Bánh Mi Saigon Bakery

Bánh Mi Saigon Bakery, formerly a sandwich shop in the back of a jewelry shop, now a sandwich shop with a jewelry counter in the front, is pretty much exactly what I'm looking for in terms of Bánh Mi. Bread has a good crust on it but also chewy inside, with just-enough-but-not-too-much shredded carrots, vermicelli, sliced cucumber and jalapeños. And then there's the pork: delicious, candy-tasting wonderful pork, crystallized almost. Just perfect, and at $3.75 a helluva deal for a great lunch. Iced coffee was nice enough but not the best.

Sausage and Beer

The Sausage: Giacomo's Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage on challah with cheddar with horseradish mustard and collards with spring onions

The Beer: Witterke White

The Seat: My back porch

The Verdict: Yes

Lunch: Delicious Sandwiches

Two small sandwiches for lunch.

At top: Giacomo's salami and soppresetta topped with sauteed onions and roasted red peppers; opposite face English coastal cheddar on Trader Joe's Tuscan Pane [an excellent and cheap ($2.29) bread for sandwiches]

Larger sandwich: Giacomo's salami and soppresetta topped on one side by parmigiano reggiano; on other side by sauteed onions and roasted red peppers, also on Trader Joe's Tuscan Pane.




Verdict: Delicious, obviously.

Sandwich! Salad!

The spinach was getting ready to be totally unmanageable, so - needed to use it. And while some was fine for a salad, some of it was really only fit-to-be-cooked. So - sauteéd spinach of some sort. Which naturally fits very well into a sandwich. So, recipes two parts:

Salad: spinach with KD family salad dressing:

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Vinegar (balsamic, cider, white, or mix thereof)
• Dijon Mustard
  
• Garlic (several cloves, freshly smashed)
• Lemon juice (fresh, if possible)
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
  

Preferably, this is made by combining all above elements in a large salad bowl, and then tossing the salad in just prior to serving. I already had some in the fridge, so just drizzled over the salad.

Sandwich: prosciutto with mozzarella, sauteéd spinach, red onion and garlic on pane.

• Heat extra virgin olive oil in pan.
  
• Add thinly sliced garlic (not minced) for one minute; add red onion for one additional minute
• Add spinach; sauteé and coat in oil until reduced (~2 min.)
  
• Slice mozzarella thinly on one slice pane; layer prosciutto generously on other slice; toast
• Layer spinach on top of prosciutto; place mozzarella slice on top of that, and slice.
• Enjoy!