Ba Le Sandwich Shop
5016 N. BroadwayChicago, IL 60640
Uptown
773-561-4424
balechicago.com
Hours: Daily 7:30 AM-9 PM
Our Review
A couple years ago Ravenswood upstart Nhu Lan Bakery snatched banh mi supremacy away from this venerable Vietnamese bakery, but Ba Le Sandwich Shop continued to thrive, benefiting from a prime location—albeit in a dark, cramped space—at the mouth of Little Saigon. Now, since moving one door south in April into the roomier confines vacated by Thai Grocery, Ba Le has not only stepped up its sandwich assembly but expanded its menu offerings in a bright, modish space with plenty of indoor seating, a patio, and even a tight parking lot overseen on weekends by a cheerful but incongruous rent-a-cop. Also new: the rather stupendous claim on its annoying Flash site that bakery founder Le Vo invented the miraculous Franco-Vietnamese sandwich in Saigon in the 50s. One thing is indubitable: Ba Le's banh mi are now much fresher, made to order on a brisk, efficient line. (Previously they were often preassembled far enough in advance that their symphonic magic faded.) The vegetables are crunchier, the meats are colder or warmer as appropriate, and the bread crackles to the tooth. They're still a bit understuffed compared to their betters at Nhu Lan, but the improvements are significant. Tapioca fruit smoothies come in interesting tropical flavors such as durian, jackfruit, or sapote, and milky iced coffee is sweet rocket fuel dripped to order. Large selections of sweet and savory pastries, fried spring rolls, shrimp cakes, and sausages crowd the counter, along with weighty bowls of rice vermicelli, meat salads, and composed portions of xoi, sticky rice snacks packaged plain, with chicken legs, pork roll, and vegetables, or flavored with pandan leaf or coconut. In the bank of refrigerated cases, tubes of the house-branded patés, headcheese, and other charcuterie are lined up next to a selection of the layered sweet puddings known as che—perhaps custard or coconut milk dotted with mung beans and other legumes, basil seeds, Jell-O bits, tapioca, longans, or jujubes. It was once possible to ignore these incidental offerings and escape with a half dozen satisfying sandwiches at a shockingly reasonable price, but the new array of little snacks and sweets and extra dishes is so irresistible that it's a challenge to leave Ba Le without blowing a sizable wad of dough.
Price: $
Payment Type: MasterCard, Visa
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