Category: Banh Mi

Revisits to Banh Mi Express and Paris Sandwiches (Mira Mesa location)

Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

I guess once the weather starts getting balmy….I start wanting some banh mi? Ok, enough with the dad jokes…for now. And to be honest, it’s been much more than balmy ’round these parts. So, I decided to revisit a couple of my favorite banh mi shops. And kind of rank the three….so here goes.

Banh Mi Express:

I’ve been wanting to return to Banh Mi Express ever since “FOY” Sage mentioned that they were closed for a whole month! And even thought Sage mentioned that the banh mi was the same….well, I just had to get my “fix”.

The banh mi here are basically all over nine fifty these days…..

The Pate -Cha Lua, aka Pate Cold Cuts is now $9.49 a buck more than it was in November.

The young man working the front of house was very nice and I placed my order. I find it interesting that they don’t list the Vietnamese names of the banh mi.

The bread size here is a “tweener”…between the usual small banh mi and the long bread that some places feature. So crisp and lightly crusty….good yeastiness.

This might be my favorite banh mi right now. I enjoy the amount of cilantro…with some, but not too many stems, the thick slices of jalapeno. Nice slice of cucumber, crisp pickled veggies.

Good amount of well placed. cha lua, mild and savory…the earthiness of the pate comes thru nicely….there might be almost too much pate, but I enjoy it.

I agree with Sage who said that the ban mi here are as good as they ever were.

Banh Mi Express
9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92123
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 7am – 4pm
Saturday 8am – 3pm
Closed on Sundays

Thanks for letting me know what was happening with Banh Mi Express Sage!

Paris Sandwiches (Mira Mesa location):

I hadn’t realized that it had been over a year since I last visited the Mira Mesa location of Paris Sandwiches. I did check out the new Midway location when they first opened back in March, but since I was fairly close by, I decided to get another balmy day, banh mi fix at the MM locale.

Like the Midway location, most of the banh mi here are priced at $7.45. Though there’s an extra 25 cent addition for using charge cards for purchases under ten bucks.

Wanting to keep things consistent; I went with the “Pork Roll” (cha lua – $7.45). And unlike what happened at the Midway location; where I ordered a Cha Lua and got Nem Nuong….I’m thinking it was grand opening jitters…I did get what I ordered here. It came off the assembly line fairly quickly.

Fairly long and thin in length, the bread was nice and “crackly” as I remembered; though it did seem a bit more chewy.

Nice stack of cha lua, the flavor of the pate seemed a bit muted….in fact, it looked like it had more mayo than pate?

No cucumber and I could have used a bit more cilantro and that jalapeno had barely any spice.

Still, a good amount of cha lua and for being under eight bucks these days…..I’ll take it.

Paris Sandwiches
10606 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 730am – 630pm
Saturday 730am – 6pm
Closed on Sunday

So, there you go….my first two “balmy – banh mi” visits. I actually have two more to post….can you guess where I went after these two places?

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Touring the Rocks and Circular Quay (Sydney) and Lunch from Marrickville Pork Roll

Australia, Banh Mi, Sydney, Travel

I really wanted to get to see some of the sights in SYD during our short time there…especially in the area we were staying, known as Circular Quay and the Rocks. So, I hired a private guide for the morning. He met us at our hotel and were off. Sadly, the gentleman really didn’t seem into the job and mostly just pointed stuff out without any background or other info. So, I ended up doing a bit more research after the tour for context and such.

We headed off on the ferry from Circular Quay Wharf 5.

There seemed to be so many historical buildings in the area.

And of course iconic structures like the Sydney Opera House.

We would actually be having dinner at one of the restaurants at the Opera House this evening.

And of course there the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

We got off at Milson’s Point Wharf. and were led to the large Olympic Park. Which had so many sculptures and public art!

And the view from Milson’s Point is second to none!

And we were surprised to see Turkeys all over the place.

After looking things up; I found out that these are Australian Brushturkeys. They were almost driven to extinction, which led to the birds acquiring legal protection. Now, they are found thru out the city, and supposedly spreading everywhere in Sydney.

We walked to the Northern entrance to the bridge.

