Bahn Mi

There are some things that I absolutely can not refrain from purchasing. Err, there are many things that I can't resist buying but I'm only here to talk about bahn mi. Bahn mi is a Vietnamese sandwich. There are usually a few common denominators in these sandwiches such as pickled carrots/daikon, fresh cilantro, green chiles and cucumbers. Usually, mayo and pate are standard. Your pick of proteins include chicken, pork, meatballs etc. They're usually no more than $3.00 and are often quite delicious. Because they are so inexpensive, I ALWAYS buy one just so I know whether that sandwich shop is any good.

I ordered a bbq pork sandwich from the shop at the corner of 7th (I think) and Clement St. BBQ pork usually means one of two things: charbroiled pork or Chinese roast bbq pork. In this case, it was the charbroiled version. This brings with it a few problems. The first is that the char flavor usually isn't strong enough. The second is that the pork can sometimes be a bit dry. This pork suffered from both. As you can see from the pic, the sandwich is stuffed with all of the usually items. More importantly, the bread was great. My one requirement for bahn mi is that the bread must shatter when you bite into it. This bread did. So, given that the bread is good and the chiles, pickled veggies and all that are present, I'll give the shop another go. However, I'll go with something other than the bbq pork.

BTW, my gold standard for bahn mi is this restaurant here. If you are in San Francisco and haven't been, go. Absolutely go. The meatball and the BBQ pork sandwiches are to die for. Sooooo good. My favorite sandwiches of all time. And only 2 dollars.