Bánh Mi | 2eat2drink

Our Christmas Eve dinner was slightly out of the ordinary for our family. We decided to mix it up and serve a sandwich. But what kind of sandwich? Let’s take a stab at the perfect sandwich, I thought….the Bánh Mi. It was a hit, even with the little ones (although they may have skipped a few of the ingredients).

From the bottom running clockwise, our sandwich consisted of: roast pork loin (marinated in white vinegar, Asian BBQ sauce, chopped ginger, soy sauce), Wegmans Asian BBQ sauce, bacon, sliced jalapeños, cucumbers (marinated in equal parts white vinegar and sugar), Wegmans ciabatta baguette, Sriracha sauce, pork liver pâté, fresh cilantro. Don’t forget a nice spicy Gewürztraminer to go with it. I still think our house white, from Chateau Ste. Michelle, is excellent.

This is a must try. In fact, it’s time for leftovers. Enjoy!

Where would we be without our friends? I know where I most likely wouldn’t have been… Whatta-Bánh Mi Vietnamese Sandwich Café (673 Monroe Ave. in Rochester, NY). That’s not to say I wouldn’t have wanted to go there… but I just didn’t know about it until Chef Mark suggested we go there for lunch. So….in honor of Mark’s 40th birthday (today!), I thought it was appropriate to post about our last trip there.

In Vietnamese, bánh mi refers to bread, or more specifically the French baguette. However, in the U.S., the term generally refers to a Vietnamese sandwich. And oh what a marvelous sandwich it is! It may be the PERFECT sandwich. We each had a Bánh Mi Dac Biet…the signature combination.

Bánh Mi Dac Biet.

Versus me trying to describe this sandwich perfection, click on the picture below to enlarge and see the details. This sign is on the wall of the café. The super fresh baguette is exactly as described, and the sandwich fillings blend together perfectly.