My eyes were first opened to the wonders of Bánh Mì by Peter Bihr, who pointed to Babanbè in Berlin, which happened to be just around the corner from Betahaus where I was working last summer. I enjoyed several excellent sandwiches there, and in the process got hooked on the spicy goodness in a way that stuck deep in the recesses of my head.

And so in Boston over the weekend I resolved to seek out some local Bánh Mì, and, with the help of the web, this ended me up at New Saigon on Washington Street in Chinatown. Without the backstopping of the web-ravings, New Saigon is a place I’d never organically wander into; but looks deceive: the $3.25 tofu sandwich was full of all the snap and crackle I remembered, and the pineapple bubble tea I got along with it was a perfect accompaniment. Recommended.