On a busy stretch of W. Johnson Street sits GM Banh Mi, which opened last fall. It can be tough to find parking nearby, but the bread is worth the effort.
The bread is baked in-house several times each day. It was excellent, with a good chew. (An employee told me that you can get less-fresh bread that’s crunchier if you prefer that way.) But be warned, when they’re out, they’re out, so get there earlier in the day if you want a banh mi.
You have your choice of several variations of banh mi sandwiches. The pork roll ($11) is the standard version and was incredible because of all of its components, including the pate and mayonnaise. I want to especially call out the giant pieces of daikon and carrots, which sported a wonderful pickle flavor. In fact, I could eat them straight up all day.
I also tried the xa xiu ($11) banh mi. I enjoy this style of Cantonese-style barbecued pork, but here, it wasn’t tender and wasn’t that flavorful. Fortunately, the pork was helped by all the other ingredients.
Other variations have sausage, chicken or tofu.
Meanwhile, the rest of the menu features spring rolls and pho. For the latter, I thought the broth in the beef pho ($16.55) was much milder in flavor than other pho I’m used to, and it came with non-traditional noodles, akin to udon noodles. At least the beef was flavorful tender.
The spring rolls are very fresh tasting, packed with lettuce, vermicelli noodles and carrots. I got the one with sausage ($5.99) and found it to be savory and delicious, but there wasn’t enough of it to satisfy me.
GM Banh Mi is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday.
Tags: downtown, Vietnamese
