February 08, 2024 | OPINION | By Sam Treat
Hailing from a culturally diverse place like Seattle, I was fortunate to experience bountiful cuisines from across the globe. Seattle’s International District/Chinatown is renowned for its blocks of stores offering pig’s feet, whole ducks, delicious bao buns and so much more. One of those stores, Saigon Deli, opened a world of love for Vietnamese street food. Namely, the banh mi.
Banh mi is a delicious and unique byproduct of European colonization in Southeast Asia. In the late 1800s, under French colonialism, the baguette was introduced to Vietnam. In turn, the Vietnamese began to fill the buttery bread with their own ingredients. Typically, this was shredded carrots, cucumbers, sometimes pickled vegetables or jalapenos, and some sort of protein—most commonly barbecue pork.
As popularity grew, early banh mi entrepreneurs in Saigon began to modify the baguette into a more suitable style for this sandwich. The bread’s shape changed from long, skinny baguettes to shorter, wider sandwich-ready baguettes, complete with a crunchier exterior and spongier interior.
Today, banh mi can be found in almost every major city that has any sort of Vietnamese presence, including Colorado Springs! I ventured across town to Lee’s Sandwiches, a store that claims to be the largest banh mi chain in the world. Despite the banh mi being its claim to fame, Lee’s offers a robust menu of Asian and European favorites.
Sandwich wise, the banh mi menu far outpaces the European one. The European Menu is full of classics like Turkey and Swiss, Ham, and the BLT. Feeling like I should try at least one classic, I did sample the BLT ($9). While it was delicious and well prepared, I would be ashamed of myself if I ever came back to Lee’s and did not order the Banh Mis that have made it famous.
The BBQ Pork Banh Mi ($9), a classic, was delicious. The fresh-baked baguette was the star of the show—buttery and crunchy all at once, it left me with crumbs everywhere (a sign of a well-eaten meal). The meat was equally delicious, as the pork had clearly been marinated in a flavorful sauce. My only critique of this item is that I wish there had been more meat.
Lee’s not only has a thriving sandwich operation, but also functions as a bakery that specializes in Asian pastries. Perhaps most known for selling Deli Manjoo, a unique Korean dessert that is essentially a corn-shaped custard filled cake, Lee’s makes sure to keep its bases covered. The red bean balls, a Vietnamese staple, were delicious and moist. The coconut pastry was absolutely scrumptious, too.
For those who enjoy bubble tea or Italian soda, the colonial fusion of Asian and European cuisine allows Lee’s to be one of the few establishments that offers both. In fact, much of the menu seems to pull directly from the fusion of the French and Vietnamese food—both of which are delicious, as is the final product, of course.
While the $9 banh mis do fall a bit on the expensive side, I may be biased; my hometown Saigon Deli only charged $3.50 for the same amount of food. All in all, if you’ve never tried a banh mi, this is a fine place to begin your culinary journey. The bread shines as the star, and nothing disappointed. It just wasn’t quite like home.