Bahn Mi Cho Cu: The Best Vietnamese Sandwiches

My mom told me a little while ago about this place and bought a couple of their sandwiches before, but I never actually went to Bahn Mi Cho Cu until last week.

We had President's Day weekend off, and so we decided to check out the Terra Cotta Warrior exhibit at the Bower Museum before it leaves in March. Bahn Mi Cho Cu is a very little store (I guess sort of a hole in the wall) inside a mini mall in Orange County's Little Saigon. They sell all kinds of pre-made vietnamese delicacies, but most importantly, they sell Vietnamese sandwiches. Their store is not very inviting and filled with all kinds of food. Most of the other things they sell are sweet.

They sell boba drinks, teas, and grass jelly drinks but the drink we had was super sweet. Even when the ice melted it was still way too sweet for our tastes. I don't think the other drinks are much better either, but if you find one that isn't that sweet please go ahead and comment below.

The sandwich however, is a completely different story. We get the Bahn Mi special. This sandwich is so delicious. The homemade bread is so light and buttery and delicious. The sandwich is filled with pickled daikons and carrots, crispy cucumbers, and a very spicy (depends on the sandwich) jalapeno. The sandwich has thinly sliced Vietnamese ham, and pate. I love Vietnamese sandwiches, but ones from this place is so much better. They don''t stuff it with meat, and the French bread is light and airy inside but crispy outside. The price is amazing. The sandwiches are $2.50 each. If you buy four you get two free, so that's six giant sandwiches for $10. You may want to buy extras though and store it in your fridge for lunch, dinner, breakfast, and a midnight snack. Or for any time.

After you eat this sandwich you won't want any other Vietnamese sandwich besides this one. This is truly the one and only Vietnamese sandwich.

Maybe I'm not making it clear enough, but you have to try this sandwich. This is the ultimate Vietnamese sandwich. You should be able to tell how good this sandwich is by how much bold I am using in this post. I don't usually bold this much. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

PLEASE TRY BAHN MI CHO CU'S BAHN MI SPECIAL, and tell me what you think about it. :)

Here is the address below:

Bahn Mi Cho Cu

14520 Magnolia St.

West Minster

I hope I go there tomorrow!

Hole in the Wall

Hmmm.. talking about hole in the walls... there is an amazing burger restaurant called Hole in the Wall. It is literally a hole in the wall. It is behind Winchell's doughnuts, but it's always packed! When you walk into the "restaurant" on the left hand side you will see a tin can filled with sharpies and stacks of papers. The papers let you create your burger however you want, or order the burger of the week. You then can give your order to the person at the cash register and pay there. They call out your name when your burger is done. Once, my sister's friend put on the card "Voldemort" and my sister put "Albus Severus Potter". The man at the counter actually said "Albus Severus Potter" but instead of saying "Voldemort" he said "The one whose name shall not be spoken"

When you get your burger, it's going to look massive. However the burgers are so delicious you can always eat one all by yourself. Sharing would be recommended if you are expecting a regular burger. The meat is cooked perfectly and the condiments are so unique. There is Cranberry Mayo, homemade ketchup, onion mayo, and Chipotle mayo. They also allow you to add "extra stuff" for an extra $1.00 each, which include apple wood smoked bacon, avocado, fried egg (my personal favorite), sauteed mushrooms, and sauteed onions. The brioche bun is really good and fluffy. You can add fries or sweet potato fries to go with your burger too.










Although the place is a hole in the wall, they managed to make it very pleasant, especially on warm days. You can sit outside, which is very nice when the weather is warm, and they have sailboat sails that they roll out above to allow some shade. It's very relaxing, however you don't pay much attention to that when your eating your massive, yet gourmet, burger. (This is at the Santa Monica location at least... I never went to the one in West Hollywood)

They have two locations:

Santa Monica:
11058 Santa Monica Blvd.
at South Bentley Avenue (behind Winchell's Donuts)
310-312-7013

West Hollywood:
7998 Santa Monica Blvd.
at Laurel Ave. (1 block east of Crescent Heights)
323-654-0484

Their website is pretty hilarious, and very informative, check it out!
http://www.holeinthewallburgerjoint.com/

I think that they only take cash, but check the website to find out more information.

