A couple years ago Ravenswood upstart Nhu Lan Bakery snatched banh mi supremacy away from this venerable Vietnamese bakery, but Ba Le Sandwich Shop continued to thrive, benefiting from a prime location—albeit in a dark, cramped space—at the mouth of Little Saigon. Now, since moving one door south in April into the roomier confines vacated by Thai Grocery, Ba Le has not only stepped up its sandwich assembly but expanded its menu offerings in a bright, modish space with plenty of indoor seating, a patio, and even a tight parking lot overseen on weekends by a cheerful but incongruous rent-a-cop. Also new: the rather stupendous claim on its annoying Flash site that bakery founder Le Vo invented the miraculous Franco-Vietnamese sandwich in Saigon in the 50s.
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One thing is indubitable: Ba Le’s banh mi are now much fresher, made to order on a brisk, efficient line. (Previously they were often preassembled far enough in advance that their symphonic magic faded.) The vegetables are crunchier, the meats are colder or warmer as appropriate, and the bread crackles to the tooth. They’re still a bit understuffed compared to their betters at Nhu Lan, but the improvements are significant.
We barely suppressed our smirks when our server confided that the only restaurant in Chicago that could compete with Chilapan was Topolobampo. Oh, reeeally? As the food, by chef Jorge Miranda (Las Palmas, Adobo Grill), started to arrive, however, we grew humbler. The Empanada Potosina, corn masa flecked with guajillo chiles and stuffed with queso panela, was airy and delicate, a far cry from Argentina’s breadier empanadas. This light touch carried through all our other dishes: the chayote and tomato in a green salad were sculpted into small shells and dabbed with fresh, flavorful guajillo-sherry vinaigrette. Budin Azteca was a layered casserole of feathery, flaky tortillas with chicken, cheese, and a poblano cream salsa—a kind of vertical enchilada, deliciously crusty and, again, unexpectedly light.
5014 N. Broadway, 773-561-4424, balechicago.com
Chilapan 2459 W. Armitage, 773-697-4597
Fountainhead 1968-70 W. Montrose, 773-697-8204, fountainheadchicago.com