And crossed over. The views were of course wonderful.

Later on during our stay, we’d do a morning paddle in the harbor and were told that one of the nicknames for the Opera House is Nuns in a Scrum. You gotta love it!

You have great views everywhere….even when exiting the bridge.

We exited neat Miller’s Point and the Observatory Hill Lookout.

So many lovely green spaces everywhere! That’s the lovely Barangaroo Reserve above. A 15 acre park right on the waterfront.

From here we took the steep Baludarri steps down to the waterfront.

To an area known as Miller’s Point. Check out these harbour front homes.

You walk right out your front door to your boat/yacht!

Crazy, huh?

Crossing back under the bridge we got to an area known as Campbell’s Cove. Robert Campbell was a Scottish Merchant who built up this area, breaking the commercial stranglehold of the East India Company.

The warehouses he had built in the 1850’s still stand, called Campbell’s Stores they now house restaurants and various businesses.

The building I thought was a church is actually the ASN Company Building which has it’s own interesting history.

As we headed back to Circular Quay we passed this house.

When I asked about it; I was told “oh, it’s Cadman’s Cottage”…hmmmm…..ok? Well, you an find more info here.

I found this statue interesting.

It’s of William Bligh. Yes, that Captain Bligh. He was actually the Governor of New South Wales from 1806 to 1809! After the “mutiny”!

Walking back to our hotel we came across this.

It was an interesting dichotomy. On one hand, the Nurses Walk lays a path to the first hospital…you have to remember that Sydney was first populated with 750 convicts from Portsmouth, England in 1788. I read that many of the convicts arrived suffering from dysentery, scurvy, typhoid, and other illnesses. A tent hospital was established between George and Harrington Streets to care for those patients.

And then there’s the “Suez Canal”.

This is where water was drained. It’s also known as the haunt for various gangs and criminals. It was an interesting walk back to where we were staying.

And while our “guide” wasn’t really very good, there’s one thing he did which we enjoyed. Knowing we liked Asian type dishes, we stopped in a little alleyway a few blocks from where we were staying.

The name of the place is Marrickville Pork Roll. Now, I was wondering what the heck is a “pork roll”, but after a quick look it all became quite clear.

I had to crack up….it’s basically a Banh Mi Thit Nuong!

It was actually not too bad. The bread was a bit more chewy than I like; but quite yeasty and really crisp/flaky.

Loved the creamy funky pate, the pork was nice and savory.

Nice a refreshing pickled veggies……

This was not bad at all…..better than many of the banh mi shops here in San Diego.

We loved that you could walk down a random alley in Circular Quay and get a banh mi!

Marrickville Pork Roll
7 Loftus Lane
Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

Lee’s Sandwiches (Rolando)

Banh Mi

With the recent “more than warm” weather, I’ve been craving banh mi. So, during one lunch I was thinking of Banh Mi Express…except that it was during the time they were closed. Then the other usual suspects came to mind...Avian, Paris, et al…..

Then I realized something. Though I’d been to Lee’s Sandwiches all over OC…in those days when my work was sending me there, I’d never really done a post on my visits. Though Cathy has done a post on Lee’s in Rolando, the only one I could find was from all those years ago when we stopped on the way to LAX. Well, since I had some time for an early lunch, I thought why not make the effort to head on out.

I arrived to find both the parking lot and the shop empty. The last time I’d been at University Square were during my visits to Pha Khao Lao last year.

Even though the price of the usual Banh Mi here is now $7.95….well, it’s still cheaper than the last one I’d had which was nine bucks.

I placed my order and stepped aside and waited….

And in less than 10 minutes, my banh mi was ready to go…..I ordered the Cha Lua Pate.

The bread here like what’s used at Paris and K are of the longer variety. I really liked the fact that it has been nicely heated/toasted. The crust was a bit too thick and chewy for my taste. It was nicely yeasty though the bread was still a bit chewier than I prefer.

Good amount of funky-savory pate and perhaps a tad too much mayo and only two slices of cha lua, but everything was decently layered thru the sandwich. Except for the really thin slice of cucumber.

Nice portion of cilantro, though a bit too many stems, the jalapenos added the fun “pepper roulette” to things.

