Share your favorite place so that if any of us are far away from home, we can satisfy our yearnings for a good sandwich in any part of the country. Difference of opinions will arise, but remember that we are all bound by one common thread- the search and appreciation of a good banh mi sandwich. So please, house rules are to comment only your favorite. Lets just discuss the positives and where the recommended eateries are. Do not post any negative comments about any banh mi place, because we would rather spend our precious time eating than reading any negative, non-constructive comments. No haters, only banh mi lovers.
Visit the comments for places that have been shared already.
Comment to share your opinions on the best places and any that we’ve missed:
Area Directory – Austin, TX
Area Directory – Houston, TX
Banh mi Bale, Oklahoma City
Banh mi Bale, 2426 N. Classen Blvd in the Asian District of Oklahoma City is a fantastic Banh Mi hole in the wall. All their sandwiches are $1.85 for a foot long and they have a fantastic selection of Asian soft drinks and other canned beverages… some of which should only be ingested on a dare.
OKC Banh Mi
Lee’s Sandwiches
3300 N. Classen Blvd
Oklahoma City, OK
405-601-2161
http://www.leessandwiches.com
They make their own bread on the premises, the bakery is featured in its own glassed-in enclosure; many types of banh mi on 10″ baguettes (#11-Special Combination–jambon, headcheese, pork roll, pork pate; #9-Sardine; #12-Asian Veggie–fried tofu, vermicelli, bean curd, yam, carrot, house pickle, jalapeno, cilantro), and exotic drinks, like honeydew smoothies, basil seed tea.
California Sandwiches -Houston
Okay, so I don’t live in Houston anymore but I was there for more than 11 years and only recently moved. This place is great; there is no better tasting vietnamese food that is this good. Yes, the waitresses smile and there are no secrets to winning them over. All in all it’s really a great place to visit often. The food is delicious! There is no better place for a healthy tasty lunch!
Map to California Sandwiches
Dallas- Quoc Bao Bakery
Quoc Bao has the best ‘banh mi ga’ and fresh bread in Dallas.
Their addres is 3419 W Walnut St
Garland, TX 75042.
MMMM…Bale Resturant and now Bale Deli
They have the best bread which of course then makes a delicious sandwich so go to Bale Restaurant at 2240 Browning Dr, Arlington TX or Bale Deli 1220 South Cooper St., Arlington, TX. You will not be disappointed.
Dallas/Richardson – La Me
Located close to the Richland College campus @
9780 Walnut St
Dallas, TX 75243
(972) 669-8515
Skip the other meats and get the #4, “Lots of soft liver sausage”. So ludicrously good that I went 3 times last week for lunch. A competing restaurant in the same shopping center claims to have the “Best Banh Mi In Texas”, but La Me’s great pickled daikon and carrot, and homemade mayonnaise really set it off.
Prices range from 2.50 to 3.50 depending on toppings. Unfortunately, they’re closed until May 15th for remodeling, which I sadly learned while trying to satisfy my Banh Mi fix today.
Givral’s in Houston
Givral’s Sandwich Shop, just east of the Beltway on Bellaire, southwest side of town. Sandwiches run $3.50-ish, wide variety and excellent service.
Les Givral’s Kahve @ Market Square in Houston.
(This doesn’t appear to be affiliated with the Givral’s of Scott’s post above – I’ll have to try that one too.)
Banh Mi Thiem Hung
2108 Pease St
Houston, TX 77003
These are the best sandwiches in Houston. You can get $2.50 for a small and $3.50 for a large, plus this is one of the only places that still do buy 5, get one free.
Forget chains such as Lee’s. The best in Oklahoma City are sold in the lunch counter at Super Cao Nguyên Grocery (2668 N. Military Ave.). The ones across the street in the old Townley “milk bottle” building (a.k.a. Bánh mì Ba le) are good, but the owners there will add homemade mayonnaise unless you ask them not to. (No mayo at Super Cao Nguyên.) I don’t care for much if any mayo on mine, so I really prefer Super Cao Nguyên’s sandwiches. Also, the baguettes at Super Cao Nguyên are extremely fresh, handmade and unbelievably crusty. They are quite literally the crustiest, most authentic baguettes I’ve had outside Paris and Saigon. Also, Super Cao Nguyên carries one of my favorites that you don’t see very often — namely, the Vietnamese variant of the old fried egg sandwich. The vegetarian sandwich is also very good there.
Cafe Bella
9018 S. Pennsylvania Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK 73159
(405) 691-9018
(On 89th and Penn, next to Pho 89 Cafe and the Saigon Asian Market)
http://www.cafebellabistro.com/
I went to Cafe Bella during college to study and enjoy boba tea/soda. My friend introduced me to the Banh Mi, and now I drop by and get a sandwich every time I am in OKC. I’ve only had the chargrilled pork, but it is fantastic…tangy, delicious marinade and moist, large slices. The carrots and cucumbers are crisp and lightly pickled, not overpowering at all. The jalapenos are always fresh and spicy; the cilantro is always bright green. The french bread is firm on the outside and soft as you bite in, perfect. I prefer mine without the mayo but have heard it is excellent as well. It’s $3.99 and large enough for two but who wants to share?
Thanks for creating this blog! Great idea.
okay … hands down the best banh mi in ALL of Houston is Don’s Cafe on 9300 Bellaire Blvd (713) 777-9500! they actually warm and toast the bread before they make your personal banh mi … yummy in my tummy!!!
There is a shop right on Campus (I go to the University of Houston) called Tealicious that specializes in tapioca drinks, but they also sell banh mi and spring rolls. The Banh mi there is pretty good, but I usually don’t go there as it’s about a dollar more and just not as good as the ones right off campus on Elgin at Scott by the College Store. There, the sandwiches are very very good, probably the best I’ve ever had. Today I went to Les Givral’s Kahve downtown on Congress, it was pretty good, (supposed to be the best. I saw all the stickers on the window from citysearch… Houston Press…) maybe it was just the bread. I personally like the crust to be a bit tough and very crunchy and while the crumb was excellent, light and fluffy. I also got the barbecue pork, while I almost always get the combination. I will definitely have to try what they call the special, or the number 3.