Banh Mi Craving Satisfied

One of my favorite sandwiches ever is the Vietnamese banh mi sandwich.  Crunchy, light, airy Vietnamese style French baguette sandwiching meats, pickled vegetables, and herbs.  It's filling and fresh with a great blend of flavors in every bite.

If I'm near the East Bay at lunch, Milpitas has some great banh mi choices.  Dakao 2 (because there are other Dakaos in San Jose) has some excellent banh mi and other classic Vietnamese choices.  My banh mi craving was completely satisfied after one sandwich.  The bread was light and crunchy, and the filling was just right in quantity and balance of tastes.

Along with the sandwich, we also ordered the traditional fresh and fried rolls.  Both excellent and freshly made for the day.  The atmosphere is rugged and casual, while the service is excellent and friendly.  I'm definitely coming back here the next time I'm in town.

Place your cursor above "Notes" below to read the captions for each photo.

If you can't see the slideshow, check out my Flickr album: Dakao

Banhi Mi for Lunch!

Instead of craving for burritos and deli sandwiches, this time I was really craving for banh mi - Vietnamese sandwiches. That light and crispy Vietnamese-French bread, with the fillings contrasting with pickles and jalapenos. Vietnamese sandwiches are seriously one of the best sandwiches in the world.

When I'm back in the states, especially the Bay Area, I tend to search for eats on Yelp. According to Yelp, the better banh mi near the Peninsula was in Sunnyvale at Cam Hung. Four solid stars. Usually, that means it's pretty good. Unfortunately, the four stars didn't ring true here. The bread wasn't crispy at all, and the fillings were really dry.

That made me want to drive farther to get the really good quality banh mi. Milpitas and San Jose are the cities to go to for quality and authentic banh mi. Huong Lan serves up some really good sandwiches that totally fulfilled my craving. The grilled pork was tasty, the sardines were good, and the classic ham, pate, and headcheese keeps you coming back for more.

The slide show here runs on Flash. If you can't see it, check out my Flickr album: Banh Mi