J.C.'s
Vietnamese Sandwiches
885 Bush Street/Taylor
St., SF
Map
This Restaurant
Trial
at The Blue Lamp
9/13/02
McClure
I was walking down
the mall when a man said, "They're for customers only." My wig
fell off and rolled away past the vendors like a tumbleweed. It wasn't
a clown at the door, it was the burlap sack for a hat, skirt wearing,
crack smoking, vodka swillin' street living crazy guy. I remember this
door show from years back. Don't miss it, and with the incredible price
of the Vietnamese sandwiches available at J.C.'s you may even have a quarter
or fiver to spare.
I've never been disappointed
by the Vietnamese sandwich, Bahn Mi, as I have seen them called. They
are large with a variety of flavors and a multitude of fixin's. J.C. served
me up a pork meatball sammy and it was like nothing I'd ever tasted. Not
your Italian meatball but good nonetheless. At a price of $2.75, grab
one or two on your way and eat 'em up. Plenty of other goods on the menu,
nowhere to sit except in the middle of the show, on the street that is,
so get your grub and go go go.
 Turner
Finally the Court
has discovered Vietnamese sandwiches, which I did not know existed until
future guest-judge Cork tipped me off to a place right down the street.
And let me just say, I like them. Quite a bit, really. I like them because
they're cheaper than hell, firstly, and secondly because they taste good.
J.C.'s is about as
small a restaurant as I've ever seen, barely enough room for three judges
to stand at the counter and avoid the strange man/woman on the sidewalk
incessantly asking if we could "Spare fifty cents, please!"
But it can be done. Don't plan on eating there, but you can pick up a
quick lunch or early dinner and shuttle it back to your crib or local
saloon, as we did.
How much for a sandwich?
$2.75. That's right, $2.75. That's two Sacagawea dollars and 25 cents
more than 50 cents. Before tax, of course. But still, the value is astounding.
For that you get your big ol' French roll filled with your choice of meats
(or combination), shredded carrots, cilantro, mayo, paté (yeah,
paté), jalapeños, and cucumber. Note the French influence
there with the paté. I'm not sure what kind of paté that
is, but it's really just a smear like a condiment, so don't worry too
much.
This time around I
got the B.B.Q. Pork sandwich, and it was quite good. Especially for $2.75.
I kind of expected it to be more grilled-up, blackened, but it was all
right. Judge Vardigan's B.B.Q. chicken, on the other hand, really WAS
well-grilled, and I think I'll get that next time. Anyway, the whole sandwich
is pretty different, with some real Viet flavors in there. Either the
carrots are marinated in some sweet and sour kind of sauce (like you often
have to dip with) or they add some dressing. And the cilantro packs quite
a flavor burst. Might take a little of that off, like I did.
Before, I got the
Combination sandwich, which Cork says is like the traditional Banh Mi
Dac Biet they have in Vietnam. This one has everything listed above, but
instead of chicken there is "pork patty, pork leg, and ham."
Now, I'm not quite sure what "pork patty" is, but I'd say it's
like pig baloney. That one was pretty good, too, but frankly I think I
prefer bona fide hunks of warm meat, as opposed to the cold compressed
variety. But hey, it's a taste of Vietnam for ya.
We threw in some imperial
rolls and potstickers for good measure, which were both decent, for about
four bucks each. They also offer noodle and rice dishes there besides
the sandwiches, and I might give those a try, although I suspect the sandwiches
are their specialty.
What it comes down
to is a supreme bargain for an exotic sandwich, and that's right up our
alley. Or right up Bush Street, in this case.
 Vardigan
J.C.'s may be the
cheapest place in Court history. It's hard to dislike that kind of precedent.
$2.75 for a sandwich, and it's no bologna with American cheese and yellow
mustard on white bread. It's an authentic Vietnamese sandwich crammed
with unique fixings like pate, cilantro, and marinated carrots. I chose
barbecue chicken, which was the unanimous winner among our choices. Surprisingly
though, the ingredients did not add up to a whopping sum of flavor. They
may have been using a weak strain of cilantro. And the jalapeno peppers,
well, they left those off mine and gave them to Judge Turner instead,
who did not want them to begin with. So I can't speak for those, but I'm
sure they would have changed things.
We also saw an awful
lot of microwaving going on, which you never like to see. In J.C.'s defense,
we ordered pretty close to 7, closing hour. I think this is more of a
lunch destination. I bet things are a little more fresh in the afternoon.
Also, while $2.75 is a helluva deal, the sandwiches are not huge, and
do not a dinner make. They are ideal for lunch, however. We threw in some
imperial rolls and potstickers. The potstickers had been sitting out in
Styrofoam containers under plastic wrap, and were then microwaved. The
imperial rolls did not challenge my belief that there are no bad imperial
rolls, but there was something off about them. We kept taking bites, then
falling silent and staring quizzically at the food in our hands.
The Blue Lamp, where
we ate, was a real downer. I used to really like this place, but on this
night it was warmish beer out of bottles (tap trouble) and the jukebox
forsaken for some CD full of wretched, interminable songs, the style of
which I labeled "adult contemporary house." I don't know if
there is such a thing, but that's what this sounded like.
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