A sandwich at Mango & Mint, a bánh mì shop in Alameda, California.
out of 100 · very good
Very good, with one move worth +12.
A banh mi with layers outside the form; six of six roles.
Holding the summit: a focused, restrained build
More salt than 90% of the catalog.
Each bar is one pillar of the score, 0 to 100. The tick marks what a sandwich at the summit needs; an amber bar is the one holding this sandwich back.
toasted vietnamese baguette, toasted: pork roll (low tier); ham; headcheese; pate; housemade mayo (house-made); cucumber; cilantro; soy sauce; jalapeno; pickled carrot and daikon.
Worth a look: house-made: Mayonnaise.
Balance
| Axis | Value | Catalog percentile |
|---|---|---|
| salt | 2.4 | 90th |
| acid | 0.9 | 67th |
| fat | 2.2 | 50th |
| sweet | 0.5 | 65th |
| umami | 2.5 | 90th |
| heat | 0.1 | 61st |
| bitter | 0.2 | 70th |
98 Balance, out of 100
The seven flavor axes of the whole sandwich, each summed across its layers. The shaded ring is the catalog's middle 80%; the small number under each axis is where this sandwich falls in the catalog. A shape that sits inside the ring is in the range most sandwiches live in; a spike past it is where this one stands apart.
What each layer brings
| Layer | Role | Flavor and texture | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| toasted vietnamese baguettescored as Bánh Mì Baguette (rice-flour blend) | bread | crispy soft flaky | the frame |
| pork roll (low tier)scored as Chả Lụa (Vietnamese pork roll) | protein | umami 4 salt 3 fat 2 springy soft tender | −12 |
| ham | protein | salt 4 umami 4 fat 3 soft silky tender | −2 |
| headcheesescored as Thịt Nguội (head cheese) | protein | fat 4 umami 4 salt 3 silky chewy tender | −7 |
| patescored as Pâté (pork liver) | protein | fat 5 umami 4 salt 3 creamy silky | −9 |
| housemade mayo (house-made)scored as Mayonnaise | sauce | fat 5 acid 2 creamy saucy | −9 |
| cucumber | bulk | crunchy juicy fresh | −4 |
| cilantro | aromatic | bitter 2 soft fresh herbal | −3 |
| soy saucescored as Maggi Seasoning Sauce | sauce | salt 5 umami 5 saucy wet | −9 |
| jalapenoscored as Jalapeño | texture | heat 4 crunchy fresh raw | −3 |
| pickled carrot and daikonscored as Đồ Chua (pickled daikon + carrot) | acid | acid 5 salt 2 sweet 2 crunchy pickled wet | −3 |
Points: what the Sandwich Score would lose if that one layer were left out, everything else the same. A negative number means the sandwich scores higher without it. Flavor runs 0 to 5 on each axis.
Pairings
- Chả Lụa (Vietnamese pork roll) + Ham: the cubano's double pork, cured over roasted
- Chả Lụa (Vietnamese pork roll) + Đồ Chua (pickled daikon + carrot): rich pork wants the pickle's sharp edge
- Ham + Đồ Chua (pickled daikon + carrot): the cubano lesson: brine cuts cured pork
- Pâté (pork liver) + Đồ Chua (pickled daikon + carrot): banh mi law: pickled crunch on rich pate
- Cilantro + Jalapeño: banh mi brightwork: green heat and herb
How to raise it
Commodity lead (chả lụa): nothing on the board changes that, and 90 is closed.
All the sandwiches at Mango & Mint · The menu this was read from · Build your own in the Sandwich Builder