Two of the Bay Area’s most established banh mi shops have spent years building loyal followings on opposite sides of the bay: Saigon Sandwich in San Francisco and Banh Mi Ba Le in Oakland.
Both are beloved institutions with impassioned fan bases who line up for sandwiches filled with tender meat and crisp, pickled vegetables for less than $10. But which shop makes the better banh mi?
Saigon Sandwich is the elder statesman, opened in 1981 at 560 Larkin St., as a small enclave of Vietnamese American restaurants was taking shape in the Tenderloin. The surrounding neighborhood would eventually become known as Little Saigon, home to restaurants that helped define Vietnamese dining in San Francisco…