For some reason the banh mi does not have the following in Cleveland as it does in other places I have been. In Pittsburgh it has been named the best sandwich. Take that Primanti lady! I have found many choices of banh mi in Vegas, Columbus and Tampa. Here not so much. We have ready made sandwiches at the Asian grocery stores but they are made with head cheese, and I am not fond of headcheese.
Superior Pho makes a good sandwich but only offers pork. Thus I was delighted to find Num Pang Pate's wide selection of sandwiches. Each I have had has been excellent. I love the bread, the meat, the pickled radish and carrots, cilantro and cucumber combination. It usually surprises me that on the way to this tiny place in the Colonial Arcade Marketplace I pass long lines waiting for sandwiches at Quizno and Jimmy John. I have been to both once. I have been to Num Pang Pate many times.
Yesterday, I tried the pork salad with homemade sauce. At first I saw slices of some processed lunch meat and thought I made a poor choice. But I loved the salty, sweet, sour taste of this many textured salad that did include slices of roast pork. The Indochinese are talented in creating combinations fusing Chinese, French and American influences but uniquely their own.