August 20, 2007
· Filed under california, cookbook, pit stop, vietnamese
The bread may harken back to 19th Century French occupation, but the fillings are 100% Vietnam. Simply put, the banh mi is a baguette slathered with mayo, filled with a substantial amount of spongy soy meat (a grayish turkey), then finished off with a solid dose of fragrant Southeast Asian accents like cilantro, hot chili peppers (jalapeño in the sandwich’s SoCal incarnation), and a shredded radish and carrot mixture dressed almost imperceptibly in rice vinegar. Common street fare in Vietnam, you’ll find six to eight-dollar versions in the hipster Eastside neighborhoods of Los Angeles, though I’ve heard chatter that one can find more OG versions for half the price in the neighboring San Gabriel Valley.
I’ve also heard there’s a donut shop in Humboldt county that makes a superb version. If anyone has any local banh mi recommendations, send them my way.
In the meantime: Angelenos can check out KP’s deli in Silverlake (pictured above, courtesy of our friends at Los Anjealous whose top ten LA vegan summary is a must read for anyone hungry in LA) and Lemongrass in Eagle Rock. For a delightful Mc-version of the veggie banh-mi, check out Lee’s Sandwiches, a family-run mini-franchise scattered across California and the Southwest.
Not today, but sometime soon, I’ll be talking about a Vietnamese crepe called a ban xeo. Now that’s serious hand food.
August 18, 2007
· Filed under american, cookbook, pit stop, texas
A few years back, I was at SXSW music festival in Austin, Tejas, bouncing around from daytime party to daytime party, soaking up the sunshine and free sponsored booze when I happily came across a launch party for the newfangled Filter magazine at Stubbs BBQ. Now anyone who knows Austin knows Stubbs. Anyone who’s stared at the artisan BBQ sauces in his or her local supermarket probably knows Stubbs. Not really a great place for vegetarians, unless you’re starving and there’s a magazine sponsored free spread (and bottomless Lone Stars to literally boot).
Working with what few vegetarian fixins were on hand, I constructed a sandwich for the ages. There’s not a day goes by that I don’t think about her. Here it is:
- 2 slices of big ol’ Texas toast
- Stubbs BBQ sauce
- thinly sliced onions
- pickled chili peppers of some sort (looked like orange cayenne)
- Stubbs potato salad (the mustardy kind with a touch of sweet)
Throw everything together between two slices of bread and you’re good to go. It’s not on the menu, and I’m sure you’d get a strange look from the waitstaff if you tried to order it, but I highly recommend it — the perfect blend of soft and crisp, sweet, sour and spicy. I might point out that I’m no taker of weed, so this is definitely not merely reefer induced goodness.
Don’t forget about the veggie tacos across the street from Emo’s while you’re at SXSW. As far as I can tell, the truck disappears at all other times of the year, but it is an utter fixture during the festival. Can an Austonian please comment on where that heavenly truck disappears to?
August 17, 2007
· Filed under dear diary
Hey there, welcome to the No-Kill Roadhouse. We’re a food guide for the adventurous vegetarian traveler. Our basic premise is this: eat and drink as the locals do, but in a way that’s consistent with your ethical beliefs.
We’ll be drilling artists and musicians for their best vegetarian travel tips, we’ll be asking vegetarian chefs for their favorite world recipes, we’ll be scouting out the best veggie destinations, and we’ll probably throw our fair share of drinking stories into the mix. Don’t judge us; we’re only human.
About your editor? I’m a vegetarian musician who’s crossed the nation at least ten times in my lifetime. As you can imagine, that can add up to lot of grilled cheese. But it doesn’t have to — there are a lot of good regional eats out there, and hopefully with a good dose of expert advice, our road-tested suggestions, and (especially) your comments, everyone’ll get to taste their fair share.
