- Paris Banh Mi Café & Bakery, a new Vietnamese restaurant, recently opened on Columbia Rd.
- The restaurant serves a variety of Vietnamese cuisine such as banh mi, pho, and Vietnamese cheese sticks.
- Paris Banh Mi Café & Bakery also has a variety of drinks including Boba tea, slushies, and coffee.
If you ask the person at the table next to you how they liked their food, and he raves about it, then he turns out to be the head chef at a very popular restaurant in town, you know you’re in the right place.
That’s a true story, by the way. He had one of the Pho, Vietnamese soup, offerings. His guest also raved about it.
The restaurant is Paris Banh Mi Café & Bakery, a Vietnamese sandwich shop that recently opened at 4015 Columbia Rd. It’s also a Boba milk tea, coffee, pho noodle soup, ramen noodle soup, and Korean corn dog shop.
Mimi Hoang and her husband, Man Phung, own the restaurant that is part of a larger franchise chain. Paris is for the origin of the bread − croissants and other traditional French rolls − used for the Banh Mi, the traditional Vietnamese ingredients used in the sandwiches and pho.
The restaurant opened on Jan. 24.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Hoang came to the United States from Vietnam in 2014 and opened a nail salon. Her husband came later. They have three sons, ages 14, 12, and 6. The couple decided to open a restaurant. They checked out several opportunities and selected Paris Banh Mi Café.
“I’m in love with the food,” she said, especially the fresh style of Vietnamese food and the other items the company offered.
The menu is interesting and in both English and Vietnamese. The staff was eager to explain more about each one.
Hoang explained that while traditional Vietnamese is considered quite spicy, they offer the sauces that make the heat on the side so customers have control over it.
For this lunch, the Croissant Special was selected. The pork roll and jambon (ham/pork) slices and fresh vegetables layered between a sliced flaky croissant, was mild and fresh. Add a little of the hot chili sauce and the heat takes it up a notch. That plus a spring roll made for a delicious lunch.
Other sandwich options include grilled pork, pork patties, shredded chicken, jambon (ham), pork barbecue, and vegetarian. Sandwiches can also be served on a burger bun.
And there’s the pho, or noodle soup. Chose from steak meatballs, chicken, and Hue’s spicy noodle.
On the next visit, the Vietnamese cheese sticks will be a must-have. Topping options are potatoes, crispy ramen, and hot Cheetos. Yes, those Cheetos that come in a bag, Hoang said.
Paris Banh Mi also carries a wide selection of signature drinks made from fresh fruits and other ingredients. There also are fresh and flavored teas and milk teas, slushes and coffees, including sea salt coffee. Toppings like tapioca Boba, cheese foam, grass jelly, rainbow jelly and Boba popping can be added.
Looking for sugar cane juice? They have it.
The pastries and baked goods looked delicious and are worthy of a return trip just for dessert. The baked goods are made in-house while some of the desserts are supplied by the company.
Hoang said they are waiting on a special display cabinet to set up a bakery service on a large marble island they had specially made for the restaurant. They plan to serve breakfast items there.
Paris Banh Mi is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday.
发表回复