Not Your Typical Foot-Long

Good Vietnamese sandwiches, or Bánh Mì, have always demanded a bit of a journey from us. There's Dong Phuong Oriental Bakery off Chef Manteur Highway in New Orleans East, about a twenty-five minute drive--yes this is a long drive for someone living in New Orleans where one could bike across the city in less than an hour--from our house in the Irish Channel when all was said and done. It also sits in the middle of an area that was uprooted and drowned by Hurricane Katrina; and it still hasn't bounced back, except for a few enclaves like those rebuilt by the resilient Vietnamese.

We tended to stop in on our way to the beach at Mississippi. On the other side of the country, there's the Orange County chain of cafes/bakeries called Lee's Sandwiches, which, for those of us living in the Inland Empire of southern California, was a bit of a schlep, to say the least, in notorious Orange County gridlock. And now there's the bakery at Vinh Phat Supermarket in Sacramento's Little Saigon--about a twenty-minute drive into South Sac. All require of us a bit of patience and traffic to get to. But all are very worth the schlep.

We are thrilled that we found a spot with a variety of excellent Bánh Mì for about $3.50 a piece for a large and $1.99 for a small. Not bad for a sandwich that beats the hell out of anything slapped together at Subway. Anytime we find ourselves in the South Sac, we make it a point to pop into Vinh Phat for a couple of sandwiches, and maybe a bag of locally produced pork rinds and, if feeling particularly gluttonous, a tall iced cold Asahi.

For those not in the know, Bánh Mì is a Vietnamese sandwich served on a French roll or French Baguette with a delectable and highly contrasting range of flavors, including sour pickled daikon and carrot, intermingled with crisp cilantro and spicy chilis, and a cool sliver of cucumber surrounding any number of protein options, from sweet minced or roasted chopped pork to pate to sardines. Accompanied by an ice-cold bottle of Bud Light, is how I prefer it. With fresh sliced green chilis, this is not a sandwich for the faint of heart, but if you enjoy an explosion of tastes and spices in your mouth, you need to swing by Vinh Phat on Stockton Blvd., head to the deli, and try one or even a couple. No need for a bag of Cheetoes or Sunchips with this sandwich.