The Best Banh Mi in the World is Not in Vietnam--it's Within 30 Minutes of You Right Now!

When I read the title of Tan Vinh's Seattle Eats October Podcast, "The Best Vietnamese Dishes in Seattle," each of my curiosity antennae stood at full attention. I listened--enraptured and envious--as he and two of his Seattle Times colleagues discussed the three dishes they love the most at their tasting party. 

When the banh mi nem nuong Ha Noi at Voi Ca Phe in Georgetown was introduced as one of them, I stopped in my tracks. 

The best banh mi nem nuong?

Because I know where that resides: at Rise & Shine Bakery in Edmonds!

Recently, YouTube foodie sensation Mike Chen, after tasting Rise & Shine's grilled pork banh mi sandwich with fried egg, said, "This is the best banh mi in Seattle. It might be the best banh mi outside of Vietnam."

I know it's bold to claim I know more than an influencer with 1.62 million YouTube subscribers, but I'll do it here: Rise & Shine's banh mi are better than any I tasted in Vietnam -- and I tasted a lot of them. I spent two years eating on the streets of Saigon, tasting life-altering bowls of broth and noodles and seafood -- and sandwiches. 

As for the banh mi nem nuong, few restaurants serve it. Here's its origin story: 

Remember when President Obama joined Anthony Bourdain in 2016 for a meal at a tiny Hanoi cafe? The dish they shared is called bun cha Ha Noi -- lemongrass-infused pork sausage patties and strips of pork belly surrounded by a pool of vinegary fish sauce, with a side of vermicelli noodles and a big tray of garden herbs and vegetables for do-it-yourself assembly. This episode went viral, of course; everyone started Googling the dish, and bun cha Ha Noi began to appear on hip American restaurant menus -- like that of Capitol Hill's Ba Bar, where, understandably, Tan's favorite bun cha dish is made.

On the "Seattle Eats" episode, they tell the story of how the husband-and-wife owners of Voi Ca Phe went to the Bourdain/Obama restaurant (where, apparently, the famed table is encased in glass) and decided to take that pork patty, put it in a banh mi sandwich, and sell it out of the walk-up window of their Georgetown cafe. I love them for doing this. 

Could Voi Ca Phe's version be as good as Rise & Shine's? 

I was born to seek answers to questions like these, to venture all the way to Georgetown for a sandwich, then return to Edmonds for another -- just to be sure. So:

LET THE BAHN MI BATTLE IN SEATTLE BEGIN! 

My EAT99 friend Casey and I arrived at Voi Ca Phe around 2 pm on a rainy Saturday to find only a six-inch nem nuong banh mi remaining (brilliantly called the Mini-Mi, $6.98, Regular size: $11.32). We could only lay desperate claim to it and make a note to arrive earlier next time. 

Every element of their sandwich is carefully curated, starting with the way it's packaged in the cutest little Voi Ca Phe brown paper bag, and built on the "perfect" bread vessel, a baguette from the famed Q Bakery just ten minutes away in Hillman City. It's heavy with pickled carrots, and one strip of pickled cucumber lays the groundwork below a divinely lemongrassed sausage patty. They choose to use a touch of mint over the usual handful of cilantro (take note cilantro haters!), and pickle their jalapenos to mute the spiciness. It's a perfect sandwich. We both marveled at it. Despite numerous angles and attempts, my picture just doesn't capture how good this banh mi is:
Now it's time to head north on Hwy 99, where the owner of Rise & Shine Bakery, Mai, makes all of her toasty, pillowy bread in-house. For her nem nuong sandwich ($10.00), she cuts her pork patty into strips and distributes them evenly among plentiful pickled vegetables and cilantro, contrasting beautifully with a smear of pate mixed with slightly sweet mayo (if pate scares you, request it without!). It's a scientific study of proportion and balance. 

Each of these banh mi stands alone as pillars of what the three Times writers declare to be "the de facto sandwich of Seattle." But the ultimate, the zenith? Well, here you go . . . the difference: you chew Georgetown's, and Rise & Shine's melts. 

A melting together of soft bread, fatty pork, pickled vegetables and buttery, porky sauce. 

"Rise & Shine Bakery makes the best Vietnamese banh mi in the world" is a striking claim, one that I will continue to discuss, and test. But "Rise & Shine Bakery's banh mi nem nuong is the best in the world" is a reasonable statement; Vietnam isn't known for being trendy.

"This is a Master Class in banh mi," says Mike Chen as he loses his mind between bites. "10 out of 10." I can't help but want to watch him react to their banh mi nem nuong. Maybe he will on his next visit, after this post goes viral and gets his attention. In the meantime, here's your

Homework:


2) Keep an eye out for both Bun Cha Ha Noi and Banh Mi Nem Nuong at your favorite Vietnamese restaurants, and order it when you see it!

Rise & Shine Bakery
23030 Hwy 99
Edmonds, WA 98026
206-574-8330
Open from 11am - 6pm every day except Tuesday

Voi Ca Phe
6105 13th Ave S. 
Seattle, WA 98108

Monday-Saturday, 8am-4pm
Closed Sunday

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