Thursday, January 15, 2015

Bánh Mí: the Classic Vietnamese Sandwich Shop Comes to Venice Beach


In the last few months a new Bánh Mì, the classic Vietnamese sandwich shop, has opened in Venice aptly named Bánh Mí (go figure…).
 
According to the wonderful world of Wikipedia, Bánh Mì is a Vietnamese term for bread.  Said bread, or more specifically the baguette, was introduced by the French during its colonial period.  The bread most commonly found in Vietnam is a single serving baguette, therefore the term Bánh Mì is synonymous with this sandwich bread.  Bánh Mì is known to be more airy than its Western counterpart, with a thinner crust making it crunchy in texture.  It goes by the street names of "Vietnamese sandwich,” "Vietnamese Po-Boy,” or “Vietnamese Hoagie.”

At the new Venice location, Bánh Mì sandwiches are served with pickled daikon & carrots, cucumber, fresh cilantro, jalapeño, country pâté spread or house-made chili mayo, and baguettes (that’s baked fresh daily).

Offerings include their most traditional Vietnamese sandwich OINK MÌ, caramelized pork belly: golden-browned shallots, garlic, country pâté spread, and the MOO MÌ, braised short ribs with  mortar-pounded chili paste, kaffir lime, lemongrass, ginger, galangal, house-made chili mayo.

I partook in the VEG MÌ, chili roasted tofu: tofu sautéed with green onion and chili oil with crunchy garlic.  Crispy, spicy, and fresh it is everything that epitomizes Bánh Mì: light crunch bread, spiciness, and a great blend of street food flavors!

Bánh Mí offers a few tables for dine in or, for those in a rush, you can take your sandwich to go crispy wrapped with their logo and twine.

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