Mexican Food + Sushi?

So, if you're not as adventurous and would not like to go to El Atacor #11, another great Mexican food place is Taqueria Sanchez. Although, the place is also a hole in the wall, it's a little bit nicer and in a better neighborhood. (I think all of the good mexican food places are hole in the walls) They have a wide variety of salsas there including a guacamole-like sauce. The "pico de gallo" is good, like most "pico de gallo". The fish tacos are very good there, and although the food is pretty greasy, most Mexican food is like that. My sister always orders the sopes, which are her favorite. If you decide your not in the mood for a heavy meal, there is always a very busy sushi place right next door called Sakura. Sakura has pretty good sushi, (I really don't remember because I went there a long time ago). You have to wait a really long time though, because of how busy it is. The only types of sushi places we go to are Hide Sushi, Sushi Gen, Torafuku, Sushi Central, and Sakura. Out of all of them, Sakura is definitely not my favorite, but the types of sushi they have there are very original. Hide Sushi is very good. Sushi Central is not bad, they must have been pretty good to beat Bobby Flay in a throwdown. I don't think their sushi is very special except for the Ono. IT IS AMAZING. NO JOKE. They sear the fish and it melts in your mouth, it's so delicious. Torafuku is good for both sushi and noodles. (other japanese foods also) Sushi Gen is very good. I haven't been there in quite a while because it is in Downtown and it also happens to be a full house everytime we go there. Also, the artwork there is beautiful. I have yet to try the long awaited Sushi Stop. I've heard it is very good. I went around seven and it was packed. It doesn't help that there is NO seating. :( If you've tasted Sushi Stop please post some feedback! (or on any other sushi/mexican places! Thanks!)

I think it's funny that I went from Mexican food to Japanese food. My family and I made sushi last night so I suppose that's why I'm thinking about it so much. Hmm.. I guess that's all I can say in this post... so have fun trying these restaurants!

Here is all the restaurant info:

Taqueria Sanchez:

4541 S Centinela Ave

Los Angeles CA 90066

Sakura:

4545 S Centinela Ave

Los Angeles 90066

(I TOLD YOU THEY ARE LITERALLY RIGHT NEXT TO EACHOTHER!)

Hide Sushi:

They have a website yay!

http://www.hidesushi.com/

2040 Sawtelle Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90025

Sushi Gen:

YES! ANOTHER WEBSITE!

http://sushigenla.com/

422 E Second St
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Torafuku:

Mmmm.. looks good

http://www.torafuku-usa.com/

10914 W. Pico Blvd.,
Los Angeles,CA 90064

(This place is also next to an AMAZING indian place... But I'm straying from the topic..sorry.)

Sushi Central:

http://sushi-central.net/

3500 Overland Ave. #100
Los Angeles, CA 90034

Taquerias El Atacor #11

Wow, I have a lot to say about this restaurant. The neighborhood that you find the restaurant in is definitely not the best, and inside, the restaurant is not good either. This place, is literally a hole in the wall. How I would describe it is by using the word "grub". El Atacor #11 (don't get confused with the other El Atacors) doesn't smell the best either, and it's freezing inside. There are several game machines and an oldjukebox that plays Mexican music. They have the claw game and also some random arcade game. My cousins and I borrowed two quarters from our parents and put them into the claw machine, hoping to win something. Sadly, nothing happened. Angrily my cousins and I pressed the coin return button and out popped our two quarters... and two more. That's pretty good don't you think? We put in 50 cents and we got $1.00 back! Anyways, I'm not posting this just to talk about how sucky the decor is, (haha get it? El Atacor...decor) the food is what I'm here to talk about. The absolute BEST item you can get there (in my opinion) is the POTATO TACOES!!!! REMEMBER THAT!!!! It is soooooo (x100000000000) good. The potatoes and tacos are fried together till they are so crispy and delicious. They have an amazing type of "pico de gallo" that is a lot spicier but it is so delicious! If you are around the area you MUST go just for the potato tacos. Plus it is super cheap. Ten potato tacos are only $7.00. Can you believe it? It's so good! It comes with a guacamole dressing and sour cream drizzled on top. Uggghhh it's so delicious. Hopefully you get to taste the taco before changing your mind from the look of this hole in the wall.

