DC Banh Mi, Falls Church, Virginia

Doug Herbert and I had one more banh mi stop after Bếp Việt and Ba Le. Just a short drive on Graham Road south from Ba Le, you come to DC Banh Mi in a shopping center on your left, just after you cross US 50. The entrance is around the corner from the main sign.

DC Banh Mi’s version of the Banh Mi is widely regarded as the very best in the Washington area. It’s also one of the cheapest, it seems, even though prices have almost doubled to $7. Inside DC Banh Mi is a large space with a wide variety of snacks and prepared foods.

You order at the counter and your food arrives very quickly.

We ordered two banh mi, the pâté and mayonnaise and the Special.

That’s the Pâté and mayonnaise on the left, with the Special on the right. At least I think so. They looked pretty much the same to me. Here’s a side view of the pâté and mayonnaise.

That’s a lot of mayonnaise. I’m a fan of mayonnaise (Hellman’s). I grew up eating sandwiches with mayonnaise — ham, olives, pineapple slices, peanut butter, Swiss cheese, all dressed with mayonnaise. Mayonnaise was central to my favorite sandwich, pimiento cheese. But there are limits. Rich foods — pastrami, for example, do not need the richness that mayonnaise offers. Here, the pâté, which I’d hoped would be the star of the sandwich, was utterly overwhelmed by the mayonnaise, a background food. I actually had to dig out a smidgenl of pâté to see detect its flavor, which mild, was more or less on the order of liverwurst. Do you add mayonnaise to a liverwurst on rye? I don’t.

That said, the gross imbalance of the sandwich was redeemed somewhat by the bread. DC Banh Mi uses a French bread — not a baguette, but a bread with a real crust. Note the air holes. Just about every Italian sub and literally every cheesesteak in the Metro area would be improved by using this bread. It’s lighter and less dominant that the noble baguette, but just right for the sandwich.

In sharp contrast, the Special does full justice to DC Banh Mi’s bread. Here’s a side view.

The Special was thick with cold cuts and had some pâté as well — that smear on the lower right — for an additional layer of flavor. There’s ham and head cheese and something else — those two slices on the right. Turkey? And then there are the vegetables–daikon, cucumber, carrots, and jalapeños. And cilantro (on top, easily removable for the afflicted).

I can see why this is the most popular banh mi in the area. It has a lot of meat, as American sandwiches do, and it’s a wonderful combination of flavors and textures, all teed up on some very good bread. Is there a banh mi there that’s better? If you know, please share. If you haven’t been, go grab a special at DC Bahn Mi.

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