Banh Mi Ba Le
Category: Vietnamese [Edit]
Neighborhood: East Oakland1909 International Ave
Oakland, CA 94620 (510) 261-9800
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch
- Alcohol: None
97 reviews
Neighborhood: North Oakland
"Really good asian fushiony food. I got the filet mignon steak with salad, and the salad is so good by itself i think i liked it better…" read more »
17 Reviews for Banh Mi Ba Le
Good vietnamese sandwiches for about $2.50! I've tried other things there as well (too much to list), and all were pretty good. I'd actually prefer this place over the more famous Vietnamese take-out restaurant in Oakland. Order by the counter and feast away!
Solid 4 stars!
I went here today on my way back from Oakland. I was in and out in a matter of minutes. $5 for 2 good sized sandwiches is a pretty good deal. However, I'm not so sure about the bread used for the sandwich ... it was kind of dry and crumbly sort of like day old bread. I'm not sure if Banh Mi bread is supposed to be this way, as I've only had the sandwich one other time from another restaurant and the bread was the same way there, too. The meat in each sandwich had good flavor and the veggies had a nice kick.
I'd eat it again.
Dear Banh Mi Ba Le,
I came here the other day and ordered 3 sandwiches (2 ham and pate combos, 1 bbq pork) and they were excellent, especially the ham and pate ones. I also got a package of eggrolls, a coconut taro drink thingy (which is more of a dessert) and a piece of candy for my son. You charged me $12.
Hello? What are you trying to do here? Are you TRYING to go out of business? Shouldn't you be charging us to at least cover your expenses? Because the ingredients in your sandwiches taste of high quality and I can't imagine how you can stay in business with these prices!
I have finally found a banh mi shop that I really really like because it's spacious, clean and has kickass sandwiches and easy parking and it seems that you are not interested in being sustainable. I would rather pay a little more than to see you go out of business so please take this advice and increase your prices.
Yours Truly,
Mia S.
People thought this was:
Useful (4)
Funny (8)
Cool (6)
I am definately going back to try other stuff on the menu. First time sandwich was really good, loved the veggies and herbs in it. The price you just can't beat!
I have become obsessed with color lately. Specifically color in my diet. There is a show on BBC America called You Are What You Eat and part of the show is that they ask the beefy British subject of each episode to keep a food diary for one week. At the end of the week they load table (or two or three) with the contents of said diary. It's always beige. All the food is brown, tan or beige. I look like those beefy Britons ( but with better teeth) and I vowed to take the beige out of my diet.
Another thing I have been doing is eating a lot less meat. Not because I don't love the taste of meat but it's more an ethical thing for me. I have decided to stay lacto-ovo because a life without ice cream, cheese or perfectly fried or soft boiled egg is not worth living. Plus eggs are pretty and yellow. . not beige.
Derrick V. wrote about the sunny side up egg banh mi at Ba Le and I went in and tried it. I love really simple food. This is perfect simple food. A nice, crusty yet soft warm french roll. Two perfectly fried eggs - they fry it with a little Maggi sauce, a dab of mayo, cilantro, pickled daikon & carrots, cucumber and jalapeno. Simple. Sometimes the eggs are cooked a little harder than others. . .but no matter. . .it's still one of the most deliciously simple things you can eat. For $2.25. I sometimes gild the lily and apply the tiniest amount of sriracha sauce to it and it's sublime. The green, yellow, and orange of the sandwich is like a perfect little picture.
The neighborhood is janky. . .I suggest parking on 19th Street and walking around the corner. . you can also park in back and come in the back way. There is a menu of plates, soups, and bun. There is a menu of banh mi and a menu of drinks. They carry every Vietnamese beverage you can think of. They have really good pork or shrimp summer rolls. . the shrimp rolls come with this amazing tamarind sauce. . so different than the normal gloopy peanut junk. So good!
