Bánh Mì Oi: spicy surprise in a Waltham strip mall
Where to: Bánh Mì Oi in Waltham, a spotless takeout jewel in an otherwise bland strip mall. This place is anything but bland.
Why: For to-go banh mi, Vietnamese iced coffee, and rice bowls from a trusted name in the sandwich game.
The backstory: Bánh Mì Oi’s owner, Yeanie Bach, grew up in Saigon, where she helped her mom run a bánh mì cart. Passersby would call out “bánh mì oi!” to flag her down, as was the custom.
Bach came to the United States for college and later worked in IT at the Census Bureau. She and her husband, Phi Pham, now run Phinista Café in the Fenway and Bánh Mì Oi in West Roxbury, Foxborough, and the brand-new Waltham shop. She enlisted her mom’s expertise when creating the recipes, and a cousin, Anh Pham, helps run the Waltham branch.
“I just had a baby five months ago, so I’m busy,” Bach says.
The food: Absolutely delicious. This is the kind of delightful, well-located place that you’ll serendipitously remember on the way back from Target or as your stomach growls while you sit in traffic after work. You’ll grope for your phone to place a spontaneous takeout order, cooking-at-home goals be damned. Food is ready fast, and it’s so satisfying.
Banh mi is the specialty. For the uninitiated: This is a baguette sandwich usually stacked with tart shards of pickled carrots and cukes, cold cuts, a healthy sprinkle of cilantro (those who think it tastes like soap, beware), and a generous slather of pork pate. Bach also smears hers with an eggy garlic aioli and marinates her meats (typically ham and bologna) in fish sauce, topped with cylinders of jalapeno. The result is a crusty, savory, spicy firework of flavor.
Bach also serves quirkier versions, like the Nashville hot chicken banh mi, inspired by none other than KFC.
“My husband loves it there. He kept spending money on it, and I said: ‘Why do you love it so much? Let me try to make it.’ It turned out well, and I got lots of emails asking me to keep it. It’s been a hit for every location,” she says. (These are deep-fried tenders rolled in cayenne, and they’re seriously hot.)
Other fillings: barbecue chicken, crispy shrimp, lemongrass steak, seitan. Soon, she’ll add a lobster option. If you’re not hankering for a sandwich, there are also rice and vermicelli bowls with the same tart-sweet-spicy toppings. Tack on a side of crispy rolls stuffed with pork, served with a thimble of sugary, garlic fish sauce. Eco-friendly diners will appreciate the recyclable togo cartons and optional utensils.
The drinks: Bach specializes in Vietnamese coffee at Phinista, and it’s worth trying here, too. You’ll want the creamy iced Viet coffee, made with condensed milk (thicker and sweeter) and robusta beans, imported from Vietnam — “with more than twice the caffeine” of typical coffee, she promises. There are also “refreshers,” spa-like fruit juices that taste either pleasantly floral or like drinkable Yankee candles, depending on your perspective: lychee, guava, lavender, and more.
The takeaway: A find. Your new post-work pitstop and mid-errand lunch indulgence.
1097 Lexington St., Waltham, 781472-2883, www.banhmioi.cafe