Banh mi at Pho Tu Do
I can’t believe I went the vast majority of my life not knowing the sublime pleasure that is banh mi. The first time I had one was in San Diego, after I saw a review of a little place inside Ranch 99 on someone’s food blog (thank God for food blogs!). I went, I ate, and was blown away. Best sandwich ever.
So what is banh mi? It is the oh so tasty result of French colonialism, a combination of crusty French bread and delicious Vietnamese ingredients. It took me a while to hunt down a good source in the Raleigh area, but luckily other people who are just as obsessed with the sandwich had done some legwork for me. I found a tip online that there was a banh mi place inside the An Chau Plaza.
There’s a little food court in the back of the building. There are three different vendor signs, but they all appear to be part of one restaurant. Go up to the Pho Tu Do sign for menus if you want to get them to go, which is what we do. The food court is a little stuffy and we love to take our sandwiches to the park.
Just how much will these beautiful sandwiches set you back? $2.50! The menu says $3.00 but it rings up for less. It’s an amazing deal. We got two of the Banh Mi Dac Biet (Special Combination French Sandwich) and an order of spring rolls ($2.95) to go. They also have pho, of course, which I’m going to have to go back and try, and an extensive list of bubble teas.
The sandwiches here are just as good, if not better, than the ones I loved in San Diego. Good bread is critical to a successful banh mi and this bread was excellent, with just the right amount of crustiness. This is not a good picture, but you get an overview of the contents – sliced pork, pate, mayonnaise, pickled daikon and carrots, cilantro, and slices of jalapeno. This has got to be the least boring sandwich you will ever taste. The cilantro and pickled vegetables add great crunch, brightness, and zing to balance out the savoriness of the pork. I eat mine without the jalapenos but my husband leaves his on and wants to point out that they add some noticeable heat.
The springs rolls (filled with shrimp, pork, rice noodles, mint and lettuce) are good, light and refreshing.
I have heard rumors of other banh mi sources (Pho Cali, Pho 9n9, maybe Dalat Oriental, although people on Yelp refer to tofu subs. These are not subs, people!) and will have to investigate. But this is a great place for them and you can’t beat that price!
Pho Tu Do (inside An Chau Plaza)
2821 Brentwood Road
Raleigh, NC 27604
(919) 790-7884