Banh Mi So # 1

 

4

19

Lulu W.

Saint Louis, MO

This place is run by a husband and wife. I have never seen other help there. It does take a while, but every time I have eaten there, I have been so happy. The Cum Chay (sp?) is maybe the best thing I've ever eaten and their spring rolls ARE the best in St. Louis. I suggest you get them with fried mung bean in them. *love*

I have never eaten in. I usually take it home with me and pig out in private, but the dining area is a something to be seen. It's nice to sit and have a beer while your waiting on your food. If you don't like the crowd at Pho Grand, I highly recommend this place. You still have to wait, but at least its not just for a table....

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Elite '08

32

185

Helen Y.

Scottsdale, AZ

The wait is long but is more than worth it.  All the food is cooked by one of the owners with oodles of pride and love.  This is ultimate home-cooking with obsessive pickiness for high quality ingredients.  

She's like the Chris Bianco of Vietnamese food.  If you've waited 4 hours for a table at Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix, you'll have no complaints about the wait here.  The owner has decided to cook everything herself and chooses quality over a higher turnover of tables.  And it shows.

The banh xeo was incredibly crisp - not only on the top but most amazingly on the bottom as well.  The filling was tasty - especially love the shrimpy flavor of the Gulf shrimp.  

The banh cuon (steamed rice crepes) were also delicious.  The rice flour crepe is made fresh to order - rarely done anymore.

The secret to why everything tasted so good probably had much to do with their sauce (nuoc cham).  The flavors were well balanced and complex - very addictive.  If it weren't for the liquid restrictions for carry-on, we would have brought a tub back to Phoenix.

Will definitely make an excuse to go back to St Louis just to eat here.

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2

30

Alison C.

Indianapolis, IN

I think Bahn Mi So is my favorite place in St Louis!  I love the little old guy.  
The food is absolutely delicious.  Everything I've ever had has been incredible.  They definitely have the best spring rolls (in St Louis- I prefer Saigon in Indianapolis), and they have the best sweet potato and tofu appetizer.  Last time I was there I had the Bun Chay and my taste buds couldn't have been happier.

I know others complained about the wait time, but the last two times I've been there the service was timely.

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1

39

Joshua P.

St Louis, MO

The sign out front advertises "BEST SPRING ROLLS IN ST. LOUIS," and it's no lie - these are the best. Other restaurants make theirs in advance, stash them in the refrigerator, and pull them out when you order then. Bahn Miso prepares each spring roll fresh, and not only can you taste a difference, they're also significantly larger than other offerings.

The other poster is right, the sandwiches are a little underwhelming considering the name, but the other entrees are all excellent. Unlike lots of Asian restaurants, Bahn Mi So doesn't sneak fish or oyster sauce into their "vegetarian" dishes. I know, because the owner himself is vegan, and he's very open about what ingredients his wife (the cook) uses.

Like Jonathan P before me, if I could rate the food separately from the service, this place would be five-stars, all the way. Unfortunately, the service is painfully slow, deserving of only one star. Your best bet is to call ahead (I keep their menu on the fridge), but don't arrive "starving," because you'll die of hunger first. If you're patient, you'll be rewarded with the best Vietnamese food in St. Louis.

Also, Claire McCaskill is a regular here. There's a photo on the wall, and I saw her there myself. I don't really care about Claire one way or the other, but I thought this was interesting.

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14

185

elizabeth k.

New York, NY

Here, I think it's really 3.5 stars.  In full disclosure, we picked up our food and drove 20 minutes home.  But, we still found some great hits and misses.  First, the bahn mi so - it needed more crunchy veggies, more cilantro, and more of whatever strange flavor gives it that, hm, this is different!  The meats were good, no doubt, but I was missing the sour spice.  At the price, though, I would order it again.

The spring rolls were great.  You could see fresh pieces of shrimp through the wrappers.  Also, the pancake appetizer was delicious. I ordered it, but was then ordered to share.  Truthfully, it was way too big to eat on my own.

The skewers were tasty, smothered in a garlic sauce, but small.  The noodle soup was pretty good, too.  

It was a little hyped, I'll admit.  But the friendly and accurate service and the expeditious check out made me bump up to four stars.

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2

20

Caldwell J.

Saint Louis, MO

Banh Mi So #1 has a big neon sign in the front window proclaiming the best spring rolls in St. Louis.  This may be true.  They're certainly the best spring rolls that *I've* had in St. Louis.  They're smallish as spring rolls go, but they've got a nice flavor and come with a very light and tasty sauce to dip in.

But you'd expect that a place called 'Banh Mi So #1" should have kick-ass Vietnamese sandwiches, right?  Well, theoretically.  Their version of banh mi thit nuong, a "charbroiled pork sandwich", unfortunately lacks any char-broiling.  The resulting weak meat flavor easily gets overwhelmed by the vegetables and spicy sauce in the sandwich.  Which is not to say that it's *bad* by any stretch of the imagination -- it's still decent, and I'll eat virtually anything in a toasted baguette -- but you can do better in St. Louis.

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Elite '08

109

916

Rob C.

Miami, FL

True hole in the wall place.  The husband/wife team do everything--they'll come out and chat too, it can take awhile.  A little bit hyped up--fresh but didn't blow me away.  Inexpensive.

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13

55

Jonathan P.

Saint Louis, MO

This place gets five stars for food but one star for service.  The spring rolls were outstanding, the sandwich (jicama and carrots) fresh and tasty, and the soups interesting and flavorful.  There was no reason, though, that the food should have taken an hour to bring to the table, especially when the orders were directly off the menu.  My advice: get take out and don't try waiting for your food.

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