Banh Shop Sampling Elite Event

Wow. Unilocal events keep getting better and better. Thanks to Heli and the amazing team at The Bahn Shop, my mouth and stomach went home happy!
They closed the shop for us, which made our elite status valid. :)
We were served drinks (which were delicious btw​.ie. passion fruit colada!) and course after course came by. Some of my favorite dishes: Vietnamese Noddle Salad (Bun), grilled steak Bahn mi, and a dessert bar that was an amazing concoction of dark chocolate, coconut flakes and some unknown addictive ingredient because I was wanting to eat more, even though I was stuffed. The staff was super friendly and always willing to help and be accommodating. I wish I lived closer so I could go more often. If I’m in the area, I will definitely come again and try the Drunken Noodles!!!

What a thoughtful gesture for the owner to reserve the whole restaurant for Unilocal Elites. It was such a delight to attend this event and meet virtual friends in person! What a festive and saucey group!
WHAT I LOVED
The vibe. Money can not create a welcoming and electric vibe. Management nailed this
Abundant and large dedicated parking lot
Attractive and welcoming service team… professional but approachable
The food samples were not only SCRUMMY but the size of entrées
So very clean but with no chemical smells
A total toss up on tasty samples! It was all so yummy… But the pork belly sample and the INCREDIBLE dessert bars left me speechless. I had at least twelve not counting ones absconded when other Unilocalers weren’t looking.
Décor was modern, warm and snazzy
Great bathrooms… Clean
Ordering process for business as usual
Unique and highly competitive prices
No gaudy frightening oversized food photos
Comfy chairs and booths
Easy access from Central
ONE SUGGESTION
Mailing list of specials and new menu items

PASSION for food and service are exceptional! Josh has a true desire to reach out to his crowd and obtain their feedback so he can truly provide food to please!
Although I am not one to complain about anything nor suggest, the food here is legitimately delicious! I’m not a fan of pork at all but the pork sandwich was like the best slice of bacon I’ve had on any sand which. The slaw salad had a great balance of all the right veggies and the peanut in the dressing was perfectly mixed — not overpowering at all.
Thank you for an amazing Unilocal event!

This is was without a doubt one of my favorite events. I met so many new faces and made some new friends on Unilocal.The business itself, took an opportunity to grow from a group who will provide honest yet constructive feedback… from us Unilocal Elites!
The Banh Shop team were extremely welcoming and fun to be around. They kept my thirst quenched with an amazing Passion Fruit Colada frozen margarita I must admit I had seconds of.
I was very impressed with how organized the event was held. I was never never hungry. as a matter of fact, I was way too full at the end of this event. Can’t complain about that! I was happy to give feedback on their evolving menu. I was so appreciative to have Josh, the manager, make his rounds, got to know the Elite Unilocalers, and really listened to us and made adjustments as needed.
The food has its ups and downs but they’re continuously improving on it. The pork belly banh mi was my fave so that is a must for me. I’m also pleased to share they use fresh bread from a local bakery (Village Baking Co) for their banh mi’s. I love how locals businesses support each other!
I’m eager to return and have a full on experience at this place. Can’t wait!

Thanks for Bahn Shop crew and Heli for putting on such an amazing event. It was wonderful getting to enjoy such good service and food with some incredible Unilocalers.
The service was impeccable and I loved the warm, personal greeting by the GM right when I walked in the door! The drinks were delicious and I was so pleased and surprised that the manager shut down the entire shop that night for our event. I loved the amount and variety of food samples that we got (two salads, two half sandwiches, two rice bowls, and dessert). My fave was the pork belly sandwich, YUM!
Thanks again for such a great event!

Every single time I go to a Vietnamese restaurant I always end up getting phở or fried rice, so needless to say I’ve been wanting to try the banh mi sandwich for a while now. The Banh Shop event was so awesome and so much fun. I don’t think I’ve met as many new Unilocalers (to me) in a while.
The food was quite yummy and more along the lines of Vietnamese fusion than authentic Vietnamese food, which is to be expected considering that the location is a stone’s throw away from SMU. My absolute favorite dish was the banh fire and not just because I thought the name was extremely cute. I absolutely loved the jalapeño pesto sauce paired with the rice and chicken. That would definitely be what I order the next time I set foot into the Banh Shop. The pork belly banh mi was definitely a close second. Usually I don’t eat pork but I wanted to sample it and I most certainly was not disappointed. Everything else was tasty as well, including the drinks. I must say that I did taste the ginger in the margarita and that threw me off a bit. But once I got over that it was just fine.
Josh and his crew were awesome. The customer service was not just outstanding but you could tell that everyone who works at the Banh Shop is genuine and not just being nice because it’s their job. I enjoyed getting to chat with Josh as he passed by each table.
Once again, thanks to Heli and Alice for a great event. Josh and crew of Banh Shop, thanks for your hospitality and allowing us to take over for the night.

