Originally on FRESFRESH ( now deleted)
I wrote this post a while ago about a local Vietnamese sandwich which I enjoyed and still do to this day.
Since we’re closing down FRESFRESH also I felt I should add this to DelPaggio’s since I’ll be writing all reviews of local restaurants as well as others we dine at around California as they happen. Hopefully adding some of their recipes to the post.
Banh Mi or Pain de Mi (Fr) - Part 1
Banh Mi (Vietnamese) or Pain de Mi (French) is one in the same sort of. It started in France as a finger food with baguettes with a soft interior, and then it was introduced to the Vietnamese, and the rest is history.
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It seems every day, there's a new Banh Mi location opening up around Clovis, Fresno, and all over the country. Some are franchises, and others are family-started and owned, like our favorite in Clovis.
Le Banh Mi is owned and operated by David (DJ) Le. He and his family, originally from the Bay Area and heavily involved in the restaurant industry, quit it all after his father's death.
Some of the family was located in Los Angeles, while David and his brothers (some of them) ended up in Fresno and Clovis, which was very lucky for us.
Le Banh Mi isn't my discovery. It's our son Andrew who found it by accident. He was washing towels for cleaning at the local laundromat when he decided to check out this new restaurant that took over a Mexican taco spot.
After having one of their sandwiches, he told the owner about me and his Mom writing restaurant reviews, and he wanted to bring me there to check it out and write a review.
He came home that day bragging about the food and the $4.00 Boba's, which is popular with all kids and many adults right now. That's about the lowest price Patti told me she has ever seen. She would know she always gets conned into buying Boba for the grandkids.
Next up was Patti's turn. She loved the food and couldn't wait to talk to David about our local restaurant reviews and how she wanted to bring me in so we could meet.
No sooner than she brought it up to me that I had to go there, we ended up there a couple of days later.
She made the introductions, and I ordered a barbecue pork sandwich while we were talking.
All I can say is I was in heaven. It brought me back to the year I spent as a kid in Vietnam.
While I had the French version of these sandwiches, only made with ham, veggies, pâté, and some other meats, I can't remember. It was nothing like this or the ones I had in Vietnam.
Those versions and the one I was munching on right then were filled with crunchy, fresh, tasty veggies, tender pork with a tangy BBQ sauce, and mayonnaise, just as I remembered back in Vietnam.
The bread was crunchy on the outside but not too crunchy to break your teeth, and it was soft and pillowy on the inside, as I remembered.
There wasn't anything negative to say about the food, the Boba, which the kids had, or other dishes we all tried, like the chicken egg rolls, the salad with greens and noodles, with, I believe, chicken if I remember Patti's order.
After the incredible meal, I asked DJ (David) if I could write a review about him, his family, and the restaurant for his new newsletter. I wanted it to be the premiere post for getting this newsletter published.
It took a while to get the interview scheduled. Still, during that time, I had a chance to try multiple sandwiches and other savory meals and sides, and nothing has disappointed me, Patti, or anyone else we've brought there to dine.
