Great Plates: Pl(ate) of the Day: Monday June 15, 2015

I'm always up for trying something new and today it was a Banh Mi Flatbread Sandwich from Gourmet Food to Go on the Plaza Level of 580 Walnut Street.

According to Wikipedia:
Bánh mì (/ˈbæn ˌmiː/; Vietnamese pronunciation: [ɓǎɲ mî]) is a Vietnamese term for all kinds of bread. The word is derived from bánh and mì (wheat). Bread, or more specifically the baguette, was introduced by the French during its colonial period.^[1] The bread most commonly found in Vietnam is a single-serving baguette, therefore the term bánh mì is synonymous with this type of bread. The bánh mì is usually more airy than its Western counterpart, with a thinner crust. It is sometimes metonymous with a food item known as a "Vietnamese sandwich" (or, in Louisiana, as a "Vietnamese po' boy"^[2] or in Philadelphia as a "Vietnamese hoagie"^[3]), for which the bánh mì serves as the bread wrapper.

The classic version of a Banh Mi Sandwich, bánh mì thịt nguội, is made with various Vietnamese cold cuts, such as sliced pork or pork bellies, chả lụa (pork sausage), and head cheese, along with the liver pâté and vegetables like carrot or cucumbers.^[11]

^{Okay, enough of the technical stuff and back to my lunch.}

^{At Gourmet Food To Go, you order and pay for your items at a little kiosk. You then proceed to a "Chipotle-like" assembly line where they custom cr(eat)e each order. I started with the Homemade Turkish Flatbread, Shredded Slow Roasted Pork and Asian Ginger Sauce. Some shredded Provolone Cheese was sprinkled on top and then it was placed in a conveyor type oven and h(eat)ed. When the flatbread came out the other side of the oven the fresh toppings were piled on. Upon the staff's recommendation, I got carrot slices, julienne cucumbers, edamame and some House Lettuce Blend (Romaine, Kale and Napa Cabbage).}
^{The sandwich was served with a side of Saratoga Medley, crispy, thin, perfectly seasoned, mix of hand sliced potatoes and sweet potatoes along with a cup of yummy BBQ sauce. The other (equally yummy) side item choice was Homemade Tabbouleh--but I enjoyed that during my last visit.}

^{My Banh Mi Flatbread Sandwich was GR(EAT)!}
^{I ate half of the sandwich and every one of the chips for lunch and enjoyed an encore appearance of the other half for dinner. How thrifty of me---Lunch AND Dinner for only $7.49 plus tax!}
^COMMENTS:

^{The Homemade Flatbread is so good that I haven't tried any of their other bread choices.}

^{Their
meats are slow roasted in house. As they say, " We don't believe in
deli meat...instead we slow roast to perfection to give a flavorful home
cooked meal."}

^{The Asian Ginger Sauce was slightly sweet, tangy and had a nice slow sriracha chili sauce kick.}

^{The
fresh toppings were crisp, cold, crunchy and were prepared by someone
with some seriously good knife skills. Everything was uniformly cut and
the perfect size and shape!}