Pho and Banh Mi Saigonese, Wheaton, Montgomery County, Maryland

Senior Deli and Great Lakes Correspondent Les Wexler and I recently got together for lunch after our various summer travels. It had been a while, and it was good to see him again. Les announced that he was in the mood to try a banh mi. We looked at the options and decided to try one of the places in Wheaton rather than Falls Church. It’s closer, and every time one of us goes to Wheaton, with its many warrens of small ethnic restaurants, more new interesting places to eat pop up.

We picked Pho and Banh Mi Saigonese, a high regarded spot that, among other things, boasts that they bake bread every hour. Off we went, and arrived at 11232 Grandview in decent time despite the best efforts of my GPS.

I skipped an exterior photo as it would have involved standing in the street. The building is relatively new and nondescript. Inside, Pho and Banh Mi Saigon’s is well lit and actually quite roomy, with booths on the sides and some tables in the middle of the room. We chose a booth, looked at the menu, and quickly made our selections — a B1 the classic combination, thịt nguội,  and B4, grilled meat (I chose pork). Both sandwiches cost a mere $6.95, with an option of double meat on the B4 at $10.50. Les added a Vietnamese coffee ($4.50) and I had a fresh squeezed lemonade ($3.50).

The food arrived in baskets, and we swapped halves of our respective sandwiches.

That doesn’t show a whole lot, I’m afraid. I did take a side view of the pork

with, as usual, poor focus. The combination included Vietnamese pork roll, pâté, and head cheese along with carrot and cilantro that you can make out, as well as daikon, cucumber, and Vietnamese mayo. Both sandwiches had good flavor, and both of us enjoyed them. I imagine that many diners would like to double the meat on the grilled pork to make it more like the familiar overstuffed sandwiches with which we’ve become accustomed these days.

The sandwiches also had good texture. The bread had a nice crackly crust and a light airy interior.

Les’s Vietnamese coffee was not over ice as he’d expected. The coffee, though, is Cafe du Monde, which I love. My fresh squeezed lemonade was outstanding, miles above other lemonades. It had been so freshly made that it arrive (over ice) still warm, and they gave me additional ice to add. I used a little more, but it tasted so good I didn’t want to mess with it.

The banh mi at Saigon’s is good, well worth the paltry cost. Give it a try.

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