All images today taken with little Sony dsc-w1 point & shoot.
Today was the day I was fiercely in need of something good for lunch. Yesterday was a complete bust and my mood showed it. Be in charge of your own mood and get something tasty when you’re feeling down.
Around 10:30 today the image of a crunchy Vietnamese sammich crossed my mind. I knew I had to strike because if you wait until noon, the El Cerrito High Football team shows up and you might as well cross the street to Burgler King. I struck gold today.
Ba Le is located in a little rundown 70’s strip maul. They share their space with a discount porn store, nail salon, a restaurant, you get the idea. Not real flashy. They’re nice enough to supply a few tables, two outside and one in. Walking through the front door I got the waft of good cooking food. Not greasy stuff, not frying, but flavorful cooking food. The kind where your jacket ISN’T permeated with funk when you leave. It’s small, just enough room for a cooler, a shelf with shrimp chips and a cooler with prepared veggie rolls and noodles and something neon green that was made in a standard waffle iron, neat! They’ve got about 10 different sandwiches, basic faire up to headcheese and cured pork belly. The pork belly is REALLY good. They call it bacon, but it isn’t American type bacon. Not all salty, really smooth. Pho is also on the menu, but I ain’t had it yet. I’m sure it’s good. I recogize the same people working behind the counter each time, the cooking area is clean and it doesn’t take long to prepare any of the food I’ve ordered or seen others order.
These vegetable rolls are like eating vegetable air with a back of little shrimp followed by sparkly mint leaves. There’s sprouts of some kind, some noodly things all bound up in lettuce then some white translucent wrap that holds in the orangy shrimp. I bought them cause they were really pretty. The sauce they supply is plentiful and tastes like a peanutty, ginger, soy, zesty. I liked the sauce enough, even though I don’t like peanuts in my food. This plate is geared for 2 or 3 people (or one football player), I had 2 and that was more than enough.
The sandwiches have these crunchy white rolls (they’re toasted, eh), no mayo or dressing on the bread directly. Inside you’ll find mostly crunchy vegetables, some sweet, some hot and some just kinda lay there and peer at you longingly. There usually isn’t much meat, but I don’t miss it. There’s enough to go from one end of the bread to the other and you’ll find it’s refreshing. Plus everything you see here cost me 6 dollars even, the sandwich was 2.25. If you’re looking for some Pho, look to shell out a whopping 5.50. Looks to me like this family is here to stay, good thing cause I’m going back.
This review was brought to you today by the letter P and the number 2.
Good Day.
ps – For more on Pho and related yummies, please visit my good friend JLT at Pho King.
Ba Le
Vietnamese Sandwich
Food To Go
10174 San Pablo Avenue
El Cerrito, CA 94530
510-528-8882
8am – 6pm Daily (Mon-Sun)
I go into one of the local Vietnam places (local, being Sacramento) and it’s great eating. The sandwiches are even cheaper, even though I think they should cost more.
I LOOOOOOVE Vietnamese sandwiches. After having one of these, I wonder why people go to Quizno’s or Subway to pay more for less quality. Maybe people don’t like the fish sauce (which I think is hardly noticeable) in the vegetables and some of the meat marinade… Many places have really good pate in them too. I also love the vegetable rolls (goi cuon). We have goi cuon rolling dinner themes periodically. Those rice wraps are tricky – 6 of them is over 200 calories. And I can eat something like twenty of them, no joke.
Hey Dave!
Where are you? Any idea?
Hey Alice,
I think I’ll go back for Pho tomorrow. Me thinks.
Biggles
I’m on and off on the Vietnam sammmiches. Why?
Here comes the big confession, from an avid foodie no less: I can’t stand mayonnaise. Of any kind. Always have hated the stuff, always will.
And with those Vietnamese sandwiches, many of them come with mayo. And try as I do to get them otherwise, there’s always some language barrier or chef on auto-pilot factor that pretty much guarantees my sandwich will come with mayo.
Anyhoo, I adore the Vietnamese sanwiches that come sans mayo, adorned with just the spicy sauce with the green lid and the rooster on the label (a.k.a “Cock Sauce”). In fact, I put that sauce on LOTS of stuff. I even have a bottle in my refrigerator here at work!
Ever had those big Vietnames stuffed crepes? Them are gooooooood! Wash it down with a pearl tapioca drink and I’m a happy camper.
And lots of great Vietnamese joints here in SF to pick from. A real nice one righht by my house. Happiness!!!
