Pret is Making Bánh Mì?! Ahem, I Mean “Vietnamese Baguette”
As far as chains go, I’m not a Pret hater. Yes, their sandwiches tend toward the pricey. But they do use good ingredients and they are always switching up the menu with new items. Case in point this their new “Vietnamese Baguette” which to my way of thinking is their dummy’s way of saying bánh mì.
The Pret Vietnamese Sandwich consists of Murray’s Grilled Chicken, Sweet Chili Dressing (tasted like sriracha mayo to me), roasted red peppers, daikon radish, and cilantro on a Pret baguette.
Upon inspection it appeared that there was also some pickled carrot action as well. The sandwich itself is a far cry from the classic bánh mì đặc biệt (aka the combo bánh mì that most people are familiar with) which is typically made from cold cuts, head cheese, pâté and pickled carrots, cucumbers and radish.
Lunch’er MTFoodie recently posted about this very sandwich in the forums:
I tried it out and was happy to see it chock full of cilantro, carrots, and what appeared to be pickled radish? Offensively, it also contained chicken instead of pork, and for some unknown reason, grilled red peppers. More offensively, I think I really enjoyed it.
The roasted red peppers (WTF?) were definitely distracting. Maybe it’s a product of my childhood surrounded by Italian relatives, but when you slap roasted red peppers on a sandwich it’s going to taste vaguely like an Italian sub to me. If you take off the peppers and eat them separately you get more of a Vietnamese vibe and overall this was actually a pretty tasty sandwich. If you’re expecting an authentic bánh mì you’re going to be disappointed and if you’re used to Chinatown pricing you’ll be especially disappointed when you see the $6.89 price tag. But if you like the sound of a bánh mì-inspired sandwich, there’s a lot to like here.
I stand with you, MTFoodie.
Pret a Manger, Multiple Locations (website)
Posted by Brownie at 10:30 am, November 2nd, 2010 under Pret a Manger, Sandwiches, Vietnamese.
9 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
9 Comments
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I like Pret baguettes. I tried this sandwich too and thought it was okay. It’s not a horrible sammy, just don’t expect it to be the banh mi you’re used to.
When banh mi cravings hit, def. go to Chinatown or Baoguette.
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What, no Hoisin sauce?!
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Hoisin sauce?
No fish sauce either.-
weak sauce.
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With that mish-mash of ingredients, at that price, pre-made in a fridge, by a chain
SURELY IT SUCKS
Someone come out and say it
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I can’t stand their bread..their bread is worse than the bread a lot of midtown delis use.
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@wayne, the sandwich definitely won’t be the best thing you’ve ever tried but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it sucks.
Also, I meant to say roasted red peppers, not grilled. I stand corrected.
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Why would “no pork” be offensive? As someone who can’t eat pork I get annoyed every time someone says that. It’s not a traditional bahn mi, it’s labelled as a “Vietnamese Baguette” so you can’t say it’s offensive because it’s not sticking to tradition.
Also, correct me if I’m wrong (which I most likely am) but doesn’t “bahn mi” mean sandwich? And you can have variations on it? That’s why you can get a catfish or beef version as well, right?
I tried this a couple weeks ago when I wanted something somewhat healthy and was disappointed.
Even if you put it in the “banh mi inspired” category instead of an actual banh mi, I still wouldn’t bother with this. I would just get one of the other sandwiches that pret makes if you are in there.