The pickled radish and carrots were nicely cut and ratio’d adding a good, refreshing crunch to things.

I still prefer Paris Sandwiches with regards to this “long style” of banh mi…..so, I’ll need to return there to compare. Still, I’d rather have a banh mi from Lee’s than from K Sandwiches.

Lee’s Sandwiches
5801 University Ave. B-1
San Diego, CA 92115
Current Hours:
Daily 7am – 6pm

Saturday Stuffs – Dubu San Diego Tofu Company Going into the old Ajisen Space and Banh Mi Express Temporarily Closed Until August 4th

Banh Mi, Korean Restaurants, Vietnamese Restaurants

So here are a couple of things that good “FOYs” recently mentioned to me.

Dubu San Diego Tofu Company Going into the old Ajisen Space:

In the comments of my most recent “where on the road” post, Elle mentioned that Dubu San Diego was taking over the old Ajisen space on Clairemont Mesa. I needed to go to 99 Ranch Market so I passed by the location and the signage is up.

Elle also mentioned that their Rancho Bernardo location has already opened. You can read more on their Instagram. It looks like they have a variety of dishes….which is good, since I don’t know about you….but I’m not really in the mood for Soon Dubu with this current heat wave!

7398 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Banh Mi Express Temporarily Closed Until August 4th:

A couple of weeks back Sage sent me an email letting me know that Banh Mi Express was temporarily closed until August 4th. I always appreciate these emails as with the warm weather, Banh Mi is definitely on the list. I stopped by and took a look on my way to a different sandwich spot recently.

And yes, they are temporarily closed….does not state a reason though.

Banh Mi Express
9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92123

So there you go! Hope everyone is keeping nice and cool this weekend!

And thanks so much to Elle and Sage for letting me know about these happenings! I appreciate the time you both take out to let me know!

The ViNam Cafe (Rolando)

Bakery, Banh Mi

I’m not quite sure who mentioned ViNam Cafe to me? But it’s definitely Banh Mi “season” for me right now as temps are starting to rise and I found myself in Rolando. So, I decided to figure out where ViNam was. I finally found the little shop on the ground floor of a mixed use apartment on ECB just East of College. I found some parking on ECB and walked over and discovered that the shop has it’s own small, but dedicated parking lot.

It was fairly early on a weekend morning and the little shop was quite sedate. Folks were just getting coffee while I was looking for my banh mi brekkie!

Just one nice young lady working.

Looking over the food, it was apparent that this is one of those “new” places and the menu has no Vietnamese names…other than banh mi.

I went with the Banh Mi Pate Cha or perhaps Dac Biet Cold Cut ($9). And it’s an interesting sign of the times as the nine dollar price didn’t faze me at all. Another thing that was different from other places is that the very nice young lady was doing everything….taking orders, making all the drinks, answering the phone, and of course making my banh mi. If this is usually the case, I wouldn’t be in a hurry when you visit. My banh mi took over twenty minutes, but I’m not going to complain too much since that young lady was working hard!

Man, this banh mi felt pretty hefty.

And upon opening…..yeesh…even heftier than Avian or Banh Mi Express!

Three stacked slices of cha lua, two of nem nuong….though the flavor of that was nullified by that thick smear of pate….not that I’m complaining mind you. This was definitely pate forward in flavor.

The pickled veggies were really cut thick…a bit too thick for my enjoyment, but that’s splitting hairs. There were not one; but two slices of cucumber in this so you won’t find me complaining about that. A nice cross slice of jalapeno with some decent spice.

My least favorite item was the bread, the crust was hard and the bread was overly chewy.

Overall, not a bad banh mi, the proportion was off for my taste….though I might be the only customer who would ever complain about too much meat? If the bread situation is just an aberration (I understand they make their own bread) than this would indeed be a nice, slightly Westernized banh mi. I’m thinking this is great for the students at SDSU.

