Best Baguette is one of those places where it's easy to impress others with your knowledge of delicious, cheap, ethnic eats outside the core of the city. That's not to say it's a secret by any means: business at the 82nd and Powell location is robust enough that a drive-thru is necessary, but it's also far enough off of everyone's radar that it can still be a treat.
It continues to amaze me how good the sandwiches can be for just $3, and I managed to walk out of there with eight sandwiches for less than $30.
One thing to keep in mind is that banh mi refers to the baguette, not the sandwich, and so many times you'll go to a Vietnamese restaurant and see a dish like banh mi ca ri ga on the menu, which is basically a bowl of curry chicken with a loaf of bread on the side, or perhaps banh mi bo kho which has a bowl of beef stew instead. Either way, just remember that it isn't a sandwich you're getting.
Buying those sandwiches to serve later turned out to be key in how it affected the bread. While other shops might serve better bread right off the bat, one could argue that Best Baguette has the best fillings. A banh mi enjoyed right in the shop exposes some of the flaws in the Best Baguette bread : it's a touch too crumbly and dry, which is perfect for, say, soaking up a bowl of curry, but can be a bit much in an otherwise flawless sandwich.
However, in the time it takes for a sandwich to be wrapped, transported, layed out, cut and served, the bread does indeed soften, allowing those great meat fillings to shine. Best Baguette, it seems, has mastered the art of a banh mi designed for take out.
Best Baguette is one of those places where it's easy to impress others with your knowledge of delicious, cheap, ethnic eats outside the core of the city. That's not to say it's a secret by any means: business at the 82nd and Powell location is robust enough that a drive-thru is necessary, but it's also far enough off of everyone's radar that it can still be a treat.
It continues to amaze me how good the sandwiches can be for just $3, and I managed to walk out of there with eight sandwiches for less than $30.
The star of the lineup here at Best Baguette is still the Saigon bacon, featuring unctuous slices of fatty bacon, but that's the kind of sandwich (along with the dac biet cold cut trio or the paté) that I probably wouldn't offer to a first-time or unadventurous eater. In those cases, there's absolutely nothing wrong with sticking with xiu mai Chinese sausage or the grilled pork.
One thing to keep in mind is that banh mi refers to the baguette, not the sandwich, and so many times you'll go to a Vietnamese restaurant and see a dish like banh mi ca ri ga on the menu, which is basically a bowl of curry chicken with a loaf of bread on the side, or perhaps banh mi bo kho which has a bowl of beef stew instead. Either way, just remember that it isn't a sandwich you're getting.
Buying those sandwiches to serve later turned out to be key in how it affected the bread. While other shops might serve better bread right off the bat, one could argue that Best Baguette has the best fillings. A banh mi enjoyed right in the shop exposes some of the flaws in the Best Baguette bread : it's a touch too crumbly and dry, which is perfect for, say, soaking up a bowl of curry, but can be a bit much in an otherwise flawless sandwich.
However, in the time it takes for a sandwich to be wrapped, transported, layed out, cut and served, the bread does indeed soften, allowing those great meat fillings to shine. Best Baguette, it seems, has mastered the art of a banh mi designed for take out.
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Food: SauceSupreme
Booze: LushAngeles