I was driving on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard when I noticed a Grand Opening sign. It was on the shop that was Phuong Nga Bakery and Cafe. Heck, I didn't even know that Phuong Nga had closed. So I headed into the parking lot to take a look.
The sign read "Banh Mi Express". Well it was nearly lunch time, so I decided to walk in and get me a Banh Mi.
They had taken out all of the tables from one side of the place, but the interior looks basically the same.
I just decided to get the Dac Biet….which well….it's the "Banh Mi Special" on the menu. It $7.59, which is sixty cents more than what it cost during my last visit to Phuong Nga Bakery and Cafe.
I recognized the young man working and had a brief chat. He told me that yes, the shop has new owners, they still bake their own bread fresh, and that the place is not associated with another "express"; Banh Mi Paris Express.
Here's the Banh Mi Dac Biet.
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.
In terms of proportion and bread, I do prefer Paris Sandwiches, but Banh Mi Express is my favorite in the area. So, it looks like things are about the same as Phuong Nga Bakery and Cafe. And that'll do just fine for me. And I'm glad they are open on Saturdays as well. 
Banh Mi Express
9353 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92123
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 7am – 5pm
Saturday 10am – 3pm
Closed Sundays
It did seem like my sandwich was sticking "its tongue out at me"……perhaps mocking me? To use a single word to describe this would be "light". From the slightly crusty, yeasty-airy bolillo to the filling. Other than a good amount of heat from the jalapenos this was quite light. In my mind, it could have used a bit more salt (when was the last time I wrote that?), tomatoes, and onions. Still, it was a decent breakfast and the price was right.
This came on a by-the-book, yeasty telera roll. The chorizo was nice and smoky, with a hint of spice. The jamon was a rather thin slice and was made irrelevant by the chorizo. The gooey cheese was the glue (no pun intended) that added a slight milky flavor to things. There was a bit of jalapeno for some zip, but I could have used more beans on this. I think I'll have the papas con chorizo version of this next time.
Big Jim's Roast Beef & Subs opened as a Food Truck/pop-up about March 2021 and has steadily built a following of its New England Style slow roasted style Top Round sandwiches, ultimately opening this storefront in September. They still Pop-Up at the Wednesday Ocean Beach Farmers Market and the Thursday Oceanside Sunset Market.
A simple menu. When you order, toppings are described and you can decline or ask for an ingredient 'on the side'.
Junior Beef Sandwich ($9). This sandwich is very large; the in house roasted top round, sliced thin and served medium rare, the beef chilled. This has wonderful flavor and texture. It is served on a butter grilled burger bun with a horseradish mayonnaise and American cheese. We asked for the BBQ sauce on the side. 
French Dip ($16). Apologies for the photo. The aroma of the roasted beef was amazing. Again, thin sliced beef, cooked more medium, served warmed with Provolone cheese. Great sandwich, easily shared.
The Italian bread roll, sesame-seeded, was fresh, flavorful and sourced locally from a bakery in Little Italy. The jus had bits of meat in it and was not salty. Quite perfect. 
The BBQ Sauce had a nice 'tang' and the grilled onions were sweet. Each was added as a condiment at the end bites of the sandwiches. 
Seating out front.
It turns out that this establishment is a recipe testing, preparation and catering kitchen to the family of New Zealand inspired restaurants in San Diego: Bareback Grill, Queenstown Public House, Dunedin North Park, Raglan Public House and Queenstown Bistro…none of which Kirk or I have visited (yet)
Walk in and there's the menu on the wall in front of you. Turn to the left, meet Mack, order, pay and find a seat. 
I noticed this "Mackstar" beverage ($2) described on the wall and decided to try it-an excellent blend of English Black tea and fresh (sweetened) lemonade. The liquids are different densities so when delivered to the table, we were able to try the excellent black tea separately from the lemonade; each is good on its own and when stirred, the combination is very nice-could still taste the tea.
The "Soup and Sammie" ($13) was my choice. Tomato basil soup with pine nuts and herbs, topped with sour cream-thick with chunks of tomato,so fresh, delightful. The bowl is low and deceptive. There is plenty. 