I want to high school at El Cerrito High back in the days. Wish this place was around then. I’ll definitely have to check it out when I visit my parents sometimes (they’re in Richmond).
Damn, I love Banh Mi. Before I moved to San Francisco in 1999, I didn’t even know that the Vietnamese MADE delicious little sandwiches on crusty French bread… let alone the fact that they are, well, called Banh Mi.
Sounds like I know what I’m having for lunch tomorrow. And you know, maybe all them spicy veggies will help clear my sinuses.
‘Cos, you know, I’m sick. Sniff. Sniff.
Hey G SF,
Yeah, don’t be taking pictures of your snot blows for the blog, eh? That’s reserved for us stinky boys to do.
I went back today and had some Pho Bo, it was pretty darned good. Fresh and hot and nice and crunchy and noodley. Yum.
Hey Winnie,
Yeah, I wouldn’t make a special trip up. But if you’re coming by, then by all means. I live in Richmond too, we have to savor any decent place to eat we can. No matter what kind of food it is.
Biggles
Next time you need a drink to match your nifty sammich, try BASIL SEED drink. I guarantee you that you have never drank anything so texturally explicit, an not too sweet either!
These sandwiches are all the range in NYC and I have yet to eat one, but I like reading about them that’s for sure.
Hey Shuna,
Basil Seed? I’ll see if they have it, there’s tons of neat and intersting looking beverages in their cooler.
I tried a new Pho place today in El Cerrito, it was really neat. Not real fancy, just get in there, order and get your food. Good, huge and fast. Loved it.
Biggles
I told you so.
In San Francisco, Saigon Sandwiches on Larkin at Eddy is the place to go to. Wrap Delight down the block is good too. I like the pork one best but the mixed sandwich or the chicken isn’t bad either.
Ha! I used to go to ba le all the time when I lived a block away from there. In Oakland Chinatown these sandwiches are even cheaper at about two bucks a pop. I always forget and order the ‘mix pork’ one, not realizing it’s tripe until I’ve had a few bites.
OH. P.S. We need to teach you what “those little noodly things” are.
Hey 5 Pints,
Oh man, I sawr that mixed pork one there today. Wondered what it was. I opted for the Seafood Pho. So far, it’s the best I’ve had from either Saigon II or Ba Le.
Do you know whether Ba Le uses MSG? My mouth feels funny. Probably just because Meathead mentioned it and now it’s in my head.
Biggles
I like that drinking fancy flower juice with my Vietnamese sammiches. I want to say that it’s chrysanthamum juice, but I honestly can’t remember. Anway, the drink comes in a can with pictures of flowers all over it. The drink itself very sweet, nectary, and well, kinda girlie… which I like very much since I live in a house full of boys.
Glad you’re enjoying vietnamese food!! About the MSG…I don’t know anything about Ba Le and MSG, but i know that many vietnamese restaurants use MSG. darnit…almost everything has MSG!! what is the world coming to? 🙁
ps. Ba Le is vietnamese for Paris. If you say it outloud, you’ll see what i mean 🙂
whoops, i meant to also say that almost everywhere uses MSG.
Hey Christine,
Ba Le is paris? No kidding. I wonder why they named their place Paris? It’s not how I pictured it.
MSG? Keeripes. I’m usually pretty sensitive to msg, tongue gets all freaky and swollen. Headaches, that kind of stuff. Ba Le’s seafood Pho I thought had MSG, but couldn’t tell whether it was that or hot peppers that screwed with my tongue. Mmmm.
Biggles
i like the vietnamese sandwich with pork, ham, meatloaf everything in it except pepper and parsely
i’d either have iced milk tea or a coke with my sandwich.
they make the best vietnamese sandwich in 8ave brooklyn, ny and chinatown manhattan
Ba Le is friggen fantastic. Our benefactor in the IT department is bringing in a lunch for the office from that place today. I say #8 all the way (would like to try the headcheese, but the name scares me)
Hey Butter,
Yeah huh. My favorite sammich is the #5, I think. It’s the meatball one and does me the best goodness. My favorite soup is the spicy beef vermacelli, so far. But the darned stuff has so much fat floating on the top, I usually pass it up for the Pho Ga.
Nice to get a nice lunch for 5 bux, eh?
ba le needs to move to tennessee man
Hey Sandy,
Yes, yes they do. I go on a regular basis and have since I posted this. The quality doesn’t waver and the Pho is worth the effort.
Biggles