If you’ve never had a Vietnamese sandwich, you have been living a sad, sad existence. Vietnamese sandwiches, or Banh Mis, are like crack for my belly. The combination of fresh French loaf, pickled shreds of carrots and cucumbers, a slice of jalepeno, cilantro, secret buttery spread, plus your choice of meat make for a delicious Asian take on the western hoagie.
So far I’ve had banh mi from Quang’s (Eat Street), Lu’s Sandwiches (Eat Street), and Pham’s Deli (Midtown Global Market). Here’s my take on where you should go for the best banh mi in Minneapolis:
1. Quang’s on Nicollet:
This is by far my FAVORITE place for Banh Mi: It’s got the classic recipe for great banh mi with the finest quality ingredients. You get a TON of meat in your sandwich here, and the pickled veggies are shredded and flavored to perfection. The beef and chicken are the same type of beef and chicken they use in their food dishes: deliciously seasoned and scrumptuous.
Tip: order your banh mi TO GO, they charge an extra $1.50 on top of the sandwich price when you eat it there.
2. Lu’s Sandwiches on Nicollet (across the street from Quang’s) :
This place is what most people consider the best banh mi joint in town. The French loaves they use are HUGE and the pickled veggies are bigger too.
I am not a big fan of Lu’s because the proportion of meat to huge French loaf and veggies seems to be lacking. What’s the point of extra bread and larger pickled veggies if you’re not getting enough meat to balance it out? Plus, the veggies aren’t as flavorful as Quang’s. I think the banh mi here is a little cheaper than Quang’s, but the difference isn’t worth forfeiting a better sandwich. I’m always willing to spend the extra buck or two to get the most satisfying sandwich from Quang’s instead.
3. Pham’s Deli in Midtown Global Market:
This is my LEAST FAVORITE banh mi I’ve ever had in my life. That’s saying a lot coming from a gal that grew up in Houston, Tx where delicious banh mi’s are as abundant as they are cheap. So basically, I know what a proper banh mi should taste like.
At Pham’s, I decided to get the chicken banh mi and was sorely disappointed. First of all, instead of the delicious special butter spread that any properly delicious banh mi contains, this banh mi had some weird pate. This stuff looked like pink slime and didn’t taste much better. The chicken had no flavor and wasn’t the sweet marinated glazed kind you can get at Quang’s. Basically looked and tasted like unseasoned cooked chicken thrown into the sandwich. Also, the jalepeno pepper was sliced horizontally instead of longways, so you got all your jalepeno in one bite versus a few when a pepper is sliced longways. The only redeeming qualities of this banh mi was it’s pickled veggies and cilantro, which seemed to be done the right way. This sandwich was relatively cheap, but totally a waste of money in my opinion because it was a food fail that left me disappointed. $3.79 for a food fail is not money well spent.
Additionally: I also ordered the Papaya boba drink from Pham’s and it melted so quickly. The flavor was so mediocre and lackluster, I won’t be coming back.
For really AWESOME smoothie bobas, go to Hong Kong Noodle in Dinkytown: you won’t be disappointed.
Ok, I digress, back to Banh Mis. Final rule to the art of consuming great banh mi sandwiches: Don’t pay more than $5. If it’s like $6ish, that’s forgivable, but I personally can’t justify spending too much on a sandwich I’m used to getting in Houston for $3. BUT, since it is Minnesota, I MIGHT spend upwards to $7, but I’m pretty sure every time I get one at Quang’s, it’s not breaking my bank.