched 830 am opening time and the place was closed. This time, I went at 930am in the morning and guess what….sigh…..the place was closed.
Since I was kinda hungry, I just decided to head into Saigon Sandwiches & Deli.
It had been a while and the place looks like it's been renovated a bit.
The Banh Mi Pate Cha is priced at $7.99 here; pretty much in the typical range for banh mi these days.
Took the banh mi home and unwrapped it.
It looked pretty darn good. The bread here is always on the crusty side; but I'm not complaining. There's a butteriness to the bread as well. The generous amount pickled veggies were really thick and somewhat cumbersome. Lot's of cilantro…..mostly leaves, which I appreciated. Of course, no cucumber. The jalapenos on this banh mi was spicy!
Good amount on nicely sliced cha lua and a nice smear of funky pate.
I actually enjoyed this banh mi…..I'm not sure why I keep forgetting about this place. I need to visit more often.
And well, with the way my luck is going with regards to finding Da Nang Restaurant and Coffee open….at least I have a back-up option, right? I'll probably give the place another try…..but three strikes and I'm going to forget about it. Maybe "FOY" Elle knows what's up with Da Nang? As for Saigon Sandwiches….I need to make sure to have the place on my typical banh mi "rotation".
Saigon Sandwiches & Deli
4133 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92105
Current Hours:
Open Daily 7am – 8pm
Man, look at the langostas! The beans were bland and watery and the rice on the harder side and also very mild in flavor, but those lobsters! There was a time when the Missus just didn't care for lobster; having had quite a few bland versions of them . But time and visit to places on the east coast and Canada, She has come around. And these were delicately, sweet-oceany, with a firm, yet pliable texture. 
Which came with a side of sticky rice; which was actually more hard and dry than "sticky". The dish consisted of two whole "wings" and another odd piece. The chicken was nicely fried, more crunchy than crisp, and very moist. The flavor seemed to be a bite "off" though. There was a hint of lemongrass and garlic; but it seemed to need a bit "more" savory-salty tones, and came thru as being on the bland side, an adjective that one really doesn't associate with Lao cuisine.
Well, this was quite a hefty lunch! The miso soup was fine; not watered down like many other versions these days.
The rice was moist, tender, and fragrant; though the portion size was a bit too large for me. I think if I go solo again I'll make sure to get a half portion of it. I was really heading into 
I waffle between getting the filet or loin cut….after this meal, I guess I'm back on "team loin"? I really like the meaty texture, fat content, and the porkiness. The sauce tends to the sweeter side in my opinion, so I use it sparingly.
This was pretty bad. The dan bing was rubbery…speaking of rubbery, the skin of the duck was not crisp, the fat hadn't been rendered from the duck properly and it had way too much sauce. This is what happens when you can't "do your own thing" with Peking Duck.
I quickly noticed something about these almost $3 a piece shumai…..do you see it? Well, the wrappers were really too thick, but all of them had 
First off, look how these lack uniformity, second, how haphazardly the wrappers are placed. Third, the filling was hard and dry. It was also overly salty. The shape was like someone rolled a meatball and just threw wrappers over it.
While the potatoes had a generous amount of bell peppers and onions, it was bit on the greasy side. No complaints about the bacon as She also ended up poaching some of mine.
Of course, the first thing I went for were the noodles; which somewhat reminded me of kway chap at first glance. Sadly, the noodles were cut into short pieces and were mushy in texture.
Where "Leo" seems to excel is with the proteins. While the rare steak was not as bright red as I prefer, it was quite tender; a definite outlier these days. The tendon, while crosscut slices were used was quite tender as well. The tripe was crunchy, and the flank, toothsome as is the norm had a pleasant beefiness to it. The beefiness extended to the brisket as well, though it was on the tougher side.
The nuoc mam was overly sweet for my taste, but the accompanying broth, which I assume is the pho broth, was much better than what I'd had during my previous visit. Yes, it was lighter…but it wasn't as sweet, with nice savory tones….I'm thinking that this was more like Pho Ga…chicken rather than beef. Doesn't it look like Pho Ga? Frankly, I should have asked.
The nice young man also kindly provided a portion of chili sauce for me as well.
The bread was much better than I recalled, crusty, though still a bit under toasted and on the chewy side. It used to be a lot worse before. 
