LV Sandwiches and Restaurant

*** LV sandwiches has closed and has been replaced by Toan Ky, you can find a post here.

While I was paying too much attention to the opening of Thuan Phat Market and the soon to open Yum Cha Cafe, LV Sandwiches opened right under my nose last week.

   

LV Sandwiches has opened in the spot formerly occupied by Le's.

We'd have never noticed except for the grand opening sign....

 

And buy 2 sandwiches, get 1 free is a great deal in my book!

Other than the sandwich menu, not much has changed.

 

And the restaurant has kept Le's Vietnamese-Chinese-Thai menu, along with the mediocre food, like this combination Com Tam. Underwhelming and overpriced at $7.95.

 

I had never been a big fan of Le's, and holding over the old menu items, which seem to number in the hundreds....

But of course we were here for the sandwiches! On our first visit, things were a bit disorganized, but the folks, and especially the woman who looked to be running the place were very nice. We had a seat, and ate our sandwiches inside the restaurant. Of course the Missus ordered the Banh Mi Bi (shredded pork - $2.75): 

The Bi was mildly flavored, but on the dry side, I likened it to eating sawdust. The bread on the other hand was good, warm, crusty, but not hard, and airy. Instead of slicing the baguette in half, adding margarine, than toasting, creating what I call the "crouton effect" (I'm sure we all love croutons...but try chewing on a baguette sized crouton and attempt to preserve the skin lining your mouth), LV toasts the whole baguette. Also, as we were to find later, eating in, has its benefits.

Strangely, the Missus ordered the Banh Mi Chay (vegetarian - $2.75):

Turning over a new leaf for the New Year? hmmm... When our sandwiches arrived, they were cut in half for consumption......and I really couldn't figure out what this was. It tasted pretty darn good....with not a hint of the usual deep fried tofu, nor "plastic meat" in sight. There was some nice flavor, the addition of fried shallots and garlic gave the Banh Mi a nice kick. What was the most surprising, and impressive was the quality of the "faux" Cha Lua (defatted pork sausage - think bologna!!!). The texture was pretty good, and it didn't have an artificial flavor. When we inquired about this, we were told that they make their own "mock meat" in house. The Missus had found Her favorite at LV.

We took the Dac Biet (Special - $3.25) home with us.

 

I was surprised at the amount of meat in this sandwich. The Thịt Nguội (Ham - Jambon) was lean, and the Cha Lua had a mild smokiness to it. I believe they make this inhouse as well. The Pate had a strong livery "funkiness"to it, which ranks up there with BaLe on University, but went well in this sandwich. The bread had gotten chewy, and the crust hard by the time I arrived home. Still, we had gotten 3 sandwiches for a tad over $6. A great deal in these cash-strapped times. 

A day later, the Missus wanted another Banh Mi Chay, so in addition to the Dac Biet, I got a Trung Lap Xuong (Egg and Lap Cheong - $3.25):

 

Not much in the egg front, but a lot of sliced sausage. The sweetness of the sausage, along with the pickled vegetables was a nice combination.

And soon enough, it was another day, another Banh Mi Chay for the Missus. This time we decided to have our sandwiches at the restaurant. And we verified that the sandwiches were much, much better eaten ASAP. The bread for each of the sandwiches were a bit different quality wise. The Missus's was a bit more mealy, close to getting stale.

While the bread for the Banh Mi Xiu Mai (meatball - $2.75), was a bit better, it seemed to have some mileage on it.

 

The ground pork was very rich, almost oily, and combined with the Pate sent the sandwich into pungent overdrive. It was a bit much for the Missus, and was too rich for me. Even the pickled vegetables, which are cut a bit on the thicker side, and tend toward the sour side of the spectrum, didn't cut the richness.

The bread for the Banh Mi Ba Chi (cured pork belly - $2.75), was about as good as it gets in San Diego. Light, and pulling almost to the flaky, instead of overly crusty, this was some good bread. We still miss the airy baguettes we had in Vietnam. For us, they seem more suited to the Banh Mi, than the dense and heavy baguettes we sometimes encounter.

 

I didn't enjoy the tough and stringy cilantro in this particular sandwich. The pork belly was very mild in flavor, and it was almost all texture. The Missus though the texture was similar to eating raw bacon. And though I really enjoy some versions of this sandwich, I had to agree with Her.

So what's to like at LV? First off, they aren't heavy handed in the use of Mayo and margarine. Second, I like the Thịt Nguội and Cha Lua. Third, when the bread is right...it is right. Fourth, the folks here are really nice. Fifth, the sandwiches have much more flavor than their "Gringo-ized" brethren. Sixth:

 

Can you really beat buy 2 get one free?? And it's not like Paris Bakery where you have to get all Dac Biet. So check them out.........

LV Sandwiches and Restaurant
6925 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Did you think we ate enough Banh Mi????

View Larger Map

Comments

[kat]

buy 2 get 1 free? you would never see anything like that here. what a great deal!

[cathy]

Goodness! I looked in when I was meeting The Mister at Thuan Phat the other day. Should have bought something for a snack. Thought I was being good, instead missed out. But there will be many more chances...

[Kirk]

Hi Kat - It is a good deal.

Hi Cathy - The lady who runs the place is really nice. The sandwiches are pretty good as well.