Two types of cheese on toasted sourdough with mayonnaise, avocado, lettuce and tomato. Excellent.
The Cobb Chop salad ($12.50) was really good; fresh (flavorful; I've been buying some bitter lettuces lately) Romaine topped with warm grilled herby chicken breast, chopped bacon, avocado, tomato, hard boiled egg and Blue cheese chunks.
The salad was served with fresh made Caesar dressing (delightful, non-burning garlic) or we could have tried the Pepper Ranch (next time). 
Ichiban Sando is on H Street just east of Broadway (across from the mall). 
There are menu boards above and menu choices taped below the ordering window as well as a convenient pocket size menu. 
The Shrimp Katsu Sando ($11.50) is served on a choice of toasted homemade milk bread or brioche bun and with cubes of pickled radish. Crispy breaded shrimp on the toasted bread- an excellent, large and filling sandwich. 
The Pork Belly Bowl ($10.50) was another choice this day. Steamed rice, pickled red cabbage and kimchee along with plenty of soft, tender pork belly topped with a Kewpie based sauce (slightly spicy; maybe sriracha, which tastes sweet and hot). Mixing the pickled vegetables with rice with bits of the fatty pork was quite a nice bite of textures and flavors.
The Fruit Sando ($8 on the wall under the cash register but $8.50 on the paper menu) was wonderful- the soft, fresh home made milk bread, fresh and thick whipped cream and fragrantly ripe strawberries and kiwi made a perfect dessert snack.
This was a decent sandwich. I've always liked the thin shaved turkey and even though the bacon is in "bits" there's a good amount of it in the sandwich.
My order was ready when I arrived….I just sauntered in, gave my name, and headed back to the car and office.
Nijiya Japanese Market is a favorite stop because of the organic Produce section as well as the prepared foods area. I wrote about some 'grab and go' meals in 
There is a two sided refrigerated area near where you stand in line for the cash registers. One section has various sandwich choices.
This is a "Mix Sandwich" ($5.49) on white or wheat. Four different fillings- Tuna Salad, Egg Salad, Ham with butter and a Lettuce and Tomato with cheese and mayonnaise. Each piece of sandwich in this mix is 1/3 of a crustless bread sandwich made with three bread slices and two layers of filling. 
The "Fruits Sandwich" varies daily. This one had melon and pear and orange along with whipped cream in between slices of a quality white bread. 
Picked up some sushi while I was there and we had a nice meal.
There is a Chicken Cutlet sandwich ($5.99)-breaded deep fried chicken with a house made tonkatsu sauce (A Pork Cutlet sando is $6.99). On this day the Fruits Sandwich was simply strawberries with whipped cream. 
Placed between the three Chicken sando sections were three smaller lettuce/tomato/cucumber/mayonnaise sandwiches. A nice, balanced meal.
Marukai has two 'grab and go' island refrigerators as well as closed door freezers and a small hot deli counter. There is just so much inside this small yet packed market. 
The egg salad sando ($4.99) as well as the katsu pork sando ($4.99) are exceptionally good here. You can see I also purchased the potato salad and some katsu chicken (which is really tasty from here). {Yes, we use Christmas plates all year.}
Located between Marukai and Nijiya is 
The Mix Sandwich here ($7.99) consists of four sandwiches, each 1/3 of a whole sandwich. Egg Salad, Tuna Salad, Ham with lettuce and a Japanese Potato salad sando. Each sandwich is fresh and flavorful and fancy. Again, katsu chicken was purchased as a 'side'. 
And yes, it was quite full of Cha Lua, Thit Nguoi…… What I think banh mi purists' will appreciate, I'm looking at you "Billy" is that Phoung Nga still includes cucumbers in their banh mi, a rarity these days. The bread, as usual is a bit heavily baked (onsite), making it more hard and crusty than having a nice balance of light, crusty-flaky. But these days, this is almost a blessing, as much of what I've had is soft and doughy. There's a good amount of pickled veggies, the jalapenos were present, but not overly spicy on this visit. This was a nice lunch for me.