As has happens several times over the last few years, a conversation I overheard keyed a revisit to a place I hadn't been to in years. In this case the discussion was on "Vietnamese Sandwiches" and wondering how those sandwiches were at "Bail"…..yes, that's the way they pronounced it "Bail". Which had me wondering where this was….and all of a sudden it hit me…no, the spirit of the late "King" Stahlman wasn't resurrected in the form of a sandwich shop (are you humming "that tune" now?)…nope, I'm certain they were talking about Ba Le. And in retrospect, it had been a while since I'd been to Ba Le, especially the "OG" City Heights location….17 years! Yikes!
So, 17 years later I set out to finally revisit the University Avenue location of Ba Le and the horrendous parking….well, it's not really a "lot", but a couple of designated, very tight spaces. I actually parked on Winona and walked over.
Upon entering, I noticed that not much has changed over the years….it does look quite worse for wear, but the "double sign" with the available banh mi in Vietnamese on one side and the English translation on the other is still in place. Along with the prices written in black marker.
The Banh Mi Pate Cha is now $7.25, it was $2.75 the last time I visited. The older gentleman took my order, I paid (it's cash only) and I headed on back to my car and then homeward.
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.
Two crosswise slices of cucumber…well, at least there was cucumber in this, two long strands of cilantro, and some pickled carrots and daikon. And yes, the pickled veggies are still on the sweeter side for my taste.
A bit too much mayo for my taste, thin slices of cha lua. But one of the main reasons for my returning was that the pate here was super earthy-funky-sweet. I recall "FOY" TFD telling me that it was made inhouse. Not sure if that's still true….but there was a certain bass line playing in my head after taking a few bites. I'm sure "FOY" and fellow food blogger/musician Denver would be most happy to translate it for you!
This was a pretty good Banh Mi overall…perhaps time and many Banh Mi has given me a bit more appreciation for it. Another thing is that Ba Le, the location that opened in Honolulu back in the early 80's in Chinatown was the first place I remember having a Banh Mi, so there's some history. I recall getting Banh Mi from the ever moving Ba Le locations in Linda Vista over the years, until they finally left for good. Though I've never had much luck at the Mira Mesa locations.
Don't know if it would be my first choice for banh mi these days; but it was a nice little blast from the past!
Ba Le French Sandwich Shop
4879 University Ave.
San Diego, CA 92105
Current Hours:
Daily 8am – 5pm
Happy Monday everyone!
I must have hit the lottery on this day, because the bread was still slightly warm. It was yeasty and somewhat "crackly". Maybe the best bread I've had here.
Even though K bakes their own baguette, I had never been a real fan of their bread which I'd found to be on "mealy" side. On this day, it was better than what I recalled, though still lacking in the yeasty end of the flavor spectrum and over baked and on the harder side.
The bread was crusty, though on the drier end of the scale. It had a good amount of pickled veggies; crisp, sour, and refreshing. Huge slices of jalapeno, some of which was spicy, some not…time for some "chili roulette"? Nice, thick slice of cucumber.
I've always enjoyed the bread from 
The bread was very crusty…it was indeed quite fresh, though it didn’t hold up real well because there was a bit too much mayo. The menu said the banh mi has pate in it; but I could not find, nor taste any. There was a good amount of pork, in chunks, fairly chewy, but decently savory-sweet-salty.
I had noticed that it was toasted, which was a clue that the folks here weren’t using Shokupan, the classic Japanese Milk Bread; a must for a egg salad sando, which this was definitely not. I missed the light, fluffy texture and the slight sweetness that the proper bread brings to the sando.
The bread looked like a rolled French Baguette. It was quite crusty, though a bit more dense then what I'd call a typical banh mi. The jalapenos were really mild. There was a thin sliver of cucumber….though I must say that cucumbers are MIA in many banh mi's these days. There was a good ration of pickled veggies to mayo to pork.
Well, this is about the same as Phuong Nga. The bread is very crusty which I like, though a bit more chewy than I prefer. These days, many banh mi shops don't even include cucumber in their sandwiches; but it's present here. The jalapeno was pretty mellow on this sandwich. Of course, one of my pet peeves; the cilantro was mostly stems….I already floss daily; I don't need to have my sandwich doing it as well. The proteins are sliced on the thicker side and there are less pickled veggies than before. What I really liked about this sandwich was the amount of pate. Upon biting, the pate basically oozed out…a funky, earthy, creamy, savory "puss" of the most delicious sort.
