A sandwich at Saigon Sandwich, a bánh mì shop in San Francisco, California.
out of 100 · outstanding
Outstanding, and the road to 90 is open.
A banh mi with layers outside the form; six of six roles.
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.
french baguette, served cold: Ham; Chả Lụa (Vietnamese pork roll); Pâté (pork liver); Mayonnaise; Cilantro; Jalapeño; Pickled Onion.
Balance
| Axis | Value | Catalog percentile |
|---|---|---|
| salt | 2.0 | 86th |
| acid | 1.0 | 70th |
| fat | 2.4 | 59th |
| sweet | 0.6 | 70th |
| umami | 2.1 | 80th |
| heat | 0.2 | 67th |
| bitter | 0.3 | 81st |
97 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| french baguettescored as Bánh Mì Baguette (rice-flour blend) | bread | crispy soft flaky | the frame |
| Ham | protein | salt 4 umami 4 fat 3 soft silky tender | 0 |
| Chả Lụa (Vietnamese pork roll) | protein | umami 4 salt 3 fat 2 springy soft tender | 0 |
| Pâté (pork liver) | protein | fat 5 umami 4 salt 3 creamy silky | 0 |
| Mayonnaise | sauce | fat 5 acid 2 creamy saucy | 0 |
| Cilantro | aromatic | bitter 2 soft fresh herbal | 0 |
| Jalapeño | texture | heat 4 crunchy fresh raw | 0 |
| Pickled Onion | acid | acid 4 pickled wet crunchy | +7 |
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
- Ham + Chả Lụa (Vietnamese pork roll): the cubano's double pork, cured over roasted
- Ham + Pickled Onion: the cubano lesson: brine cuts cured pork
- Chả Lụa (Vietnamese pork roll) + Pâté (pork liver): the dac biet's pork roll and liver, one charcuterie
- Chả Lụa (Vietnamese pork roll) + Pickled Onion: rich pork wants the pickle's sharp edge
- Pâté (pork liver) + Cilantro: cilantro over rich pate, the banh mi finish
- Pâté (pork liver) + Pickled Onion: banh mi law: pickled crunch on rich pate
- Cilantro + Jalapeño: banh mi brightwork: green heat and herb
How to raise it
- Outstanding, not legendary: nothing on this sandwich is house-made, named or exceptional.
All the sandwiches at Saigon Sandwich · The menu this was read from · Build your own in the Sandwich Builder