Buy me Banh mi

We ate dinner on the go tonight, so that we could check out a talk by Humane Society of the United States CEO Wayne Pacelle on the bond people share with animals and the work that needs to be done to end animal cruelty and improve animal welfare. I was excited to try the vegan banh mi being offered by a new entrepeneur (Bunbob Chhun of Dumpling (a yet to be opened restaurant)) at my local coffee shop, Groundswell Coffee.

Dumpling's vegan banh mi featured a great french bread with grilled peanut sauce marinated tofu, pickled veggies, flavorful basil and a hoison srichachi spread. It's a little pricey compared to some banh mi you can get on University Avenue. Half (typical size banh mi) is $5.95 versus $3 and a whole (see pic below it's a solid foot!) is $9.95. I'm willing to pay more to help a guy who is making really good tasting food hopefully realize his dream of opening a restaurant. I also love banh mi enough that I can continue to eat at the other places too, but maybe this will encourage them to up their game and offer better tasting vegan options!

If you're not familiar with banh mi, you should definitely try it. It's a Vietnamese sandwich, usually on a airy french bread, featuring fresh herbs (basil or cilantro), pickled vegetables and a balance of flavors including some heat. Typically, banh mi includes meat or soy and mayo.

Want to try making your own banh mi? Banh Mi Battle's Lemongrass Tofu looks like it would be tasty with earth balance mindful mayo , jalapeno slices, cilantro, Viet World Kitchen's daikon/carrot pickles, and cucumber on a light and tasty french roll. Yum!