Welcome to Free Lunch, "Where You're the Reviewer." This week's installment of our web series takes us to Bánh Mì Mỹ-Tho, a tiny mom-and-pop convenience store/ take-out place in Alhambra that serves delicious-looking French sandwiches.
According to Wikipedia, bánh mì is a Vietnamese baguette. The term literally means biscuit or cake (Bánh) and flour or wheat (mì). Another interesting tidbit is that "bánh mì" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary on March 24, 2011.
Our guest this week is kcet.org commenter Glass of Win - aka Rachael Faught, a self-described 'writer, artist and globe-trekking foodie geek girl extraordinaire' - who was so excited to participate in our Free Lunch that she wore special make-up for the filming.
As it turns out, Rachael ended up being equally excited about Bánh Mì Mỹ-Tho's sandwiches. She ordered the charbroiled pork sandwich (#8) which happens to be the most popular version they serve. In addition to the sandwich, Rachael had an ordered of egg rolls and a meat bun.
Having never been to Vietnam, I can't vouch for the authenticity of the food, but it sure seems like it's the real thing. As for the prices, I can tell you that they're hard to beat ($2.50 for the sandwich and $0.40 for each egg roll). Rachael felt the same way and promised to go back for more goodness. You might want to check out her blog to learn more about Rachael's adventures with food.
That's it for this week, but we'd really like to hear from you. What do you think about this week's video?
Please post your comments below, and by doing so you'll become eligible to participate in Free Lunch. Also, if you have some restaurant recommendations for us, please add them to this discussion.
Keep on Lunching!
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Banh Mi My-Tho
304 W. Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91803
(626) 289-4160
7 Comments
Yum! I love cheap, Vietnamese sandwiches!
The food looks good and tasty. I want to go there and try their sandwich. Rachael showed us different types of food they create. At their prices, I may buy my lunches for the week!
While BMMT is the perennial Yelp/Food blogger/LAMag fave, I will always counter Saigon Bakery (also on Valley, in San Gabriel) has better baguette, and Baguette City, in Rosemead, has a better overall superior bread/meat product.
$2.50 is the "standard" banh mi pricing in the SGV, and does not contribute to a banh mi shop's worthiness. What BMMT does have though, is that extra inch in length. Size does matter?
You're right that the prices are low throughout the SGV. It's not apparent from the phrasing in our post. Thank you for pointing that out.
Oh my goodness! I want to go to there!
Thanks for the tip, I have bookmarked this place. Let me know if you need company next time! :)
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Gary Dauphin says :
I have to say, this might be my favorite meal to date. $2.50 for a sandwich! 4 bucks for the egg rolls?! How late are they open? Is this a late night option?