For you meat eaters (of which I am still one as I wean myself off food with faces) the #5 banh mi - it says meatball but it's not (not like some meatballs I've had. . it's not "chewy"), it's like ground seasoned pork and it is amazing. The #2 combo is also very good altho I ask for it without the head cheese. .. the head cheese is gloriously colored with red dye and I just can't get past the chewy pieces of pig ear in it. ..Also good is #8 which is grilled pork . .. it's grilled pork "loaf" sort of like Spam but far and away more tasty.
The place is clean. The main cashier lady is nice and speaks perfect English so she can understand when you don't want pig ears in your banh mi. They also make a mean iced coffee. . altho it's beige. . couldn't resist. :)
People thought this was:
Useful (17)
Funny (16)
Cool (17)
I have gone to Ba Le for sandwiches since middle school. For me, a field trip wasn't a field trip unless you had a Ba Le sandwich. Now, ten years later, I still find myself eating here any time I am hungry and in the neighborhood.
Simply put, this place is the best Vietnamese sandwich place in the world!!! With 3 bucks, you can get almost any sandwich here. And my god, all the sandwiches are superbly prepared. My personal favorite is the Xa Xiu or the Dac Biet. Heck, anything with pickled veggies and cha lua gets me going.
Now that they have moved, the location is enormous and there is a parking lot! The only thing bad about the other location was there was nowhere to park, but they solved that problem with this new place.
I LOVE BA LE!
I could never be mad at you, sandwich.
Especially if you're meatball or BBQ chicken. I usually end up getting both because, A. I am an indecisive pig, and B. I can get two sandwiches and a coffee for under ten bucks, and C. these are some f-ing good sandwiches.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (2)
Cool (2)
This is the New Location. I like it alot, much more spacious.
The old location is no longer selling sandwiches. They're waiting for the lease to expire so they can get out of there. Thats what Im guessin'.
So Yessir.
This is the Spot to get the BEST Banh Mi, Vietnamese Sammiches in and out the Town.
I love everything on the menu. But my original favorite of course is the Combo. I usually get it AS-IS with the vegetables but sometimes say no to vegetables. I love how the bread is always warm, crunchy and toasty everytime. I believe the bread is from Bui Phuong down E 14th. Damn thats some good Bread.
These days, I love to get the Meatball Sandwich #5 with NO VEGETABLES. Its the BEST sandwich out there, No lie. The Taste is marvelous. I always get 1 or 2 extra sandwiches cause its that good. The prepacked eggrolls are HIT status with the Nuc mam.
And for drinks, I usually get the homemade Soybean. It washes down the sandwich with ease.
And dessert, I like to get the small cups with taro and stuff like that. But My favorite would be the CORN with the white stuff. Shits hellllla good. I recommend you taste it and tell me what you think. You'll be shocked how good it is. I swear to god puto.
Parking is in the back but try to get lucky in the front or the side. Whatever you do, DO NOT park in the BUS ZONE in front of Ba Le. You will get a ticket, cause I seen it done with no mercy from the pendejo "coppers".
Basically, I'll be here tomorrow morning for a cup of vietnam coffee. And I hope to see you there.
recommendation: try out the JC's Combo (combo combine with the meatball sandwich, veggies on the side) and soon to come
Rudy's Combo(in the works, which will include alot of pa te........=).
I also recommend the S and V Combo which is the meatball sandwich with a sunnyside egg and pa te, veggies on the side. Hella Good.
5 Stars.........................
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (3)
Cool (2)
After all the great hype that my friends threw at me, i had to try it out for myself. It was a busy day in the town(Oakland, California, USA), when i notice my stomach was on empty and need a refill, I decided to stop by this re-modeled Ba Le and ordered 4 sandwiches #1, #2, #5, and #8 finishing it off, a refreshing cafe sua da (vietnamese ice coffee), let me just say, it all tasted really delicious, i don't know why it tasted soo delicious, but it certainly did. i think it's because they put a lot vegetables, and meat inside, the bread is equally toasted just perfect, not too hard where it goes into your gum, and not too soft where it gets stuck in your teeth. I also found out the owner is my friend from a while ago, so he charged me for 3 sandwiches instead of 4, how kind of him.
