Cali Deli - New Banh Mi shop in Hillcrest
They've been open for a little more than a month now, only selling coffee (very good coffee that they roast themselves, according to their literature).
They finally added sandwiches to the menu, also stating they bake the bread themselves. Went today for the first time, and while I think they'll be successful, the sandwiches aren't really traditional banh mi in any sense of the word.
The sandwiches have raw cucumber, cilantro, and a sweet-ish sauce dressing them. There is no picked daikon and carrot, and no jalapenos. You can ask for jalapenos, but overall I was disappointed with this place. Definitely a heavily Americanized version of the banh mi. People eating there were raving about the sandwiches, so I guess the place will likely do well among an American audience.
Of course, they don't actually call the sandwiches banh mi, and the ca phe sua da is labeled "Black Magic" on the menu. Guessing authenticity isn't high on their list of priorities.
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Curious, did they have a pork pate type filling in the banh mi? what was the bread like a small semi chewy roll?
›3 Replies-
re: cstr
Josh
May 13, 2010 04:14 PM
No, the fillings are definitely more on the Americanized front. None of the traditional ones. The bread isn't bad, but mine was overly toasted and was really crunchy.
I think K Sandwiches is better, honestly. The absence of all the pickled stuff and jalapeno is a pretty big fail, IMO.
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K Sandwiches
7604 Linda Vista Rd, San Diego, CA 92111 -
re: foodlover619
Josh
May 14, 2010 02:36 AM
The one I had was pretty normal in size. The bread was toasted to the point of extreme crunchiness, exploding with each bite - I'd think it would do a lot more damage than anything from K.
I couldn't care less about the size, anyway. That's not what makes a good banh mi.
If these guys would serve honest Vietnamese food they might be surprised at how much people like it.
K Sandwiches doesn't dumb down their banh mi, and they're packed all the time, with a broad range of customers - not just Vietnamese. In fact, I've seen more non-Vietnamese people there than VIetnamese.
Pho 5th Avenue, across the street, also serves non-dumbed down Vietnamese food, and they're always busy.
Instead of underestimating their customers palates, I think Cali Deli would be better served by making some authentic sandwiches. Other people I know who've been there, who know good banh mi, have said the same thing I'm saying.
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K Sandwiches
7604 Linda Vista Rd, San Diego, CA 92111
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