Originally Posted by westcoastman

Vietnamese sandwiches or "Banh Mi" pictured here is a French-inspired baguette made up of thinly sliced, pickled carrots, daikon, onions, cilantro, choice of barbecued pork, paté, chicken and other meats. Since just about every Vietnamese deli (and many Pho restaurants) sold banh mi they needed to compete with other. The standard around the country was $1 each and buy 5 get the 6th sandwich free and the sandwiches were fresh and made to order. At some point Westerns took to the sandwich because of the flavors and being most incredible value in the modern industrialized world. Prices began to skyrocket. Lee's Sandwhiches transformed the banh mi business into huge volume franchise business with SOME specialized sandwich prices approaching $2, their electronic "take a number system", video screens, and late night hours made them hugely popular with some including Westerns. Somewhere things began to go bad with other greedy shops located in downtown locations. Banh mi began to hit $2.75 and higher each in downtown areas as they sought to tap the large lunch time crowds. Even with these crazy downtown prices some of the suit clad downtown patrons still felt it was a good deal when comparing to the over abundent teriyaki places charging $6 or more for their meals. The Vietnamese expats I know found these prices insulting and a reflection of Western stupidity when it comes to what Vietnamese food should cost. Nonethelesss find the right place and the banh mi can be an incredible deal for lunch.