The price for the sandwich here is really cheap also compared to everywhere else, $2 for each sandwich.. i recommend this restaurant to everyone.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (2)
Cool (1)
I come here almost everyday, order almost the same thing everyday before I go to work. This place is way off the freeway for me, but well worth the trek.
Banh Mi # 2 The speical Combo
(I call this the 11 O Clock, because thats when i eat this badboy)
Banh Mi # 5 The meatball
(I eat t his right when i get it because its nice and warm and toasty.)
Banh Mi # 7 Sweet BBQ meat
(I call this the 3 O Clock because this is when i eat this badboy)
Order of EggRolls
Hot Vietnamese Coffee to-go
And my day is wonderfull.
Everything here is super fresh, super tasty and prepared very well.
I can do a taste test of all the Banh Mi sandwich shops in oakland and tell you flat out which one is a Banh Mi sandwich from Ba Le.
Case Closed Done Deal.
Let me tell you a secret: If theres no parking, park in the back and walk through the back door. Its a cut.
Best in the Bay From Mr Joey Chan
6 Stars for Banh Mi Ba Le Because they are that good.
People thought this was:
Funny (4)
Cool (1)
3.5 Stars for Food; convenience, proximity and price point bump it up to 4.
I thought I had kicked the habit when I moved out of Orange County 8 months ago... On subsequent visits, that congested, desolate stretch of the 22 freeway would beckon, like a plaintive and wanton lover... (Or like Darin I, after a drink and a half.)
The wonderland that is Little Saigon recalls too many late nights and lost weekends... and a truckload of calories at every turn: Bo Kho, Banh Mi, Pho, Rice Plates and Banh Cuon never failed to put me into a carbohydrate coma... Ah... such a dirty secret habit of mine!
Not unlike a closeted, functional alcoholic, I treasure(d) the binging at strip mall eateries and bake shops; always leaving, laden with pink plastic baggies filled with inexpensive delicacies. Then, off to the gym to pay penance for these regular indulgences... all the while having the audacity to frown upon carbs and smile supportively every time a friend bemoaned the strictness of their Atkins lifestyle.
I found myself cruising by the old location (15th and International) after asking a reputable Vietnamese national for her opinion as to where, in the East Bay, I could be a banh mi fix. The gaudy blue building on a questionable stretch of International gave me pause, and I even peeked into the teeny space on 3 separate occasions, always smiling politely, but never purchasing.
But I was jonesing... and informed a few weeks back that they had opened a "bigger, better store" just 4 blocks down on International. Dutiful junkie that I am, I thanked the shop keeper for the advice and ducked out, unsure of whether or not to take the short drive, or just go home. I can't lie; I wanted to score.
The 1900 block of International is even more desolate and industrial than the original location. I chose to avert my eyes from the Dayshift Hooker gabbing on her cell phone while stationed vaguely at the bus stop across the street (I haven't seen her on a half-dozen subsequent visits).
If I could inject the Sweet BBQ Pork Banh Mi, I would. Actually, I take it back because mainlining the thing would mean bypassing my taste buds. A better fix for $2.25 you couldn't ask - the bread is not the best I've had, but it is served toasted: warm, with an airy, almost wispy crumb - just the right edible wrapper to house the tender, sweet shredded BBQ pork and veggies. Their meats are very savory and flavorful; I always ask for extra veggies to as not to be overwhelmed by the salty-savory fillings; the extra veggies balance it out for me.
Today, I picked up 3 different containers of assorted rice-flour based snackage - the equivalent of Vietnamese deli-counter fast food. They're all varieties of banh-something-or other - steamed rice flour dumplings and cakes folded over or sprinkled with combinations of: whole marinated shrimp, mung bean paste or pork. Three bucks gets a generous plastic tray full, a plastic fork and the prerequisite mini-tub of fish sauce.
