Meatball Sandwich, Vietnamese Style

It was only last year that I discovered Banh Mi Ba Le, a Vietnamese Deli in East Oakland. The first time I went to Ba Le, we bought food for a hike. The deli sells a variety of prepared Vietnamese food including bahn mi sandwiches, rice plates, rolls, and other sides.


The food we purchased was good, but one thing that really stuck with me was their warm fresh soy milk. My mom used to buy large bottles of soy milk from Chinatown and it was a treat to have it while it was still warm.


Since the first visit to Ba Le, I have been going back here and there for food, but not without a bottle of soy milk. They closed for almost a month during the holidays for some remodeling and I was having fresh soy milk withdrawals.


Ba Le reopened earlier this week. I have been hearing (reading) a lot about their meatball sandwich with a fried egg. Yelpers are quoted as saying “sooooo friggin good”, “sooo yummy”, “the bomb!” about the meatball sandwich. I picked one up yesterday and have to say those Yelpers are all right.


The meatball sandwich with fried egg is #13 on the menu. The ground pork meat with the perfect not so overly easy egg, fresh pickled vegetables, on this fresh crusty soft roll was delicious! The flavors were dancing from sweet to savory to slightly tart and then all over again. I cut my sandwich in half and couldn’t believe how quickly both halves went.

Next time I go back to Ba Le, I will remember #13, I just hope I don’t forget to pick up the soy milk.