Where can you find the best bánh mì in Dallas? It’s a question that often arises around lunchtime here at the KERA studios.
Lucky for us, Brian Reinhart, dining critic for D Magazine, is tackling that question in an article for this month's edition. On his quest, Reinhart tried about 40 different bakeries and restaurants around Dallas, Garland, Arlington, Carrollton and Frisco that sell the sandwich.
Why spotlight bánh mì? Reinhart’s answer is simple. He just likes them.
Last February he undertook a similar exercise when he ranked 38 pastrami sandwiches in the North Texas area. At the end of the extensive taste testing, he said he was only mildly tired of pastrami.
"I have the kind of personality that when I like something, I might get a little bit obsessed with finding all of them or finding the best one or trying to learn more about every component that goes into it," Reinhart said.
After his pastrami run was over, Reinhart's thoughts turned to bánh mì.
WHAT IS BÁNH MÌ?
The sandwich is a fusion of Vietnamese and French culinary staples.
“It comes from the French bringing their baguettes to Vietnam, adapting the baguette slightly with the much more humid climate,” Reinhart said. “So the bread is French, the mayo is French and then the pickling and the grilled meats or cold cut meats that are inside – it's all Vietnam.”
And Reinhart is no stranger to the fusion of foods and culture. He grew up with a Turkish parent and an American Midwestern parent and lived in different cities in the U.S. and Europe. As a result, he said, he never assumed there was a default food or a “normal” cuisine.
“Dallas has this very strong feeling that we're steakhouse town, we're burger town, and we're meat and potatoes," Reinhart said. "Dallas is also a bánh mì town. Dallas is a Nepalese food town. Dallas is a Lao food town. There are all kinds of different cultures here and all kinds of ways of eating, which makes it really exciting. And it makes me feel a sense of mission to tell the rest of the country too.
“ It's time to update the picture of what Dallas is. And that's been the most fun part of the job since day one, is kind of reminding everybody of how much more we are that we don't even give ourselves credit for.”
TASTE TESTING
Morning Edition host Andrew Garcia tagged along with Reinhart during his quest. The two met at Malai Kitchen on McKinney Avenue in Dallas to do a little taste testing.
The pair hit up three restaurants. At Malai Kitchen, Andrew encountered a hefty slice of jalapeno on his sandwich of charred pork and basil. He survived.
“Actually, I got off easy,” Andrew said. “In Vietnam, they often make these sandwiches with bird's eye chilies, which are about 10 to 20 times hotter. So it seems like the fusion continued as the bánh mì made its way to North America.”
Following the Vietnam War, Dallas was one of the cities chosen to be a refugee haven for those coming from Vietnam and Cambodia and Laos as well. They brought their culture, traditions and, of course, their food. Which has had a big impact on the North Texas restaurant scene ever since.
Bird’s eye chilis probably weren't widely available when Vietnamese migrants came to Texas in the 70s, so they substituted with what they had, which in Texas is jalapenos.
After Andrew spent all that time with Brian, I got a little jealous. I’ve never tried bánh mì. I love pho, so when I’m at a Vietnamese restaurant, that’s what I order. We headed to Pho is for Lovers on Greenville Avenue in Dallas where I gave the sandwich a try.
We ordered the grilled pork bánh mì, which was Andrew’s favorite of the three sandwiches he tried with Reinhart. The toasted baguette was filled with just the right ratio of meat, cucumbers, pickled carrots and cilantro. And the pickled jalapenos hiding at the bottom gave the sandwich a nice kick, without adding too much heat.
After the taste test, the consensus was that the unique sandwich is a refreshing change of pace and makes a delicious addition to those end-of-summer and autumn picnics.
Want to do your own taste test? Be sure to check out Reinhart's article for where to find the best bánh mì sandwiches in North Texas.
