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| - Yet another "OMFG this place is amazeballs" review here. I'm not sure what I can add to what others have written, other than to say that, having spent a good amount of time in Hanoi, Le's sandwiches stack right up against the best bánh mì in that city.
The french bread is fresh and light and spongy, just as it should be in Vietnamese cooking (typical french bread is a little denser and a little crustier). The pork derived cold cuts that go into the number 8 sandwich are just right and the veggies are delightfully crunchy and mild. My companion got the number 6, which was basically a bowl of bún thit nuong (noodles with grilled pork) on a sandwich minus the fish sauce and noodles. Welp, I went up to the counter and asked for a bit of fish sauce to dip it in - the guy kind of chuckled at the idea but gave me some anyway and damned if it didn't make the number 6 better. I guess that just goes to show that you can't have thit nuong without the fish sauce. So, if you get the number 6, ask for fish sauce.
Speaking of fish sauce: holy crap, the fish sauce was good. Not too saccharine and had a good, mild anchovy flavor. Apparently it's made in-house. Not to be missed.
Alright, so you got your bánh mì and now you're looking around the shop while you're happily chomping away on your $4 sandwich. In the fridge are a bunch of Vietnamese desserts, including several varieties of chè (dessert soup made with coconut milk). If you've never had good chè before, you should absolutely try it. Then you look at the counter. WTF is that green jello looking stuff? That, my friends, is bánh da lon, a steamed layer cake made primarily with tapioca flour, mashed green beans and sugar and it is FUCKING DELICIOUS. They serve it with coconut milk-based caramel and, if you try it, you will die from excessive mouthgasms. And, at $2 per package, you have no excuse not to try it.
There are other things to get here: there are also some savory rice cakes on the counter that come with fish sauce and are equally cheap. Then there is, of course, the sugar cane juice machine, which you also must try. Fresh sugar cane juice is unlike anything else on earth: smooth, sweet and, in Vietnam, served with a dollop of lime juice.
And that completes your Le's experience. Be sure to chat up the guys behind the counter when they're not busy: they're super friendly, they're all from the same family that owns the shop, and you can learn a lot about Vietnamese food from them.
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