Baguettes, Cafe Phin, Vancouver

I was literally lying awake yesterday morning, thinking, reminiscing abut a good banh mi. The best one in Vancouver, Truong Giang, has been sold to new owners, and the sandwiches are now a bitter disappointment. I thought about heading over to Kingsway or Victoria Drive which would take up the better part of my afternoon, but I wasn't going to cross town for a sandwich, not today, as I had too many errands to run. The pho places around here had okay sandwiches (Angkor Express to a degree, and Pho Goodness does have a good baguette), but I feel those places privilege the pho, and the sandwich is just an after thought.

I pulled it together and headed out the door, but before I could even hit my first of five stops, a "Grand Opening" sign caught my eye. A tasteful sandwich board had words like "aroma" and "Vietnam" and "flavours" and looking up into the window, also had banh mi. I walked in like a zombie to Cafe Phin and ordered their traditional Vietnamese ham that a small hand written sign alerting me that it already came "with pate." It was a couple more dollars than I'm used to paying, but the baguette came toasty and fluffy and loaded with flavours and aromas and I knew this was as good as it was going to get and I devoured every bite sitting in the window watching not watching the busy foot traffic of Denman street. It also came with a small mango gummy, which was a fine treat.

I have already been back and tried their pork belly baguette (pictured here) and it's better than the ham one. My enthusiasm for this place also comes from the fact that a friend of mine who goes to school on Granville Island has been telling me about this little cafe near there that has the best Vietnamese subs in the city. I have tried looking for it, and when I have been close by, it has been closed, and then, the place just shut down. Lo and behold that same cafe would turn out to be Cafe Phin, who has re-opened in the West End on Denman in the old sub par empanada shop as of last week, and I feel like if I stand still long enough in this town, restaurants will just continue to open all around me, and I am good with that.

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