A Vietnamese bánh mi sandwich is a crispy French baguette stuffed with charbroiled pork, ham, herbs, liver paté and pickled vegetables. While extolling the virtues of these incredible sandwiches, I usually lose a certain percentage of people at “liver paté.” But please, trust me on this one: the paté is essential, both for texture and taste.
If you love Louisiana’s po-boys, you’ve got to try a bánh mi sandwich. Until recently, these wallet-friendly sandwiches (most cost $3-$5) were impossible to track down in Shreveport-Bossier. Now, suddenly, they’re popping up in more and more places. Here are three of my favorite places for bánh mi:
Asian Deli (pictured)
1000 Northgate Road
Bossier City, La. 71112
318-742-8888
Chef Tommy Le may be known to some 20×49 readers as the wildman who can typically be found shouting enthusiastically while serving up huge bowls of delicious Vietnamese soups at Noodle Bar, a restaurant located inside of Eldorado Resort Casino Shreveport (see our review here). In June 2015, Le opened his own small deli inside of a Vietnamese grocery store located just outside of the North Gate entrance to Barksdale Air Force Base. Bánh mi at Asian Deli are $5 and several flavors are available, including the fantastic house special and sweet, smoky Vietnamese BBQ meatballs.
Asian Deli also serves other Vietnamese standards like pho, rice plates and bubble tea. The bubble teas here are prepared from whole fruit, and taste completely different than the variety prepared using powdered mixes.
All in the Phamily
at Shreveport Farmers’ Market and Benton Farmers’ Market
318-470-0293
“Like” All in the Phamily on Facebook
Jackie Pham’s bánh mi, which she sells at area farmers’ markets and events for only $3 each, are miniature in size but huge in flavor and make for a perfect grab-and-go snack. Pham makes her own mayo and and pickled vegetables for each event where she sells sandwiches. Those homemade pickled veggies – namely, carrots and daikon radishes – provide a cool, sweet backdrop for all of the other big, bold flavors contained in bánh mi.
All in the Family will be selling food at the Shreveport Farmers’ Market on Saturday, July 11, where they’ll be offering a special $7 plate lunch featuring chicken and stir-fried vegetables, rice and a pork or vegetable spring roll with a drink.
Pho L’amour
530 East Kings Highway
Shreveport, La. 71105
318-866-9996
All of the usual suspects of bánh mi are here and, to my mind, they’re a little more accessible to the average palate – a little easier on the exotic ingredients like paté and the hot stuff like jalapeño peppers. Neverthless, the bánh mi at Pho L’amour are still delicious and, at $5.99 each, they’re still a bargain.
