Banh Mi Quest: The Trip South

We recently had the opportunity to travel south to Texas and Louisiana. Before our trip, we did some food research and found out there was a huge Vietnamese population down there who'd introduced our Southern neighbours to the "Vietnamese Po' Boy," aka the Banh Mi.

We only had one week, so we tried some of the highest rated destinations while we were there. Obviously, that skewed our perception a bit, because I now think the South has better Banh Mi than in Vancouver. This was quite humbling because as a Vancouverite, I was always so proud of our Asian cuisine.

Here are the six places we visited:

Roostar Vietnamese Grill (1411 Gessner Rd #1, Houston, TX 77080)

Cost per Sandwich: $4.99 USD
Bread: 5/5 - Freshly baked in house, the exterior was perfectly toasted and the inside fluffy and soft
Sauce: 4/5 - Creamy, flavourful, and well balanced
Filling: 4/5 - The vegetables were fresh and nicely pickled
Meat: 4/5 - The chicken was grilled perfectly and moist. There was so much meat it was a bit overwhelming.
Value: 4/5 - After taxes, just a bit on the pricey side, even though it was very delicious

*****

Don Cafe (9300 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77036)

Cost per Sandwich: $3.50
Bread: 3/5 - The bread was a bit over toasted and dry
Sauce: 4/5 - Different and unexpected, but in a good way, and still creamy
Filling: 3/5 - A bit lacking in vegetables
Meat: 3/5 - Not quite as much meat, but still fine
Value: 4/5 - This was a darn cheap banh mi and still decent, despite the 30 minute wait

*****

Sweet Basil Vietnamese Noodle House (4026 Dowlen Rd, Beaumont, TX 77706)

Cost per Sandwich: $7.95
Bread: 4/5 - Solid bread, not too hard
Sauce: 4/5 - Good amount and tasty
Filling: 3/5 - A bit too much and the cilantro was just thrown on top, so not very well balanced
Meat: 4/5 - Well seasoned and grilled
Value: 4/5 - A bit pricey, but comes with a lot of french fries on the side

*****

Bao Vietnamese Kitchen (8342 Perkins Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70810)

 Cost per Sandwich: $5.99
Bread: 3.5/5 - Fine, seems fresh, but not as fluffy and soft as we hoped
Sauce: 3/5 - Solid taste and texture
Filling: 3/5 - Fine, carrots were a bit limp and not crunchy enough
Meat: 3/5 - Fine, but only had lemongrass chicken
Value: 3/5 - A bit pricey for an average banh mi

*****

Megasin Kitchen (611 O'Keefe Ave, New Orleans, LA 70113)

 
Cost per Sandwich: $6.00
Bread: 3/5 - Fine, but a bit dry
Sauce: 3/5 - Evenly spread, but not amazing
Filling: 2/5 - Fine, the ginormous uncut cucumber was off-putting
Meat: 3/5 - Fine, not as much chicken as other places
Value: 2/5 - A bit pricey for an underwhelming banh mi

*****

Dong Phuong Oriental Bakery (14207 Chef Menteur Hwy, New Orleans, LA 70129)

We made a special trip out here because the bakery was featured in a Food Network show. Apparently, a lot of other Banh Mi places pick up their baguettes from here.

Cost per Sandwich: $3.25
Bread: 5/5 - Other restaurants buy their bread from here, it's that good
Sauce: 4/5 - Well seasoned, creamy, but a bit sweet (we got BBQ chicken)
Filling: 4/5 - Nicely pickled, bordering on too much filling
Meat: 4/5 - Grilled nicely, and still maintains moisture, also too much
Value: 4/5 - Even worth the extra cost to get out of the city