Another stormy night, but we ventured out regardless. Bahn Mi is located at 4071 S. Grand in St. Louis and although they have had some difficulty with their website this week and we couldn't see a menu on line, the reviews for their spring rolls sent us traversing down Grand Avenue (passing a lot of places that will probably wind up on our list of must try restaurants.
Wendy and I, along with our teen age rebellion (he didn't want to try "Vietnamese with a French influence" food) were glad that we braved the weather and made our way to Bahn Mi. Not only was the food good, but we had a history lesson (compliments of Wikipedia) about Vietnam on the journey and when we arrived and were greeted by the owner/cook's son, we were glad for the information we had learned.
The family who owns Bahn Mi immigrated to the United States in 1975 just prior to the fall of Saigon. Our server's aunt had married a scholarly man from central Illinois and when faced with the move to this country, they located themselves as close to family as possible and we are glad that they did so!!!
To begin our meal, we started with appetizers number 01, 02 and 03 on the menu. 01 or Thit Nuong is thin slices of cooked meat (we chose beef) that was well-flavored and reminded us of mild beef jerky, but easier to chew. At a cost of $3.50, the Thit Nuong was two pieces of beef, lettuce, sauce and instructions to dip the beef in the sweet and spicy sauce. I would order it again.
02 or Cha Gio was two deep fried egg rolls made with paper thin egg roll wrappers. The filling was ground pork and while Wendy and our less than happy companion found the egg rolls to their liking. I, was not as thrilled with this choice. You see, 02 came after 03, the Goi Cuon, a serving of three spring rolls that on this dreary night were filled with Tilapia that had been fried before being wrapped with mint, cilantro, and rice in traditional spring roll wrappers. The amazing flavors of these egg rolls was worth the drive and 02's fried taste couldn't hold a candle to the delicate spring rolls. More, please!
The entrée choices were more difficult. Along one wall of the restaurant was a dry erase board with 14 different specials for the night in addition to the multitude of items that appeared on the printed menu. Our young accomplice wanted something like miso soup (he wasn't about to venture into something he was familiar with) and our server/son was great when he suggested 09 (Pho Bo) and then presented the beef noodle soup with a plate of bean sprouts and Vietnamese Basil to put into the soup. He also brought a dark paste in a small bowl for our friend to add to the soup, stirring before tasting. Young complainer loved the soup as did Wendy (his mother) and me. The basil had a sweet licorice taste, milder than anise, and delicious. The large bowl of soup in addition to an appetizer was a filling meal.
A2 - Tom XAO XA CURRY (stir-fried shrimp with coconut milk, lemongrass and curry) was the suggested entrée and although curry is never my first choice (bad experience one time and now I hesitate each time I see curry on a menu). Wendy and I shared A2 and both of us found it delicious. When Wendy questioned the obvious lack of French items on the menu, our knowledgeable server showed us that the blend of curry and the coconut milk was a definite French twist to Indian Curry and Thai food heave handed with coconut milk. French influence or not, curry and coconut milk is becoming one of my favorite flavors. Bahn Mi knows how to mix the two with crunchy shrimp to make a wonderful A2!!! Again, I will order this when I return to Bahn Mi.
For our final entrée (Wendy and I usually order one each and then split them both), we chose #5 from the specials list. No Vietnamese name for this dish, just a description of what was going to arrive at our table: Kingsize noodles with grilled lean ground pork and fried mungbean and vegetables. I was not sure what kind of vegetables were in this dish and I haven't been brave enough to Google mungbeans (don't you agree that the name is off-putting?), but it is hard to go wrong with noodles and Bahn Mi went right with the seasoning of this entrée.
Overall, Bahn Mi was a hit even with the reluctant pre-teen.
For dessert, we traveled to Baileys' Chocolate Bar in Lafayette Square. Being a weeknight, we had no wait when we got there and were taken to the back of the restaurant where their were two couples enjoying each other's company. The first couple looked to be on a first or second date, you know the type, mid-twenties, trying to find clever things to say to each other and the other couple, a dad and 3-year old daughter who celebrate, according to dad, "date night" about twice a week (lucky girl).
The items on the menu at Baileys' makes it difficult to choose one of the decadent selections. Young, not so reluctant pre-teen (his demeanor changed walking into the Chocolate Bar) quickly decided on Baileys' Chocolate Brownie served warm with Bailey's Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce. The camper in me (okay, I'll admit that I would rather camp in a hotel, but back in the day....) couldn't pass up the S'mores Ice Cream Cake and Wendy ordered the Chilled Chocolate Cream Pie. While all three items were good, the brownie was definitely the best!!! Crunchy on top, gooey in the middle, it was really good. My next favorite was the pie. I love crust and the non-traditional chocolate pie (thick chocolate) was served in a tart shell along side Honey Almond Ice Cream with strawberry sauce. They could have left off the sauce for me and I would have enjoyed it more. And last, but not least, was the S'mores cake. A big disappointment except for the marshmallow that had been browned on top. Would I go back, sure, who doesn't like the smell of chocolate? But the next time, I would try the peach tartlet or the chocolate crepe cake.
Any suggestions for C week??? Let us know.
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