My gal pal Cam announced to everyone via gchat that she’d had banh mi, and it was over for me. My options were, 1 – drive to Eden with good quality banh mi options, 15 minutes away, or 2 – Le Bledo, 5 minutes away, not such a good track record. I don’t usually take a lunch break so I was a bit conflicted. In the end, the efficient Le Bledo won, and I would have been heartbroken if it sucked. Luckily, Le Bledo’s banh mi thit nguoi (vietnamese cold cut sub) was good. Not FABULOUS, but totally hit the spot.
If you’ve never had banh mi you’re missing out. Here is a perfect harmony of french and vietnamese cuisines. The delectable french baguette, stuffed with savory vietnamese deli meats, french pate, pickled veggies, refreshing cucumber, cilantro, and jalepenos. A party in the mouth, and relatively guilt free. And did I mention cheap? Back in the day these babies went for about $1.50 a piece, not to mention buy 5 get one free! Nowadays you’ll probably find these for $2-$3.50 each, but I wouldn’t pay more than $3.50 currently, still buy 5 get one free though! (At least in the NoVA (northern VA) area… apparently there’s places in NY that sell banh mi for $4? waaaa??) If you decide to get a few for the next day, just make sure you get your veggies separately so it doesn’t make everything soggy. Sadly there are no banh mi places that I know of in Loudoun county, if you know of one please share the joy. The closest I can think of are Ba Le in Falls Church (about 40 mins from Ashburn) or Saigon Cafe in Fairfax (about 25 minutes).
saVUryandsweet 