If you enjoy Vietnamese food, you understand that there are basically four categories or types that it comes in: pho (soup), com (rice), bun (noodles) and last but not least, banh mi (sandwiches). A melding of Asian and French, banh mi are delicious and flavorful sandwiches with meat, pickled veggies, cilantro, jalapeno and a bit of mayo spread for depth. When it’s done right you get hit with all these textures and flavors. Crunchy warm bread with a soft fluffy inside. Savory meat, rich mayo, spicy, sweet and acidic from the condiments. And a bit of veggie crunch to balance out the richness of the other ingredients. My favorite spot in SF was a place called Saigon Sandwich on Larkin Street which specialized in banh mi. These two Vietnamese ladies would stuff these delicious sandwiches all day long and it was a total bargain at under $4. So of course here in the Triangle, I decide to try and find out who had the best banh mi in the area. Or at least the best of the places I tried! Are you curious now? Read on and see how Battle Banh Mi for the Triangle unfolds…
(Updated 10/12/15) My first contender in the Battle of banh mi off is the old-school Dalat over at Mission Valley Plaza. Dalat has been in the hood for ages and I haven’t been back here in years. But I’m happy to say the space has been spruced up and looks WAY better than I remember. I grab a seat at the bar and order up a grilled pork and meatball banh mi. Unfortunately since it’s early, they don’t have any shredded chicken! It takes a bit of time but eventually I get two paper-wrapped sammiches and haul them back home.
I unwrap these banh mi bad boy’s and what we have is an 8″ sub in warm crusty french bread for $5.50. It’s a short stubby sandwich that’s well stuffed. For condiments, mostly carrot with some daikon, plenty of cilantro, jalapeno and a cucumber slice. The meat filling is decent, the grilled pork is a bit over-marinated and sweet (fish sauce?). And the pork meatball banh mi? Sort of crumbly and decent but not my favorite banh mi filling but I didn’t have much choice. There’s some decent spread (mayo) on Dalat’s banh mi and value-wise, they are good for price. A pretty filling sandwich but a bit sloppy in terms of how they were put together. But overall the balance of the sandwich was decent with strong flavors. My one major complaint was the cilantro. Too much stem and not enough leaf. Still I’d have to give Dalat’s banh mi a 7 out of 10 for a thumbs-up!
Next on my banh mi hit list was Pho Vietnam on Buck Jones Road near the Raleigh-Cary border. I had reviewed Pho Vietnam a while back as a solid choice for Vietnamese. For my visit, I ordered up two sandwiches: a roast pork and grilled pork. Unfortunately they didn’t have chicken banh mi on the menu, boo! The place is busy so it takes about 15 minutes for my sandwiches and Vietnamese drip coffee (cafe sua da).
My banh mi show up at the table in two paper pouches and they are about the same size as Dalat’s, about 8″ to 9″ long and stubby. The sandwiches look like they’ve been assembled better and the bread used has a bit of crust but is lightweight fluffy. There’s a good mix of carrot and daikon, two pieces of cucumber to fill up the entire length of the sandwich along with better quality cilantro and a good layer of mayo. The filling is solid with a slice of flavorful grilled pork or pink-tinged roast pork. The grilled pork is the big winner and I have no problem wolfing it down. The roast pork is decent but a colder sandwich with a slightly different spread. Not my favorite but the banh mi at Pho Vietnam are solid at $3.95 per sammich, a much better deal than Dalat. I’d give Pho Vietnam banh mi an 8 out of 10 but I’m still hoping for better!
Next up on the Banh Mi Battle is Mo-Te, a small Vietnamese eatery tucked away off of New Hope Church Road in Raleigh. This place reminds me of the mom and pop Vietnamese places I’d find in SF. Bland store-front, laminated menu of bubble teas, refrigerated case with Vietnamese sweets and of course, a little Vietnamese guy behind the counter. He looks really serious while I order up two banh mi and my cafe suda (VN coffee) but finally cracks a smile and wants to know if I’m Vietnamese (nope). It’s early so the order goes in back and I see him toasting up the buns in an oven which is a good sign.
I head out with one styrofoam cup and two banh mi in wax paper bags! And the banh mi from Mo-Te look solid, especially at $3.95. They’re jammed with meat and maybe 10″ long. I start off the roast pork with is not the usual slices but small minced pieces bathed in red marinade. Overall the sandwich is good, layered with a cucumber slice, cilantro and a bit of daikon-carrot. What seems to be missing is they mayo spread and jalapenos. I’m also not picking up much pickled taste from the veggies so even though this banh mi is satisfying, it doesn’t really bring all the flavors together. Oddly enough I’d call it a bit plain. The chicken banh mi is also good with plenty of roasted white meat but again, lacks that flavor punch of a really good sandwich. So solid effort but still behind Pho Vietnam’s version, 7 out of 10.
