Banh Mi So #1
Sep 26, 2007 restaurants, reviews
I would like to introduce you to one of my new favorite foods, Bánh xèo.
I’d never knowingly seen it at any Vietnamese restaurant until two weeks ago when I finally made it to Banh Mi So #1.
Bánh xèo is a pan fried rice flour and coconut milk crepe stuffed with pork, shrimp, bean sprouts, and onions. As you can probably see it was served with lettuce, mint and some sort of sweet and sour like sauce that I believe to be nuoc cham (sweet and sour fish sauce basically).
Almost like a Vietnamese taco, it was a study in texture, with each element adding it’s own distinctive crunch. With it’s delicate pan-fry, it was balanced beautifully by the freshness of the lettuce and mint. It was easily one of the best, and most interesting, things I’ve eaten in a long time.
next was the Banh Mi Dat Biet. The Signature Triple Crown Pork sandwich had seasoned pork, specialty ham, pork slices, and pate layered onto a perfectly crusty French loaf and topped with daikon, cilantro and jalapeno peppers. When the owner delivered the Banh Mi, he motioned to the nuoc cham suggesting I dip the sandwich in it.
This too had a wonderfully complex taste. The crusty bread; the rich fattiness of the pork; the bite of the cilantro; the heat of the jalapeño; and the sour sweetness of the nuoc cham. Each element took my mouth in a different –always-sublime– direction leaving me thinking about just how fresh everything was in this restaurant. Even with my crumby pictures, the color on both these dishes is vibrant and green unlike the greasy drabness of most items in an inexpensive American restaurant.
Add to the great food the presence of the owner, whom I assume was Mr. Truong, and it really couldn’t have gotten much better. He graciously answered my questions about ingredients on the menu I wasn’t totally familiar with. One in particular, mung beans, seemed to excite him and he told me a story about when he was a boy living “overseas”. In short, apparently the mung bean is the Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup as they would boil it down when people were sick.
It was a wonderful experience, and I can’t wait to go back.
Tags: Banh-Mi-Dat-Biet, Bánh-xèo, Banh_Mi_So_#1, Vietnamese
From the mountains of Panama and Ethiopia, to the urban-jungles of Portland and Chicago, journalist Michaele Weissman takes us behind the scenes for a look at the world of third-wave specialty coffee. How did we get to Starbucks, and where we go from here?
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:41 am
I love Vietnamese pancakes and order them a lot — you might want to try the versions at Pho Grand and Lemongrass. You’ll be surprised at how different they are. The Pho Grand version is soft and incredibly delicate while the Lemongrass riff is crunchy and much more substantial (looks like the one you’ve pictured here). I’ve never tried the Banh Mi So take on it, but now I know where I’m going for lunch!
November 24th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Hand to Jah: Ian and I were at Banh Mi So today, and the table behind us was talking about how “there’s a really cool blog called Stlbites.com and this guy Bill really likes this place.” It’s like “Oprah’s Favorites Things,” girl!!!
PS: The food was delicious, as always.