Located in Chinatown, Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich Deli, formerly Banh Mi So 1, has been serving banh mi to an hungry crowd since 1988. A Banh Mi is a Vietnamese sandwich, taking its origin from the French during its colonial period. In fact, Banh Mi is the bread before being the sandwich.

This is a very small place with only few seats, so either grab and go, or go early to sit on the few spots available. Menu wise, they have quite a large choice, for the carnivores, but also the vegetarians or vegans, and it is not only limited to sandwiches: you can get rolls (pork or vegetarian), as well as salads (green papaya or chicken). But we are there for the banh mi, especially after we tried Banh Mi Saigon several weeks ago. Jodi decided to go for their vegan sandwich called Bánh Mì Chay Đậu Hũ, Xả Ớt Rau or Vegan chicken (tofu) with lemongrass (choice 11).

On my side, I got the Bánh mì pâté supreme (choice 5) made with Pork liver pate, vegan salami and vegan ham.

Each banh mi was stuffed with crisp strips of cucumber, cilantro and shredded pickled turnip (radish) and carrots, that gave a nice freshness to it. My favorite was the pâté one, especially because of the homemade pork pâté that was succulent. 

I liked Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich Deli: theses cheap sandwiches (less than $6.50 each) were delicious. Would I go back? Definitely: I would like to try their Grilled minced pork with sweet glazed or sardines one.

Enjoy (I did)!

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