Sunday Sandwiches - Banh Mi Boulevard

I'm not quite sure who mentioned that Banh Mi Boulevard had replaced the short lived Banh Mi Baguette Café, which had replaced the even shorter lived Bale Sandwich & Deli, which had replaced Corner Sandwich & Café. Yikes. Anyway if you were the one who notified me of the change, thanks so much!

Well, with the rather quick turnaround in weather, I decided to finally head on over to Banh Mi Boulevard to check them out.

My first impression upon entering was....how there was so much stuff!

I finally managed to focused on the menu. BMB seemed to be kind of a fusion banh mi shop; with just a couple of traditional Vietnamese options and items like Longanisa, Surf and Turf, Alaskan Cod, tacos, and fries on the menu. Though they also have Banh Mi Bo Kho.

Of course I went with the "Blvd Special" aka the Dac Biet, priced right at $4.50. This was a good sized banh mi...then upon leaving I noticed the sign outside saying the bread is made from Cali Baguette Express a place that I thought was solid, until my last visit to the Mira Mesa location. Where the bread was horrible. Still, I had hoped that the bread on the visit was an aberration. Unfortunately I was wrong.

Pale, doughy, dry, and lacking in the flakey-crustiness that I love in a good banh mi. It didn't help that no one took the time to heat up the bread. The cilantro was mostly stems, but the pate was nice and earthy; a generous amount slathered onto the bread. Well proportion slices of Thit Nguoi and decently pickled daikon and veggies did well in the sandwich. The two slices of cucumber were too short to get in each bite and for some reason those jalapenos weren't spicy at all.

One of the good things about places like Banh Mi Boulevard are the hours; the place opens at 830, so when I have meetings during lunchtime, I can go and pick up an early meal. So, I decided to head on over and grab something at around 10am. I wasn't too hungry and didn't feel alike another Banh Mi, so this caught my attention.

You know; I'm not much of a newster-hipster-trendy, bulgogi taco eating kind of guy. But what the heck; I went with a BBQ Pork and a Filipino Longanisa Taco.

First, the good news; I really enjoyed how the Longanisa tasted with the cilantro and pickled vegetables, sweet-salty, pleasantly toothsome. I didn't care much for the mayo; it just kinda clashed with all the other flavors. The BBQ Pork was too salty and....yes, this is rare for me, could have been a tad sweeter. It was also on the tough side. Though the portion size was good. The less I say about the cardboardish white corn tortillas the better.

And so....that would usually be "a rap", but I was curious about how that longanisa would taste in a banh mi. And because of meetings, I had to grab an early lunch. So I decided to head on over and give BMB another try.

I walked up to the counter and noticed something called the "Kirby's Special" ($6.75), which not only had Longanisa, but two of my other favorite food groups involved; Spam® and eggs! Though they wouldn't make my eggs easy over (op la).

The bread was a bit better this time; a bit more color and slightly crusty. It's still falls short though. There were two slices of Spam®, so you went "spam-less" for several bites of the sandwich. Not very much longanisa as well; which does a nice job with the pickled carrots and daikon which adds a nice acidity to cut the sweetness and saltiness. The jalapenos on this visit was still on the mild side; though there were two nice and juicy slices of cucumber. The stems on the cilantro weren't too thick and fibrous this time which made the experience much better.

So, what to say? I'd say with regards to fusion banh mi; I preferred Banh Mi Boulevard to what I had at Cali Banh Mi. But, like pho, i'm just not sure what the current state of Banh Mi is in San Diego these days....

Banh Mi Blvd
9005 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Open Daily 830am - 830pm

Comments

[Dan]

How is Cafe Dore holding up? That used to be my favorite banh mi

[kat]

:(

[Kirk]

Hi Dan - I haven't had the banh mi at Cafe Dore in a while; though my sources tell me the Banh Mi Ba Chi is still a winnah! I gotta get back there when I have a chance.

Yeah, kinda mediocre Kat....though the Spam and Longanisa is a good combination.

[Soo]

Doesn't sound like this place will last longer than the others that occupied this spot...

[Junichi]

Sounds similar to the short lived Baguette Bros on Convoy.

[RedDevil]

Thanks for the enjoyable review. I still like K sandwiches, but haven’t found much else too exciting.

[Kirk]

I know Soo....so we'll see.

Less hipster Junichi.......it's more like Cali Banh Mi.

I'll keep on looking RD! ;o)

[Derek R]

I second the Cafe Dore revisit! And K's gets the job done these days for a dac biet though their other offerings are nothing to write home about.

[Derek R]

The tacos also look interesting. I'm a mayo guy so they don't look too bad - those tortillas on the other hand >_<

[Elle]

I think I mentioned about Banh Mi Blvd lol. I wasn't impressed with their sandwiches either, but remembered liking the drinks before.

There's a Vietnamese vegetarian restaurant that opened this year with most entrees for $5 over at Hoa Tu Bi Tam in City Heights. That location has gone through several owners.. Hopefully, this one can stay.

[Kirk]

Go check them out Derek!

Thanks for the recommendation Elle! I did see that place - the turnover there is so fast that I missed the last two restaurants that were there!

[Phuong]

Yes, go check out Hoa Tu Bi Tam! I hope they stay as well.

[Kirk]

OK Phuong, I'm sold!