Ohhhh my goodness, the food just kept coming; and those awesome Ginger Margaritas too! I don’t think I’ve been to a more generous Unilocal tasting event. Not only was the food plentiful and tasty, but we had exclusive use of the entire restaurant. I had so much fun chatting with new and familiar friends. We also got a sneak preview of Heli’s wedding dress. Congrats Heli, I’m so happy for you. Thanks for another great event Heli, Josh and staff!

What a great event! Unilocal Dallas Elites are seriously awesome.
Last night we were hosted by Bahn Shop. The staff were amazing and epitomized great customer service, and really worked to make sure that we all had a great time. That alone has me wanting to go back much sooner than later. And Josh, you rock.
Bahn can best be summed up as a Vietnamese fusion restaurant. No, this is not your traditional Bahn Mi’s, but don’t count it out. You may be surprised at the quality of the ingredients, the tastiness of the pâté, and the all out yumminess of the rice dishes. I would have loved for my carrots to be more pickled, but meh– it definitely did not make or break the meal.
The cocktails were a highlight of the evening. It is no secret that Dallas Unilocalers love of a good cocktail. I was excited to try the Dallas Blonde and the Passion Fruit Colada. Both were delicious. I also got a chance to try the Viet Iced Coffee and the Cream Soda. Everything was really refreshing. I believe the biggest winner for me had to be the slaw salad. I was not sure if I would like it, but the sauce was amazing and it had a bit of zing.
The night ended with dessert and I was impressed that the staff thought to throw in a bonus and send us home with little bowls full of dessert. That was really sweet. I can’t wait to go back to chomp down some more and to take advantage of the $ 1 draft beer nights on Thursdays. You don’t have to tell me twice. ;)

What a terrific way to spend the night after an exam! Banh Shop was gracious enough to close their doors for our Dallas Unilocalers for a peek at their evolving menu– no longer are they striving to fork out their namesake banh mi to their neighboring SMU students; Banh Shop is now putting some extra love into creating some «bowls» (think rice topped with marinated meat, sauced veggies, and dollops of sour cream and jalapeño pesto for a kick. Yummy! :D).
The team did an awesome job serving and taking care of us, and I really liked how they explained each dish to us, as well as their story behind the reasons for giving their menu a renovation ^^ The food only made making some goofy new friends, both long-​time and newbie elites, more enjoyable~ I’m telling my friends about Banh Shop’s fresh menu, especially those who came before and weren’t too impressed with the banh mi!
A big thank you to Heli, Alice, and the friendly Banh Shop team for organizing this event and welcoming us~ Always making my week stellar *\(^o^)/*

I’ve been to many Vietnamese place but never had a Banh sandwich. It was really good and tasted fresh. I loved being able to try many of the menu offerings. The staff was super nice and Josh the manager really cares about the success of the restaurant. This is an awesome and fun way to get people to try something different. I love that it was an Elite only event. I got to chat with some new and old Elites and met some new friends. There’s beer and margaritas availlibe and the location is perfect (minus the construction on the main road). I will be visiting this place soon! Thanks Helii for setting this up and Josh for closing this place just for us Unilocalers. How cool is that?!

The event itself was really smooth and the host/​GM, Josh was more than gracious. The first 30 minutes were for mingling and partaking in alcoholic beverages should you choose. I was able to try two new beers, Community and Revolver Bock, and chat up some new faces, which is always fun.
The food ranged from okay to really awesome to me, but the most impressive thing was how Josh really listened to our critiques. The bread for the first banh mi sandwich with chicken was incredibly crunchy and so he adjusted the toasting time for the second banh mi. And the pork banh mi was waaaaaaay better than anything else I tasted that night. The GM stated that some of the customers in their demographic region (*cough* SMU students *cough*) dinged them in the past for not having crunchy enough baguettes and also for their sauces having too much fish sauce and now he was hearing from some Unilocalers who wanted the opposite. He went on to say that because everything is made to order, you can easily request for your meal to fit your taste buds. If you want your bread softer, need more dressing for your vermicelli, or want more peanuts in your peanut sauce, it can all be achieved. And for that Banh shop, you have my support!

