Binh Minh Sandwiches

With not a lot of time for lunch since we woke up pretty late, we made out way to Binh Minh Sandwiches for some banh mi.  This place is pretty OG as it has been around since the early 2010's.  It's essentially a family-run hole-in-the-wall on SE Powell serving up not only sandwiches, but also a small menu of hot items as well as to-go Southern Vietnamese specialties.  They have a small and narrow parking lot in the front, but we opted to park around the corner instead as backing out onto Powell seemed a bit risky.

We started with the baseline or most well-known in the Combo Banh Mi.  This cold cut sandwich happens to also be my favorite consisting of ham, head cheese and pâté with house mayo, pickled carrots & daikon, cucumbers and jalapeño on house-baked bread.  We omitted the cilantro though.  Really solid starting with the crusty bread that had a great crunch giving way to a nice chewiness.  There was enough filling for the amount of bread.  Loved the creamy pâté.

We also tried the Grilled Pork Banh Mi that also came with house mayo, pickled veggies, cucumber and jalapeño.  Once again, there was enough meat for impact where it was tender with a meaty texture.  It was marinated and grilled where it was sweet and caramelized with a bit of brininess.  Add in the crunch and tang from the veggies along with the freshness of the cucumber and slight spice of the jalapeño, there was plenty of flavor to be had.

Our final sandwich was the Chicken Lemongrass Banh Mi.  This had all of the same items as the grilled pork, so it had similar textures and flavors.  However, since it was chicken thigh, the meat was more moist and tender.  Also, with the use of a lemongrass marinade, the chicken had a certain brightness. As you can see in the picture above, there was a good ratio of bread to meat, much like the other sandwiches.

I also decided to grab a Pâté Chaud.  This consisted of tender pork that was juicy and well-seasoned.  It was plenty sweet and savory.  It was encased in flaky puff pastry that had good lamination but was a touch doughy in the middle.  However, that didn't decrease my eating enjoyment by much as it was such a sinful treat with butteriness.  Overall, this was a satisfying meal and I would love to come back sometime to try their other items including a few hot noodle dishes.  I just will park around the corner...

The Good:
- Solid Banh Mi
- Inexpensive
- Really nice owner

The Bad:
- Love that they have a parking lot, but nah, too dangerous to park there