Westminster banh mi crawl - Episode II
Rather than make this but one man's quest for banh mi excellence, I thought it'd be fun and more effective to include you, dear reader, to join the 2004 Westminster banh mi crawl. The power of this site, after all, lies in the community rather than the individual.
Today, SandraW, Russkar, and I perambulated amid the bakeries and restaurants of Little Saigon with a brief cameo by guest star Dorothy. I invite you to play along at home and post your feedback as this crawl expands. Maybe it'll be like the old Akroyd / Curtin skit on SNL, Point / Counterpoint: "Professor Salt, you ignorant slut..."
Some of the places in Westminster cater to a Vietnamese clientele, which you'd think a good thing, until you try to order off an untranslated menu from staff that may not speak English well. For other non-Vietnamese speakers, I include this translation. There are far more varieties, but these are common fillings you'll find everywhere. Banh mi translates as "bread with..." and is the generic term for sandwich, so banh mi thit is a pork sandwich.
Thit - pork
Ga - chicken
Xiu Mai - meatball
Thit Nuong - BBQ pork
Bi - shredded pork
Cha - pork roll (a sliced cold cut, from pressed & formed white meat)
Ca Moi - sardine
Pate - pate
Dac Biet - special combo (usually a mix of cold cuts, roast pork, occasionally headcheese)
Opened in the past couple of weeks, Top Baguette may be the young Cassius Clay of banh mi. Stop by to marvel at a potential heavyweight champion in the making before the lines get ridiculously long. Naming a shop Top Baguette might sound boastful, but it's not arrogant because they back it up. Excellent baguette; so far the best I've found in Little Saigon. Beautiful baguettes that approach the ideal I described in the last installment. Great fillings, too. A man named Long runs the joint and graciously guided us to order Xiu Mai (meatball), and Ga (chicken). I took home a Heo Nuong (BBQ pork) and Dac Biet (combination), and all were top notch. The unique BBQ pork, ruddy and well flavored, tastes almost like a moist pork jerky. The meatball, well flavored, comes in a mildly sweet sauce that didn't overpower the sandwich. The chicken, moist & flavorful, generously fills the baguette and needed no mayo or sauce. Lesser places tend to slather mayo to cover up their lame fillings. No need for that here.
We crossed the street to Hoa Bin, which buys baguettes elsewhere and stores them in plastic bags. Beware of shops that don't bake their own baguettes. While it's possible to reheat a baguette and make a good sandwich, I'm not going to buy from a shop (another is Tai Co on Harbor Blvd) that stores bread in plastic bags and destroys the baguette's crisp crust. Hoa Bin's fillings were pretty weak and swimming in mayo. Won't be going back here any time soon.
After one visit at each, Top Baguette and Tai Buu, its neighbor across the street, stand toe to toe in the heavyweight championship bout. I plan on going back for a full 15 rounds and sample the depth of their menus.
In the meantime, here is the list of places I've visited thus far. I'll post detailed reviews after I've given each shop a few more tries. There are probably half a dozen other shops I know about which I haven't been to yet, and even more I'm not aware of. If you have a favorite, please tell us about it!
Recommended:
Top Baguette
9062 Bolsa Ave (south side of street)
714-379-7726
Tai Buu Paris Bakery
9039 Bolsa Ave #101-102 (NE corner of Magnolia)
714-373-4316
Banh Mi Cho Cu
14520 Magnolia St # B (SE corner of Hazard)
714-891-3718
Gala Bakery
14570 Brookhurst Street (SE corner of Hazard)
714-775-7327
Lily's Bakery
10161 Bolsa Ave Suite 109B (East of Brookhurst)
714-839-1099
or
10872 Forbes Ave Suite B2 (off of Euclid south of Westminster Blvd)
714-554-019
Lee's Sandwiches
13991 Brookhurst Street (NW corner of Westminster Blvd)
Only this location is open 24/7
714-636-2288
or
9261 Bolsa Ave (NW corner of Moran)
714-901-5788
or
9200 Bolsa Ave #305 (Asian Garden Mall)
714-903-8855
or
UC Irvine location opening later 2004
Really, truly, strongly NOT recommended:
Hoa Binh
9081 Bolsa Ave #104 (north side of street)
714-897-8143
Banh Mi Ba Le
9152 Bolsa Ave (south side of street)
714-891-9424
Tai Co Food to Go
150 S. Harbor Boulevard (SE corner of 1st St
Santa Ana
714-775-1709
Tai Co just opened December 2003, maybe I shouldn't rush to judgment, but
Untried:
Banh Mi & Che Cali
8948 Bolsa Ave (SE corner of Magnolia?)
714-897-3927
or
149-ish Harbor Blvd (SW corner of 1st behind Tacos Mexico)
Santa Ana
Song Long
9433 Bolsa Avenue
714-531-0792
PS - Must be banh mi season or something. Jonathon Gold wrote a review of Lee's Sandwiches & Rosemead's Mr. Baguette in today's LA Weekly.
