A sandwich at Cay Cafe, a bánh mì shop in Fremont, California.
out of 100 · excellent
Excellent, with one move worth +14.
A banh mi with layers outside the form; five of six roles.
Holding the summit: balance 0.80 or better
More umami 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.
banh mi, served cold: Pâté (pork liver); Chả Lụa (Vietnamese pork roll); Ham; Thịt Nguội (head cheese); Mayonnaise; Cilantro; Jalapeño.
Balance
| Axis | Value | Catalog percentile |
|---|---|---|
| salt | 2.3 | 90th |
| acid | 0.3 | 38th |
| fat | 3.0 | 81st |
| sweet | 0.4 | 51st |
| umami | 2.8 | 90th |
| heat | 0.2 | 67th |
| bitter | 0.3 | 81st |
77 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| banh miscored as Bánh Mì Baguette (rice-flour blend) | bread | crispy soft flaky | the frame |
| Pâté (pork liver) | protein | fat 5 umami 4 salt 3 creamy silky | −5 |
| Chả Lụa (Vietnamese pork roll) | protein | umami 4 salt 3 fat 2 springy soft tender | +2 |
| Ham | protein | salt 4 umami 4 fat 3 soft silky tender | 0 |
| Thịt Nguội (head cheese) | protein | fat 4 umami 4 salt 3 silky chewy tender | −7 |
| Mayonnaise | sauce | fat 5 acid 2 creamy saucy | +6 |
| Cilantro | aromatic | bitter 2 soft fresh herbal | +4 |
| Jalapeño | texture | heat 4 crunchy fresh raw | +9 |
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
- Pâté (pork liver) + Chả Lụa (Vietnamese pork roll): the dac biet's pork roll and liver, one charcuterie
- Pâté (pork liver) + Ham: the cubano's double pork, cured over roasted
- Pâté (pork liver) + Thịt Nguội (head cheese): the dac biet's cold cuts, one charcuterie
- Pâté (pork liver) + Cilantro: cilantro over rich pate, the banh mi finish
- Cilantro + Jalapeño: banh mi brightwork: green heat and herb
How to raise it
- Between you and 90: balance 0.80 or better (0.13 short).
All the sandwiches at Cay Cafe · The menu this was read from · Build your own in the Sandwich Builder