According to legend the sandwich was invented in England in 1762 when John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich, demanded his valet bring him salt beef between two slices of bread. His idea was simple: he wanted to dine without pausing his all-night poker session or, perhaps worse, soil the cards. Others, so it is said, began ordering “the same as Sandwich” and thus was a dish named.
The winds that took the colonial vessels of European colonialists to the Far East brought with them the Earl’s “sandwich.” For more see the original article at: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/lifestyle/food-and-cooking/story/2020-03-31/how-banh-mi-stacks-up
For this San Diego Union-Tribune Food section lead story, Duy Nguyen of Bánh Mì Hôi An, 3145 Rosecrans, Suite A, San Diego (https://www.banhmihoiansd.com/) walked me through the process of making the signature sandwich of Southeast Asia, in general, and Vietnam in particular and I also go through where in town you can get the necessary ingredients. That bit of skill and knowledge could, perhaps, come in handily in this time of Coronavirus. Or you could from Duy for curbside pickup and delivery through Grubhub, Doordash, Uber Eats and Postmates. The restaurant’s entire menu is available online at www.banhmihoiansd.com/menus.
Big thanks go to Eduardo Contreras who’s wonderful photography, as always, brought the dishes visually to life and also to Euphemia Ng who was indispensable in the food styling for the shoot.