The kind lady at the counter informed me that these are more Northern Vietnamese fare after I told her I'd only seen the little steamed cakes (they look almost like cross-sections of deviled eggs) at one place in Little Saigon, where they steam them to order and serve them on the tiny plastic condiment saucers right out of the steamer.
Anyhoo: for the adventurous ethnic eater, there is a selection of Vietnamese dessert drinks and confections along with some colonial conforts like locally baked madeleines and croissants. The beef jerky is moist, tender and very sweet... I suspect they make it in-house as it's packaged in ordinary zip-lock baggied portions.
There you have it; I suspect that I will sample more of Ba Le's wares soon, as I have once again falled off the wagon... and failed to kick my habit.
People thought this was:
Useful (6)
Funny (6)
Cool (6)
Best Vietnamese Sandwich spot in the area! Always cheap and fresh. The sandwiches always come out freshly baked and crunchy. They aren't shy about loading on the meat either. If I could I would eat here every day for lunch.
Screw it, I'm going there now...
**Update 4/17/08**
So I go to Ba Le last night and ordered the usual x 2 (4 sandwiches in varieties and some to go trays). As we were waiting for our sandwiches, on the menu we saw a number #12 - Banh Mi Trung Opla (Sunnyside-Up Eggs Sandwich). Curious as we were, we ordered it to see if it had the same great quality as the rest of their sandwiches.
It's just eggs, how good can it be?
DAMN it was good! The inside was warm and runny, just how I like it, and it came with all the good tidings that Ba Le usually puts in their sandwiches. All it needs is a dash of Soy Sauce (actually, Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce works wonders) and you're good to go! It had to be the best egg sandwich I ever had.
Next time I go to Ba Le, I'm going to do some customization and order the Meatball Sandwich and add a runny egg to it. It sounds off the hook... but will it taste good?
Expect an update soon...
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Update 3/12/08: I picked 2 winners today, #5 Pork Meatball Banh Mi and #12 Sunnyside up Egg Banh Mi. The pork meatball was actually delicious juicy ground pork and it's called Banh Mi Xiu Mai on the menu.
The sunnyside up egg banh mi was a revelation. I never had an egg banh mi but eating egg yolk while it's dripping all over the place is comforting, reminds me of my childhood. The egg whites were perfectly fried and seasoned and the egg yolk perfectly oozing. It was a bit messy to eat but like I said, I felt like a kid again.
-------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------
This is a more spacious, second location for the local Vietnamese sandwich spot. There's about 6 two tops available for dining in. They now offer an additional menu of rice plates, Bun dishes, Banh Cuon, Banh Xeo, Bun Bo Hue, Banh Khot, etc.
I tried the #8 Grilled pork banh mi as well as the #2 special combination banh mi yesterday. The grilled pork had a huge amount of pork, not much mayo, but plenty of jalapenos, pickled carrots and daikon. The #2 came with cold cuts of ham, tofu, headcheese, and maybe a couple other unidentifiable slices. I preferred this one though as it was tastier and I don't cringe at the thought of headcheese. I noticed one guy ask today, "Can I get swiss instead of headcheese?" LOL!
I had the Banh Cuon today and it was a pretty good version. The rice rolls were a good consistency, not too thick, and they didn't break apart too easily. It came with sliced tofu, tripe?, some fried cubes of tofu (with pork?) that were pretty tasty, fresh bean sprouts, mint and cilantro. Nouc cham came in a little bowl but was slightly more vinegary than I like. I added some Sriracha to it which helped a little.
Bread was very fresh and slightly toasted. Excellent value as prices range from $2-$2.50.
Shrimp spring rolls were very good and cheap at $2.50 for 3 long rolls. They are densely packed with romaine, mint, sprouts and 4 shrimp; served with a tamarind sauce. I particularly liked the wrapper, which was the firm type (like they serve at Brodard's in Westminster down south).
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (2)
Cool (2)
I came here after being denied at Pho King (closed on Tues. need to pay more attention to the details in these Yelp! listings) and got the #2 Special Combo (ham, headcheese, pate, etc) and #8 Thit Nuong (grilled pork).