So glad Heli set up this fantastic event for us! First off, I was elated to find out they have their own parking lot, considering how tricky parking can be in that area. Allie did a great job of getting us checked in and giving directions.
The drinks we started out with were great — I think I liked the passion fruit colada the best. There were so many delicious items from their new menu to sample too. My favorites were the spicy peanut slaw, the vermicelli salad, pork belly bahn mi, and the Bahn Fire Bowl. I still feel full 6 hours later!
It was also great to meet some new Elites and catch up with the familiar faces too. Bonus: we got to hear Heli relate her proposal story– congrats, Heli!
The night finished off with fun conversation in the parking lot with a group of us and Josh, the GM. He’s a really cool guy and it makes me glad to do business where there is great management. A dance-​off nearly ensued, as did a Fast And The Furious re-​enactment… *Almost*… Good times… :)

What a great event! You knocked it out of the park, Heli! So glad Unilocal teamed up with Banh Shop to let us sample their menu! And shout out to Josh, the GM, for being such a gracious host!
It’s been awhile since I’ve been to this part of town and boy, has it undergone some rennovations! It is now quite the hip and trendy spot to hang out! As far as restaurants go, this isn’t your typical Vietnamese restaurant. The décor inside is spacious and roomy with intimate little booths, bench seating and high-​top tables which can easily accommodate large or small parties. They also offer outdoor dining on their patio which overlooks the boulevard. The overall vibe is trendy but relaxed and the music they play just adds to the wonderful ambiance. Great spot to just hang out with friends.
They offer a variety of drinks from frozen ginger margaritas and passion fruit pina coladas, to a wide selection of beers, teas, coconut water and vietnamese coffee. The food… incredible! Started out with a spring roll with peanut sauce, followed by a delicious coleslaw with a spicy sauce. The pork belly sandwich and the bonfire bowl were my favorites! They also offer healthy noodle salads and fried rice options and a wonderful smores-​like dessert!
The employees who work here and the service was first rate. Everyone was so friendly! This place is definitely worth putting on the regular rotation. I want to sample everything on the menu!
This was my first Unilocal event and I’m still smiling from how much fun it was! Thank you Heli & Allie for putting on such an awesome event for the Unilocal community!

Another Unilocal event, another home run! I’ve dined at a lot of Vietnamese restaurants, but oddly enough, I’ve never had a bahn mi sandwich. Since I live and primarily dine in uptown, it was quite refreshing to pull into a place that has it’s own parking lot! Bahn Shop was already off to a great start indeed.
Inside, the decoration is very modern and inviting. The staff and management were also approachable, prompt, and friendly. I wish there was a Bahn Shop where I went to college, as this definitely would have been in my rotation. Knowing how to entice the local clientale, discounts are available to those with an SMU Student ID, and most importantly, on Thursdays, they have $ 1.00 draft beers. You read right, 100 pennies for draft beers, and yes, that includes craft beers. What a deal?! I know where I’ll be next Thursday. Beers on tap include Deep Ellum Dallas Blonde, Revolver Bock, and Deep Ellum IPA. Additionally, they have a passion fruit piña colada (on the sweet side) and a ginger margarita (pretty tasty).
The food was very good. If you’re craving authentic Vietnamese fare, you might be better off in Garland or Richarsdon, but that is not a con. Their food takes Vietnamese classics, and adds a fresh Amercian twist to it to appease the palate of the locas (college kids). Think Chipotle to Mexican Food.
MENU
Food:
— spring roll: 4 stars
— salad: 5 stars (cilantro, mint, peanut sauce dressing… DELICIOUS)
— Coconut chicken bahn mi: just sneaked into 4 star category
— Pork bell bahn mi: 5 stars (lots of charr on it, which is not to be confused with burnt. Rendered out a lot fat, but still full of flavor. Very good!)
— Vietnamese noodle salad: 2 stars. Not enough dressing and needed something to wake it up
— Chicken bowl: 5 stars (cilantro aioli and sour cream bring a perfect balance to this dish. Move over bahn mi, best of the night honors go to this one.
— fried rice: 4 stars
— chocolate coconut brownies: 4 stars
Drinks:
craft beers on tap: 5 stars (don’t forget $ 1 Thursdays!!!)
passion fruit piña colada: 3 stars
ginger margarita: 4 stars
As always, our gracious CM, Holi was an excellent host! Josh and his staff also did an excellent job taking care of us and letting us sample their menu, while promoting their specials. Another great event in the books! Will definitely return!

