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| - We were intrigued when we first saw the signs go up for Banh Mi Boys - after all, banh mi sandwiches without having to trek the extra few blocks north to Chinatown for them sounded pretty awesome.
I won't say we were disappointed, but we were also not completely blown away. The sandwiches themselves are inventive takes on classic Vietnamese sandwiches, exactly what you'd expect from a trendy Queen W fusion joint, and they are well executed, my only issue is that they lack the one or two things that make Banh Mi so good:
A) The buns - the best part of a Banh Mi sandwich is the bun, they're incredibly light and airy on the inside, and super crisp on the outside. The buns here at BMB, although edible, just aren't up to scratch
B) The price - for those who haven't ever ventured north on Spadina, it might not be obvious that what seems like paltry amounts of money ($5-$7.50) for a sandwich here, is still over twice the price of the genuine Vietnamese sandwich shops literally three blocks north, where you get possibly less sophisticated, but, dare-I-say, fresher-tasting, and time-tested combinations that explode in your mouth in a way these ones don't. I can't really fault them for this, since their rent alone probably justifies a three-fold increase.
Of course, this place has a lot more to offer than the shops on Spadina, so if you're looking for great and still very economical fusion-ey eats, BMB is a solid choice.
Faves were: Squid, and Kalbi Beef.
Although you can eat here, I find it a bit cramped, so take-out would be our recommendation - some of the sandwiches actually improve a bit by giving some extra time for meat juices to sink into the bread.
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