http://www.laweekly.com/ink/04/10/counter-gold.php
OC Weekly's Gustavo Arellano reviewed Banh Mi Cho Cu a few weeks ago:
http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/04/16/food-arellano.php
By Professor Salt
on Jan 30, 2004 03:34 AM
View »
Many thanks for your detailed reviews!
BTW, at which point (i.e., after how many banh mi), does it become a crawl?
Permalink | Reply
Like a bar crawl, it's when you don't remember how many you've had or how many places you've stopped at.
Permalink | Reply
Just don't let the crawl turn you in to a Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Pig... pace yourself, there is more than bahn-mi to conquer. Outstanding field work.
Permalink | Reply
Season, schmeason. They read Chowhound ... because of terrific reports like yours.
Permalink | Reply
Banh Mi Che Cali is one of my favorites. It is on the corner of Magnolia and Bolsa, inside the ABC Supermarket lot.
In terms of schmearage: I like the homemade mayo Banh Mi Che Cali puts on their sandwiches, eventhough their meats can stand without it. I guess I'm just a mayo type of person...especially when it's homemade.
Permalink | Reply
Che Cali is next on my list. I tried the Harbor & 1st location a long time ago. Elmomonster, is it the same food as the Magnolia / Bolsa location?
Schmear can either enhance an already good sandwich, or cover up for inadequate fillings, IMO. The green herb-buttery schmear at Gala Bakery is a good example of the former. It adds a spicy, herby whisper in the back of the conversation between bread, meat and veggies.
An example of the latter is the very good mustardy mayo at Banh Mi Ba Le. The mayo is the best thing about their sandwich. In fact, they sell the mayo to go in plastic cups. But the bread is a half step away from the rolls they bake at Subway, and the sparse, minced pieces of BBQ pork looked like wet cat food. While I don't object to mayo per se, I've found (so far) that it shows up when the meat really needs bolstering, so I look upon its presence with suspicion.
Permalink | Reply
I'm curious to see what you think of Banh Mi Che Cali. I've tried the location on 1st and Harbor, but I like the sandwiches at the Magnolia and Bolsa location better. It sounds as though your recs will most likely trump Che Cali though. I will definitely try the ones at the the top of your list.
Permalink | Reply
If you make it to Song Long, believe it or not, they make a really good flan (firmer, less custardy than most). Leave some room on one of your visits.
Stunning work, by the way...
Permalink | Reply
The Professor has heard me rant, "I'm not driving all that way for a sandwich." I believe from that moment on there was a desire on the Professor's part to prove he could move me from my cozy apartment in West LA to Bolsa & Magnolia in Westminster for a great buck-fifty baguette and "shmear". I thank the Professor and his Russty-trusty sidekick for enticing me out. Top Baguette is tops indeed. Loved the meatball. I could kick myself for not bringing home a roast pork banh mi for later. Of course now I'll have to go back and start working on the rest of that recommended list (and perhaps add an undiscovered place or two.)
Permalink | Reply
I recently bought four banh mi thit (bbq pork), cheeze cakes, flans and fruit tarts from Tai Buu Paris Bakery. I cut the sandwiches up as appetizers for my neighbors to take on a harbour cruise in Huntington. Everybody raived! Putting the leftovers in a zip lock bag, they were still tasty two days later! I think that I almost like the day old flavor of the meat soaking into the bread better than when it was fresh.
Permalink | Reply
Professor, with much anticipation, I have waited for you to discover Banh Mi & Che Cali ("Che Cali"), but alas, you don't even mention the branch of Che Cali where natives in the know buy their baguettes. Although you have listed two other branches of Che Cali, these branches do not have hot bread coming out of the oven through-out the day, and are best left untried, IMHO.
