Banh mi up, Sacto

With its Vietnamese meats, pâté, jalapeños and pickled veggies—all tucked inside a French roll—the banh mi is perhaps my favorite type of sandwich. But for $10? Hell no. It seems like just yesterday, I was a broke college student fueled by ramen, occasionally splurging on $1 bean burritos from Del Taco and $1.50 banh mi—from the Little Saigon area of Westminster in Southern California—as my “fine dining.” Ten-dollar banh mi is currently trendy in Sacramento restaurants, bars and food trucks. I’m not against chefs innovating or engaging in cross-cultural menu experimentation—after all, that’s how banh mi was invented. But recently, I splurged on a $10 banh mi and felt like a huge sucker. For the same $10, I could have bought a sandwich at each of my three favorite Sacramento banh mi joints: Huong Lan (6930 65th Street, Suite 109), Duc Huong (6825 Stockton Boulevard, Suite 200) and Thanh Huong (6901 Stockton Boulevard).