El Atacor #11 have your standard burritos and stuff like that too. The burritos are humongous though, so you have to share it with someone or have a big appetite.

You don't go to El Atacor #11 for the burritos though... I mean you could but...the potato tacos are just so good. I guess I'm sounding pretty repetitive now plus I keep on gulping, so I'm going to move on. :)

Here's the address:

2622 N Figueroa St

Los Angeles, CA 90065

Neighborhood: Cypress Park

Have fun! Maybe you'll be lucky and get twice as much money as you put in the game machines like me!

It's kind of creepy in the restaurant too... It's okay if you take your potato tacos and run..maybe eat in the car.

AGHHH!!! The drawings I make are coming out so small! As soon as I fix the problem I will edit the blog.

HAPPY 2012!!!

Hope you like my drawing! I love Adobe Illustrator...

Sadly I'm not sure if I love the new year as much. In my mind it means more school. Anyways, I hope everyone has a great New Year!

Chabuya: Ramen...again huh? hehe

Although I am reviewing another ramen place, this one is definitely worth it. It is a LOT better than the others, in my opinion... Although I love California Ramen. Anyways, the restaurant is called Chabuya. It is, again, on Sawtelle. (Speaking about places on Sawtelle, there is a new Sushi place that opened called Sushi Stop. It is REALLY busy and apparently amazing. Any feedback? I have never been there before, and may want to try it.) Everything is about Chabuya is amazing. The prices aren't too high (considering the size), the rice bowls are good (I love the pork chashu bowl), the noodles are great, and the broth is so delicious. So far, my favorite ramen is the Kara Kara Ramen. It is spicy and delicious, although they do have classic ramen there as well. It's a great deal it you get a lunch combo, in which you get a mini rice bowl (and trust me it is NOT mini...especially the curry) with your ramen for only $3 extra.

The broth is delicious in all of the ramen, and not too rich like another place I went to.... Although, if you guys want "traditional" ramen. I would not recommend Chabuya, because a few people can get picky.... I like it, just like California Ramen, but I guess that's just my opinion.

Sadly they don't have a website, but here is the address:

2002 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 473-9834

Kara Kara Ramen!!! :P

I don't know what I am supposed to draw now after already drawing ramen.... :) I'll think it over.

Frozen Yogurt!! ADDING ON

Now I'm not so sure about what kind of frozen yogurt place I like. The more I go to Pinkberry the more I like it. I think Pinkberry will now be at the top of my list because it tastes tart, instead of just some milk with sugar. I think that the best frozen yogurt would definitely be the frozen yogurt homemade. Once i find the recipe for it I'll post it online. I think that it's awesome that Yogurtland has those decomposable spoons though. They are so colorful and awesome. :3 Yogurtland needs some flavors that are a little more tart.

Hmmmm.....I haven't seen a Red Mango place in quiet a while...... Maybe I got all the red mango places to close down. BWAHAHAHA... No just kidding. I haven't tried Red Mango for a really long time maybe 4 years long time but there's none in the area anyways.

The absolute best toppings to get at Pinkberry are these really delicious milk chocolate crisps. They are the best thing you can get on frozen yogurt EVER! All of the chocolate is all melty and delicious...

At Yogurtland they give you a tasting cup....which is not the best idea because you see people go in there and fill there tasting cup till it's 12 inches high and they can just leave because that's all the frozen yogurt they want anyways.

I never heard of Menchies before.... I guess I'll go look it up.