Banh mi battle continues on with Taste Vietnamese in Morrisville! I had to call in my order and picked the sandwiches up a bit later and the place was so busy, it took a while. So Taste’s banh mi probably had been sitting around for 45 minutes or so before I was able to get them home for lunch, disadvantage. And I definitely thought their banh mi looked smaller, so I wasn’t sure what to expect! Thankfully, I was finally able to order up a chicken banh mi which was a first for me in this contest!
Unwrapping the Taste banh mi, they were about 7″ or 8″ long and only about 3″ across which is the smallest of all the sandwiches I’ve tried. Starting with the chicken, the banh mi was well-stuffed with dark meat. A bit of daikon, cilantro, daikon and spread, my first bite is decent and I taste some marinade. It’s a good sandwich with decent balance but I was thrown off by the flavored chicken and it was light on the pickled tang from the veggies. The pork banh mi was similar, roast pork shreds marinated and well-stuffed. Similar deal, a good sandwich but not as well balanced and flavorful as some of the others I tried recently. Meat in both banh mi was a touch dry which could have been helped with more spread but not the case here. For $4 per sandwich, they’re not a bad deal but definitely not at the top of the banh mi heap. 6 out of 10 due to size and marinade, boo!
My fifth banh mi came after initially writing this post, my favorite Vietnamese restaurant Pho Far East has these sammiches but it’s not on the menu! So a tip on my Facebook reminds me to check them out and of course I can’t resist. A week later I’m at Pho Far East, they’ve got ham (?) and grilled pork but it’s an easy choice to go with the latter given the dishes I’ve tried here. 15 minutes later I get a bag o banh mi ($4/each) and I’m headed home!
Back on the ranch, I unwrap the package and Pho Far East has packaged the condiments (pickled carrot, daikon, cilantro, jalapeno) separately, nice touch! The sandwich has lots of grilled pork, some spread and two spears of cucumber. Coolio, because now I get to customize and bling out my banh mi but I jam as much as I can in there.
The bread is warm and a bit crusty and the soft insides has soaked up juice from the pork. My first bite and yum, the Pho Far East is well-stuffed and has the tang of the veggies along with the sharp pop from the jalapeno, nice!
And it’s a bigger sandwich at about 9″ with plenty of filling, similar to Mo-Te but more tasty. I finish both of them off which is probably not a good idea but who wants a cold banh mi? Given the price, I’d have to give the banh mi at Pho Far East a 9 out of 10 because it delivers size, taste and a decent value, a cut above Pho Vietnam, woohoo! If only they had roast chicken here…
Next up for Battle Banh Mi is Banh Mi Ha Long food truck! A newer option that’s only available on Sunday’s for lunch, they do a grilled pork, grilled chicken and combo banh mi for $5 a sammich.
At 9″ long and good width, it’s a substantial looking banh mi but runs a bit short on meaty filling. But thankfully what’s in there is tasty with some char and caramelized meat! Add in a good balance of pickled carrot, cilantro and jalapeno and you get a spicy mouthful. Only improvements would be to add more spread, daikon and a bit more meat. But a very good banh mi! I’m giving it an 8 out of 10 right now…
Next up on the banh mi list is the venerable, Pho 9n9. While it’s better known for its pho, Pho 9n9 does a pretty solid banh mi. About 9″ long and filled with slightly marinated grilled pork, cucumber, daikon, carrots, jalapeno and spread, I was surprised at how good Pho 9n9’s banh mi is. While a bit unconventional and pricey at $6, it’s a worthwhile sammich. For lunch they serve it with summer or egg rolls as a special for $8.99
So while there are a few more contenders to try in Battle Bahn Mi (Pho 919, Pho Super 9), I’d have to go with Pho Far East as having the best banh mi in the Triangle, Pho Vietnam in second and Mo-Te in third tied with Dalat and Taste Vietnamese rounding up the list. And I have to confess none of them came close to the banh mi I would get while living in the Bay area but what can you do? Although I have heard the Vietnamese food in Greensboro is really good, anyone up for a road trip?!