The ViNam Cafe
6150 El Cajon Blvd. Suite A
San Diego, CA 92115
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 630am – 6pm
Saturday 7am – 9pm
Sunday 7am – 6pm

Road Trip – Lam Watah Nature Trail to Nevada Beach (Stateline) and Lotus Pho (South Lake Tahoe)

Banh Mi, Dog Friendly, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, Road Trip, Travel, Vietnamese Restaurants

After our morning hike and lunch at My Thai, we settled in for a nice nap. Upon awakening, we decided to drive across the border into Stateline and right up the 50 to the Lam Watah Nature Trail. It’s a nice, easy, mostly paved trail that takes you thru a meadow area.

Past Jennings Pond.

And then thru a forested area.

You end at Nevada Beach. I had read that there’s a portion of the beach on the south side that was dog friendly. And we found signage that indicated where it was.

And we simply followed the “paw-steps”.

Until we ended up at an area near the dock where pups and people were having a good time.

And JJ made a new friend!

After JJ was done frolicking, we headed back past the campground and back onto the trail.

Heading back to the hotel, we showered up and relaxed for a bit. When it came time for dinner; we decided to get something simple. All the restaurants in Heavenly Village seemed very toursity and the very popular Base Camp Pizza had a super long line.

On the previous evening, I noticed a Vietnamese Restaurant right next to South Lake Brewing Company, which seemed to have outdoor tables. So, we walked on over and yes, the restaurant named Lotus Pho did have outdoor seating.

We weren’t too hungry and it felt too hot for pho; so we just ordered some Spring Rolls ($10.50) and a Grilled Pork Banh Mi ($13.95)…..yes, it was nearly fourteen bucks for a banh mi…but heck, this is Lake Tahoe, right?

The Spring Rolls were basically stuffed with the wrappers stretched and contents under pressure. Did not look very photogenic.

Huge amount of vermicelli noodles and lettuce….no mint or cilantro in sight. The wrapper was super chewy, the peanut sauce on the sweeter side.

Lots of proteins…the pork was decently flavored though chewy, the shrimp had been cooked decently.

I kinda thought that Lotus Pho would be very “gringo-fied” and looking over the menu added to my suspicions. The only options for the banh mi was grilled chicken or grilled pork.

The pork had been seasoned decently…more like pseudo teriyaki; missing savory tones, and on the sweeter side. It was toothsome, but not overly tough. There was even cucumber in this! The pickled veggies were fine; if shredded a bit thinly. Nice amount of cilantro and the peppers did have a nice kick. There was a nice layer of pate as well, a pleasant surprise as I didn’t expect much.

The bread was very dough and not really a banh mi…..closer to a French loaf in my opinion. It lacked the yeastiness, but due to the density was quite filling.

Overall, a fairly westernized Vietnamese restaurant though I’ve had worse.

Lotus Pho
4000 Lake Tahoe Blvd. Suite 25
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

Paris Sandwiches Opens in the Midway District

Banh Mi, Vietnamese Restaurants

I recently heard that Paris Sandwiches opened on Midway Drive in Point Loma. Since we’ve been having some unseasonably warm weather and I do enjoy the banh mi at their Mira Mesa location, I decided to check the place out. I thought the address looked somewhat familiar and when I arrived….well, the shop is located right next to the Homestyle Hawaiian location on Midway and in the same strip mall as Pho Little Saigon! It’s been a while since I’d been around here……

On this morning there was a lot of parking available. I walked on in and quickly took a look at the menu board……checking prices….

I’m used to seeing Banh Mi in the eight-nine dollar range at many places, so it was good to see that most here are under eight bucks. There doesn’t seem to be a “Point Loma mark-up” going on.

I ordered my “usual” at PS, the Cha Lua ($7.45), from the nice young woman. My sandwich was ready in a few minutes and I was headed home.

Opening the banh mi at home was an “interesting” experience. As you can see….it wasn’t the Cha Lua!

Hmmm…..perhaps the young lady misheard me….perhaps it’s grand opening jitters? That’s fine, this looked like the Thit Nuong, even though it was almost sausage like in texture. I didn’t see nem nuong on the menu and this didn’t have the flavor profile of “NN”.

The pork is on the sweeter side, but perfectly fine. The amount of pickled veggies and cilantro was generous. I was also happy that this wasn’t overly mayo’ed.

The jalapenos this time around wasn’t too spicy….so no “pepper roulette” going on.