What is perhaps the best baguette in Little Saigon can be had at the branch of Che Cali in the shopping center at Brookhurst & Westminster (across the street from the Target; on the inside corner of the Rite-Aid arm of the shopping center). This is the only place in Little Saigon where people line up waiting for fresh baguettes to come out of the oven, and if you're lucky enough to be there when it does...oh, the sweet smell of freshly baked baguette coming out the come is heavenly. It always makes me wish I brought butter with me.
However, there's a caveat: I could never resist slathering hot baguettes with butter so I have not tried the banh mi (used in this context to mean baguette w/fillings) from Che Cali and can not vouch for the strength of the banh mi fillings. Nevertheless, the banh mis have a great start with the best baguette around, and from the huge number of people ordering banh mi's, its certainly worth a try.
While I believe that banh mi's are best had soon after it's made, for those who are inclined to postpone eating their banh mi's...you can ask that the vegetable (e.g. pickles, etc.) component of the sandwich be packed separately. This is often useful if you buy sandwiches for a large group.
Finally, how about opening up your banh mi field trips to the rest of us? I might be useful in bridging that language barrier... =)
Permalink | Reply
Your Earlness,
Thank you for the intel on the One True Che Cali. When you say it's across from the Target, I guess it's in the bigass strip mall on the NE corner of Brookhurst / Westminster, yes?
As for packing the veggies separately for to-go orders, Long at Top Baguette consciensciously did that for us, and it made a big difference when I ate the sandwich hours later.
As for your request to open the crawl to others, sure, why not? The logistics will vary depending on how many want to crawl along, so I'm hoping y'all are flexible. I've been trying to go during weekday lunch hours because not every bakery continuously bakes through the afternoon / evening, and I'd like to catch the product at their peak. So if your lunch hours are flexible and you can meet us in Westminster, drop me a line and let me know your availability. For those who can't make it en masse, you can still crawl on your own and play the home version!
Permalink | Reply
Your Lordship, I can attest to the fabulous hospitality of the Professor, Russkar and Ms. Sandra.
I work really near Brodards and I was really booked on Thursday. The Professor left me a message when he knew I was getting out of a meeting. I raced over, slid into a chair, partook of the MOST delicious foods, and slipped right back out in under 20 minutes. I'm a true Vietnamese-food novice, and the foods they ordered have me salivating to take my whole team to Brodards very soon!
So I know you'd be welcome. Heck, you're welcome to do a two-person mini-crawl with me most weekday lunchtimes. I'm now working on Euclid at GG Blvd, and am determined to try some of the great ethnic places in the neighborhood!
Permalink | Reply
This is a fantastic posting. One of the best I have ever seen, well done Salt. I have been to Lee's at 2am I thought it was good at 2am it was great. Tai Buu Paris Bakery was pretty darn good. Ill look forward to trying Top Baguette.
Permalink | Reply
I tried Top Baguette today.
My first Banh Mi. What an incredible sandwich!
I had a BBQ Pork and took a Chicken home.
I like spicy so I had fresh peppers added to both sandwiches.I could not believe how inexpensive this place is.I had a brief discussion with Long, the guy who runs the place. He is easy to talk with and will insult you just enough so you feel like you are at home!
I am going back tomorrow.
Permalink | Reply
Great source of info. I love bahn mi's. My favorite bahn mi place now is on Euclid and Edinger. Keep happy hunting.
Permalink | Reply
I have been intrigued by Banh Mi, after reading so much about it here, but have never tried it. It's time!
But ........... I have some questions to help make sure I'm trying something representative and good.
To be totally honest, I saw a Huell Howser episode the other night which was done at, I think, Mr. Baguette. During the show the camera focused tightly on an example of the subject sandwich. What I saw was a french baguette with a little bit of sliced meat, cheese (I think) and some lettuce. As much as I normally appreciate the foods of other cultures on their own terms, I couldn't help but wonder what the big deal could be about that sandwich.
So help me out, please. What makes a 'good' banh mi? Would Lee's (Irvine) be a decent starting place? What fillings show off the cuisine best...... or is it just personal taste? What else do I need to know? TIA
Permalink | Reply
Update 2008: the Top Baguette on Bolsa in Westminster is a no fly zone now. It's changed hands sometime in the past couple of years, and their once-magnificent baguettes have augered into the ground like a used SCUD missile.
Permalink | Reply