UPDATE: I will say I like this better than Lee’s. It’s a toss up w/ Banh Mi Che Cali only because I think Banh Mi Che Cali uses better bread, w/ Saigon Sandwiches & Bakery my personal fave.
Welcome to BANH MI MY THO in Alhambra, CA (i.e. the “REAL Chinatown” in Los Angeles… well, including Monterrey Park, Rosemead, part of Arcadia, Diamond Bar, El Monte and some other areas too ^_^). If you don’t want to click the link, I’ll save you sometime and tell ya it’s got a 4.5 star rating on Yelp from 74 reviews at the time of this… ummm… is this a review? I guess it might.
Quick note: I’m now one of a ton admins for the Banh Mi Fan Page (facebook.com/banhmisandwich) on Facebook partly because once someone found out we sell our own kind of banh me and make the French mayo/butter & the pickled vegetables from scratch… we were in like flynn, as the white people say… haha Btw, you know I’m joshin’ with you white people (pssst, thankfully only one white person reads this so please carry on with any snickering ^_^… and that one white person’s probably just de-friended me and unsubscribed so party on… Mom). But anyway, I figured I would try out and showcase a new (to me at least) banh mi joint every now and then outside of my staples: Lee’s, Banh Mi Che Cali and Saigon Bakery.
So here we are at Banh Mi My Tho. Look at the prices!!! SH-T! These are almost like the prices me and my parents were paying back when they were still FOB-by (F.O.B. = “fresh of the boat” for the un-initiated) immigrants, and I was a spoiled Vietnamese-American brat who preferred hot dogs and hamburgers (yes, I was kind of a stupid kid). Forget recession prices, these ARE the prices. ^_^
So look, I’m Vietnamese, but it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m the banh mi specialist… but it does mean I’ve eaten QUITE a few in my time (so maybe I AM a banh mi specialist… hmmm). I’ve also eaten a lot of food in my time (is this sounding like double talk to anyone), and in my short lifetime there are a couple of conclusions I’ve come to in my life. One of them regarding food is:
FOOD is about the combination of FLAVOR + TEXTURE
And I’ll just go ahead and skip to the general conclusion regarding this place. We had the charbroiled pork (aka ‘thit nuong’), and I definitely have to say it’s one of the BEST I’ve had. It’s not pink, processed looking and tastes VERY good. This I was very impressed with. This is why I love mom and pop shops (which is what we are too ^_^), they put a lot more care into the things they can control.
Which leads me to my next point, the thing they can’t control but should change: the bread. It’s too dense, not very good and a poor compliment for this meat. ARGGHHH that texture! It really is too dense. I’m pretty sure they source the bread because it just looks too small, and it’s just not hot enough inside to be housing a huge oven in the back.
I’ve read some of the reviews, and there are many that agree. For many this isn’t enough of a deterrent, but for me it is. I know it’s harsh, especially because that woman is SO NICE too. I would totally give her my business (btw, I will give it another try), but the bread is simply just too dry+dense. But if that’s what you prefer, and what they prefer… then this is perfect. For me, that’s the only downside, but a major one especially after trying (my personal fave) Saigon Sandwiches and Bakery which has some of the freshest and fluffiest bread around. It’s so fluffy I wish I could make an edible mattress out of it that I would replace every week. Oh man it’s fluffy-licious.
But MAN I want to love this place, but I definitely don’t hate it. It really is good, and I think the rice dishes with the meat are probably COMPLETELY off the hook cause the meatsies is that good. I would rate it (and I guess I should on Yelp one of these days) like a 3.5 / 5 if I could. But try it for yourself, at least for the meats because it does show they know what they’re doing in the dept. Cause they’re freakin’ AWESOME. YUMMERS for the meat. BUMMERS for the bread.
And on that note, here’s something that was posted on the Banh Mi Group… please enjoy… the Banh Mi Song!
Toodles,
Team SK
#banh mi #pate chaud #banh mi my tho #facebook #banh mi facebook group #lee's #banh mi che cali #saigon bakery