My least favorite item was the bread which has historically been a strong point for me at their other locations.

The banh mi was doughy and chewy; lacking in the crustiness that I enjoy in a typical banh mi.

Well, at least I gave the place a try. I’ll return in a few months and hopefully the banh mi will be like what I’m used to at their Mira Mesa location. I’m thinking, other than the crazy traffic coming off that Rosecrans exit; this might be a more convenient location for me. And heck, I guess I’ll need to do a PL Banh Mi comparison one of these days, right?

Paris Sandwiches
3445 Midway Dr.
San Diego, CA 92110

Banh Mi Express Revisited

Banh Mi, Sandwiches, Vietnamese Restaurants

After my last, rather mediocre revisit to Banh Mi Hoi An, I was wondering how some of my “old favorites” were doing. A few days later I found my self driving on Clairemont Mesa near the I-15 and decided to grab something for lunch. It had been a while since I’d visited Banh Mi Express, so I decided to grab a Banh Mi.

Interesting thing about Banh Mi Express; much like Banh Mi Hoi An they’ve decided to forgo the Vietnamese names of the offerings. I guess it’s the customer base?

This had me wondering how the Pate “Meat Loaf” (aka Cha Lua), now priced at $8.49 (previously $7.75 in April) would be. The woman working was very mellow and sweet.

As for the Banh Mi?

The bread was yeasty, a bit denser than I recall, but enjoyably crusty.

Unlike my previous visit; there was a good amount of pickled veggies this time around. Unfortunately, like my previous visit; there’s still no cucumber. **** I stand corrected – the cucumber detective is correct; there is a thin slice right above the cha lua! Nice slice of jalapeno, which was kind of mellow and a decent amount of cilantro.

Unlike Banh Mi Hoi An, there was a generous amount of funky-earthy-savory pate, which really “drove” the sandwich. In fact, in this case it really got close to too much of a good thing!

Still, I’m not complaining! Still among my favorite Banh Mi in San Diego.

Banh Mi Express
9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92123
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 7am – 4pm
Saturday  8am – 3pm
Closed on Sundays

Banh Mi Hoi An Revisited

Banh Mi, Vietnamese Restaurants

The series of posts on Banh Mi shops that I did this past summer had me wondering how places like Banh Mi Hoi An, which I last visited over 7 (!!!) years ago were doing. So, on my way back from Liberty Station I decided to stop by.

The place is starting to look a bit dated and the tables looked kinda dusty….good thing I was just getting a banh mi to go. The young lady working seemed a bit distracted by something, though I was the only customer.

I decided on getting the “Special”….which would probably be called the Dac Biet at traditional banh mi shops since they don’t have Banh Mi Pate Cha on their menu. Yes, I’ve always considered Hoi An to be a more “westernized” Vietnamese shop.

The dac biet Hoi An Special is now priced at $8.95, which is pretty much in line with places like Avian. Like I mentioned, I was the only person in the place, but it took over 30 minutes for my Banh Mi?

I would say that places like Avian, Banh Mi Express, and Saigon Sandwiches are a step above Hoi An. I’m sure location and demographics have something to do with things.

As for the sandwich, the bread was crusty, but strangely chewy. The proteins were sliced quite thin and the “pate”…well, there wasn’t much of it and the sandwich had too much mayo.

The pickled daikon and carrots were on the sweeter side and pretty much nullified the proteins; though I did appreciate the decent amount of cilantro and slices of Jalapenos.

Overall, a Banh Mi not to offend…kind of westernized, I felt that proportions of ingredients were off. ‘Nuff said.

As I noted in my previous post all those years ago: “The banh mi here isn’t bad. It just isn’t worth going out of your way for.” Well, at least in my opinion, they are consistent……

Banh Mi Hoi An
3145 Rosecrans St
San Diego, CA 92110

Saigon Sandwiches & Deli Revisited

Banh Mi, Vietnamese Restaurants

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.

Saigon Sand Rev 01

It had been a while and the place looks like it's been renovated a bit.

Saigon Sand Rev 02

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.

Saigon Sand Rev 03

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!

Saigon Sand Rev 04

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