Dalat- Raleigh (7 out of 10 stars, bahn mi)
Pho Vietnam- Raleigh (8 out of 10 stars, banh mi)
Mo-Te- Raleigh (7 out of 10 stars, banh mi)
Taste Vietnamese- Morrisville (6 out of 10 stars, banh mi)
Pho Far East- Raleigh (9 out of 10 stars, banh mi)
Banh Mi Ha Long Food Truck- Raleigh (8 out of 10 stars, banh mi)
Princess Nail Supply
1300 Buck Jones Road
Raleigh, NC 27606
Hours: 11am to 4pm on Sundays
Pho 9n9 (7 out of 10 stars, banh mi)
2945 S Miami Blvd #102,
Durham, NC 27703
Arthur in the Garden! says
I am a Pho type of guy but my boyfriend really enjoys the banh mi and Dalat is our favourite restaurant.
Ron Wen says
Hah, yeah. I prefer Pho Far East overall, check em out if you get the chance Arthur. I’ve just been told, they do banh mi on request but it’s not on the menu…
Ben says
Cool post Ron. I have to say I was not too impressed with a banh mi I tried at Pho Vietnam though. Don’t know if these were perfectly traditional, but I really do miss the sandwiches from Spize. Part of what made those was the crusty baguette – you’ve got to have good bread for any sandwich. Anyway, there’s a lot of places I’d still like to try around here, and I’ve heard too that Greensboro or Charlotte have even better Vietnamese food. Now you’ve got me wanting a good banh mi right now!
Ron Wen says
Hey Ben, thanks for checking in! Yeah, I was a fan of Spize too but their baguettes were more of a spin on the traditional banh mi. Great in its own way and I think they used LaFarm bread. Still need to hit up a couple of other places in the Triangle so more to come…
Ron
Jeremy says
Nice post! The best banh mi in the Triangle is definitely at Lime and Basil in Chapel Hill. I’ve heard that the banh mi on the lunch menu at Jujube in Chapel Hill is pretty good, but I’ve never had it. Otherwise, my Triangle bahn mi experiences have been pretty bad and options are lacking. The sandwich at Taste is not very good at all. 9N9 stopped selling bahn mi a while back, which is probably a good thing, because they were terrible. Parts and Labor in Durham offers a banh mi that tastes okay but doesn’t have much resemblance to the quintessential sandwich.
My two favorite places in Greensboro are easily Pakse Cafe on Florida Street and Banh Mi Saigon Sandwiches & Bakery on High Point Road. When I was in San Francisco, I intended to seek out Saigon Sandwich but ended up going to the nearby Baguette Express on Larkin instead. At the time, I remember thinking that while the Baguette Express sandwich was good, it probably wasn’t as good as those we have available in Greensboro.
Ron Wen says
Interesting, Jeremy. So yeah, your experience is that Gboro is pretty solid for Vietnamese. I don’t get out there that often but will check it out next time I’m out that way.
I went to Lime & Basil a LONG time ago because I went to grad school at Carolina and didn’t think their pho was that good and never went back. But will keep the banh mi in the back of my head.
Apparently Pho Far East does banh mi off the menu so I’ll report back on them soon. They are overall, my VN fave in the area.
Thanks for the information, Jeremy!
Ron
Jeremy says
Yeah, man. If you liked the sandwiches at Spize Cafe, you’ll love the sandwiches at Lime and Basil. They’re very similar. Looking forward to reading more about your banh mi explorations! Love dem sammiches!
Ron Wen says
Just stopped in at Pho Far East for their banh mi tonight, good stuff! Will have to add to this post…
Erin says
Saigon Sandwich is amazing – I dream about that thing. I’ve been looking for a place locally that makes a decent ones so will have to check these out.
Ron Wen says
Hah, yeah Erin. Saigon Sandwich was about 1/2 mile from my place in SF and I was always amazed at the two little Vietnamese ladies that would stuff sandwiches all day! But yeah, they were good.
Still have some other places to check out in the Triangle. Right now Pho Far East and Pho Vietnam are up there for me! Enjoy…
Ron
Kevin says
I’m late, but if you’re still in the area, Que Huong grocery store has always been selling sandwiches. I ptefer it over Super 9, Far East, or Mo-Te.
Ron Wen says
Hey Kevin thanks for the reminder, I actually just stopped in an hour ago! I like their banh mi, may be the most authentic I’ve tried, seems like they do more spreads on their sammiches. Wasn’t sure when they were open but heard Sunday was a good option.
Appreciate the comment,
Ron