The roasted pork belly banh mi from The Pho Spot (Photo by Jay Paul)
1. Roasted Pork Belly Banh Mi
$9 at The Pho Spot
Filled with craggy bites of roasted pork belly, The Pho Spot’s fluffy baguette comes picnic ready if ordered to go. While the roll is slathered with a mayo-butter spread and piled with meat, the pickled radish and carrot, cilantro, jalapeno, cucumber slivers, and extra special house sauce are all wrapped individually, ensuring the sandwich doesn’t get soggy during transport. Find this fast-casual takeout counter in the Lotte Plaza Market food court, along with a half-dozen other Asian eateries.
2. Spicy Vegan BBQ Banh Mi
$15 at Fat Kid Sandwiches
Known for its footlong subs, Fat Kid serves up a vegan banh mi whose size lives up to that reputation. Planks of tofu are marinated for 24 hours, then chunked, crisped and topped with a veggie board of house-pickled mushrooms, daikon and carrot; fresh scallions; and herbs. An aromatic red curry peanut sauce bumps up the umami level to a decadent 10 on the flavor meter. Owners Jon Martin and Liz Clifford plan to open a brick-and-mortar shop in the city’s financial district soon.
3. Grilled Chicken Banh Mi
$8.99 at Pho 60 Cafe, 10201 Midlothian Turnpike
Oftentimes, you don’t want an oversized sandwich at lunch, and that’s where a traditionally sized banh mi comes into play. This Midlothian Turnpike pho spot has a long pedigree — its owner started the original Pho So 1 in the Tan-A Plaza shopping center over two decades ago. Since she opened Pho 60 with some of her original staff, business has exploded. The grilled chicken breast banh mi, painted with fish sauce and scented with lemongrass, is just one of the reasons it can be hard to score a table during peak lunch hours.
4. Banh Mi
$15 with fries and broth, $10 sandwich only at Pho Luca’s
Pho Luca’s shiny hoagie roll is dense and chewy, rather than light and fluffy, otherwise its unctuous fillings would disintegrate the loaf. The restaurant’s traditional version of the sandwich is weighed down by pork sausage, pork belly and pate, with fresh jalapeno slices brightening the side of steak-cut fries served with peppery yum yum dip. The accompanying bowl of pho broth, decked with green onions, helps temper the rich flavors.
5. Bulgogi Banh Mi
$9.25 at 88 Street Food
The bulgogi beef at 88 Street Food is savory-sweet, soy sauce-tinged sirloin, wrapped up in an airy roll with the banh mi trinity: pickled carrot and daikon and long, thin spears of fresh cucumber that fit the baguette. What makes this dine-in restaurant from the proprietors of Vietnam One stand out are its add-ons, including fried egg, extra meat or pate, for eaters wanting to trick out their subs.