Banh Mi Thit Nuong are my favorite Vietnamese sandwiches. This was not. The pork was interesting in that you could see that it was from a 1 inch thick piece of pork that was grilled that was then sliced. It looked somewhat like Xa Xiu, but with a different texture to it. I've only seen this at one or two other places. There was a lot of pork, which is good, but unfortunately the pork was dry and didn't have much flavor. Heck, the whole sandwich was pretty dry with just a light brushing of some mayo-y spread and not many veggies. There was a sprig of cilantro hiding under the cucumber slice making me think it was pre-made earlier and they just pulled out the cilantro when I ordered (no cilantro). I was pretty disappointed by this sandwich.
The Special Combo had a lot more veggies and had some moisture in it too! Tasted pretty darn good. Some pate, but no tofu like Derrick had in his. I wish the pickled veggies had a little more flavor to them; that would have spruced things up a bit more.
The combo sandwich redeemed Banh Mi Ba Le . . . well, to a point. Needs more consistency.
Combo Banh Mi - 4 Stars
Banh Mi Thit Nuong - 2 Stars . . . maybe even 1 1/2
Price - 4 stars. My 2 sandos were $4.75 total
Overall - 3 stars
I went to the old location yesterday and was told that the old store only served coffee and prepared foods and no sandwiches. The clerk told me to drive 4 streets north to the new store but I was running too late for work already.
Today to get my fix, I finally got the chance to visit the new store. It's a whole lot bigger, it felt totally different than before. I think they're still renovating but now they have bigger fridges for all the drinks. They even have tables for you to sit down to eat. I noticed another menu on the side too, which had pho and all that good stuff. I think that's new(?).
The sandwiches still taste the same as old store and the prices are the same too. So if you like the sandwiches of the past, don't fret. Everything's all good, it's just at a new place.
Parking still seems about the same as before, but double parking would be a problem on the busy E14th St.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
This place is the ONLY place to go get some vietnamese sandwiches AKA banh mi(vietnamese) AKA viet sandmiches(ebonics) in the eastbay. Get 2 number 5s(meatball sandwich) with no vegetables and a crysantheum tea and you're good two go like taco bell. The sight of these sandwiches makes me drool; it is such a beautiful sight until I kill it because theres no mercy on that sandwich when I start eating it. This place single handedly recreated my love for banh mi. Before eating here, I have not been passionate about eating banh mi. My parents owned a sandwich shop when I was growing up, BA LE on Franklin St. in the heart of Oakland Chinatown 1988-2000, recognize it, because you can't fade it bitch! I have been eating these sandwiches since I was wearing LA gears that were bright enough to light up a block. Thats pretty much all I ate as a child growing up so you can say that I was tired of eating it but after my trip to this place, I find myself craving sandwiches again.
All in all, the meatball sandwiches are delicious and on hit like a Kanye West track. ughhhhhhhh, get off me.
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (2)
Cool (1)
2/27 it's opened. morning parking isn't so bad.
the boss lady from before is there. had a meatball sandwich (2.25) & fried egg roll (3). delicious! there are some tables set up inside.
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Related Lists
-
Me So Hungry!
This is a compilation of eateries where I am… -
I am not Vietnamese, but…
or a round eye's perspective on the best cuisine… -
my favorite cheap eats
where you can fill up your tank (deliciously) for… -
Banh Mi - Vietnamese…
It seems so simple (Baguette, meat, pickled… -
Cheap(er) Eats in the Bay
Lunchtime and casual dinner favorites in they Bay…
Hot and New
- Halu
23 reviews
Neighborhood: Inner Richmond
- Firefly
410 reviews
Neighborhood: Noe Valley
- Kasa Indian Eatery
146 reviews
Neighborhood: Castro
- Beretta
217 reviews
Neighborhood: Mission
- Street
216 reviews
Neighborhood: Russian Hill
