Bánh Appetit – DC Bánh Mì Battle – Tittsworth

Culture March 18, 2011 101 Comments

I grew up eating bowls of pho, sometimes once or twice a day for weeks and sometimes months at a time. I confess to renting and driving a car 90 minutes in rush hour traffic just to visit Little Saigon in the distant LA suburb of Westminster. To regularly (and voluntarily) brave the Eden Center parking lot speaks volumes for ones dedication, not to mention the distance and commute for a DC resident. I waited years to DJ in Saigon. Despite jet lag and exhaustion, when I finally landed my first words were “Bánh Mì please.” Needless to say I excited when I received word that 6 leading restaurants were to battle for the best take on my favorite Vietnamese sandwich.

First and foremost, thank you to Ba Bay for hosting the bánh mì battle, a phenomenal idea for an even better cause… me! …and children’s hunger too I guess (proceeds went to children’s hunger via Share Our Strength). The event sold out with the last ticket and judge seat offered to raffle for additional donation. It wasn’t long before I ate my way to needing a charity of my own. Here’s the recap…

I am a fan of Proof’s pho terrine (a paté made in style of my favorite Vietnamese noodle soup), so I had high hopes. Playing to their strengths, this sandwich was paté heavy, leaving room for a very mature taste with an appropriate heat:

I felt The Source was stretching the definition a bit. Didn’t taste or look much like bánh mì. Make sure you don’t check under the hood. It’s like walking in on grandma getting dressed (topless regrets):

Ba Bay had the best bread of the bunch, which is one of the hardest components to nail regionally. It added crispness to savory smoky rib and a sharp fish sauce counterpoint:

Lyon Hall’s description instantly took me back to Ireland and excited me with its creative use of black pudding parfait. Unfortunately it seemed a bit overshadowed, even after a couple different servings and despite being one of my earlier bites.

It was difficult to make out some of the ingredients in Dino’s variation as well. In this case the mustard proved dominant and it also lacked much of a bánh mì feel:

PS7 provided a robust, traditional and delicious mouthful with meaty barbecued belly, complimented by course liver:

Proof was named the winner of the DC bánh mì contest after a forced tie breaker. Though a second in my book, Proof put together a mature, traditional and well thought out sandwich w/ a pâté heavy profile and nice heat. My personal winner, Ba Bay, I feel showed a firm understanding of Vietnamese flavor combinations while almost overwhelming you with bold tastes and contrast. Plus Ba Bay’s bread, though not quite Saigon (or France for that matter), was far better than the chewy or pasty breads most places in this region will use (including many in Eden Center). A close up of the Spare Rib Bánh Mì by Ba Bay below… though not the competition winner, hopefully a permanent addition to the menu or at least rotation:

Thank you to Denise and the rest at Ba Bay for the invitation to this thoroughly thoughtful, enjoyable and delicious event. Much love and appreciation to our U Hall / Ba Bay fam Ken as well: