Trust me; I am no sandwich lover. As someone who for a long long time couldn’t be bothered to cook, I lumped sandwiches in an inglorious category of an “easy to make and somewhat healthy” staple of home food, consisting of deli meat, cheese, maybe a tomato if I was feeling fancy. Ordering a sandwich at a restaurant, on the other hand, is typically a calorie-laden overstuffed affair of Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and regardless of how much mayonnaise and ketchup there is, the sandwich always seems so dry and unsatisfying. I also dislike the hands on approach necessary to eating a sandwich… it’s just too darn messy; yet, eating a sandwich with a fork and knife seems so she she la la that I judge myself for eating in such a fashion. Who needs that stigmatism, even if it is all merely taking place in my imagination?
pictured: a Ba Le banh mi.... yummy!
Enter Bánh mì. Thanks to years of french rule, vietnamese subs perfectly combine european and asian elements: a wonderfully crusty baguette stuffed with some sort of meat — pork, vietnamese sausage or chicken are popular choices — and pickled carrots, daikon, cucumbers, cilantro and chili peppers.
Really though, waxing poetic about vietnamese subs isn’t going to make you understand the poetry of this sandwich. Some MmMmmGood wisdom for enjoying this delicacy:
- these are best enjoyed at specialty VIETNAMESE SANDWICH shops; don’t compromise your experience eating this at a pho place, i implore you.
- price-wise, these should be under $5 CND. Many places also offer specials such as buy ten, get one free. The most authentic (and best) Vietnamese restaurants are typically cash only.
- it’s best to visit the restaurant early in the morning… before the sandwiches sell out! You want your pick of the bunch, don’t you?
- many of the places serving the BEST vietnamese subs (I find, at least) you’ll want to drive to the location. Sorry, but IMHO hoofing it to the best sandwich shops in Vancouver and San Francisco is scary.
- eat them toasted!
and now, for some restaurant recommendations:
In Vancouver:
My favourite, Ba-Le serves up $2.75CND sandwiches. They have tried to bilk people out of their free 11th sub, so ask when you pay. Ask for “the regular” (pork). I like to do half spicy, half non spicy, or alternatively you can ask for peppers in a bag, where you put peppers on at your own daring. Other than that, do not expect any atmosphere of any kind as they have maybe, one rickety table? Take their subs home and devour… 20 seconds in the microwave then toasted in the toaster oven… amazing amazing amazing.
Located: 633 Main Street #121, Vancouver, BC V6A2V4
(604) 662-8108
you can also check out some photos of Ba-Le here
look at all those fillings!
Au Petit Cafe is a bit more upscale and diverse. Their location isn’t hard or scary to get to, but I would rank them down for poor service (family run and you know those kids don’t want to work there), the hoards of crowds who already know about this place, and their, quite simply, not-as-delicious subs! They serve pho, spring rolls, and other Vietnamese dishes and you can visit them online here. That said, Au Petit Cafe is still very good; they would take my top spot if not for Ba-Le.
Located: 4851 Main Street, Vancouver, BC V5V3R9
(604) 873-3328
In San Francisco:
Saigon Sandwiches has 4.5 stars and 1196 reviews on yelp. That’s pretty consistently good, wouldn’t you say? I travelled on foot from Union Square (Downtown) and was a bit terrified of the people we encountered (think homeless crazy people… as much as I bluff, I have minimal to no street cred). The sandwiches are around $3.25-3.50USD. I felt the daikon/ vegetable ratio overpowered the meat/ bread ratio, but if I was living in SF for an extended period of time, the sandwiches from this hole-in-the-wall hit the spot. Again, if they aren’t that busy, you can nicely request that they heat the sandwich up.
560 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 474-5698
you can read more reviews here
Saigon Sandwich
At Home:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/saras-secrets/vietnamese-style-sandwich-banh-mi-recipe/index.html
this recipe seems rather easy and authentic… I haven’t yet had reason to try it but as soon as I do, I’ll review how it compares to the above recommended restaurants.
Vancouver’s Gastown is most certainly a place to check out as a traveller or a proud resident of the beautiful city. While I fall into the latter category, I admit to only recently haunting this up-and-coming area; I mean, really? 