I have been wanting to check out Bahn Shop for a while, so I was really excited about the event. Jason and I were warmly greeted at the check in table, and then we we were greeted by the manager Josh who explained how everything works.
I met so many great new elites at this event! I always make it a point to say hello to people who I have not met. There were some other OGs in the house too!
Noe lets get to the food. It was amazing, full of flavor, and I tried some things that I may not necessarily order. Also, if you are a vegetarian, no worries! They have plenty of options. My favorite was the Pork Belly Bahn Mi. Soooooo good!
Thank you Heli, the Unilocal Team, and Bahn Shop for your hospitality! We definitely found a new spot.

What a fantastic way to spend the evening! Many thanks to Heli, Alice, and Banh Shop for setting this up. And the GM, Josh, was such a great guy to chat with (and a very skilled dancer, I must add).
A few friends have mentioned this place, and I’ve been wanting to try it out. We started the night off with drinks. My favorite was the ginger margarita – the ginger flavor was really subtle and the drink was sweeter than a typical margarita. They had really good fruity (nonalcoholic) green tea too.
Banh Shop is revamping their menu to not only include the classic banh mi sandwiches, but also more creative items such as slaws and bowls. The food was mostly Vietnamese-​American fusion, and there were some dishes that really stood out for me. My favorites were the fried rice (very flavorful and slightly sweet), the «banh“fire bowl (although I couldn’t handle the jalapeño pesto), the pork belly banh mi (love that bread and the char on the pork belly), and the coconut chocolate bars for dessert (YUM).
The service was awesome, and it was great to both see familiar faces and meet a bunch of new friends!

This was easily one of my favorite events, and I think I say that for all of them, but I mean it. haha! Bahn Shop was soooo generous and everyone working there were nice. Kudos to Josh, the manager for being so sweet and welcoming to all of us, and shutting down the restaurant to treat all of us. Bahn Shop was very giving with their wine so I had to peace out about half way through the event. Sorry y’all. :)
I did get to sample the spring roll and chicken bahn mi and both were great. The best part of the night were seeing my favorite Unilocalers and meeting a ton of new Unilocalers. Look forward to seeing you guys at other events!
Thanks Heli and Bahn Shop!

I’m glad to be back at Banh Shop and it was an even better time than before because I got to spend it with wonderful Unilocalies!
At first I wasn’t sure about how it would all play out. I gave up alcohol for lent, so I gloomily held my cup of water while everyone else had a ridiculously cool colored drink. (Note to self: must try the margarita after Easter) I have also been here before so I had a pretty good idea of what their take was on Vietnamese fare.
First, summer rolls. So tiny and cute! I enjoyed the kick in their peanut sauce.
Coconut chicken banh mi. Aiigghhtt, that was new, but I can dig it.
Pork belly banh mi. Now you’re hitting closer to home. I approve.
…after some time…
More food?!
How about some mini bun bowls?! I love these vermicelli noodles with chicken or pork, but Banh Shop seemed to present it as more of a side salad or something.
That’s cool, do what you do Banh Shop.
Then, oh yes, more food. Not just any kind of food though. We’re talkin’ ’bout some «banh fire» bowls with mean green jalapeño pesto and chicken over squishy rice.
So. Good. Like, I’m pretty sure the only thing that would have made it better was if I had a real drink in my hand.
Besides the food, because we can just come back here anytime, my favorite part of the night was all of the positive energy being spread around. I expect it from the Unilocal crew, but even the staff at Banh Shop kept the energy going. Josh was hilarious, genuine and clearly proud of his team that was doing an amazing job feeding all of us hungry people.
Thank you for shutting the house down for us and thank you Heli and the Unilocal team for organizing such a great night!

Another one hit out of the park by Heli! Many thanks to our host Banh Shop, the food was fantastic. Loved the «Banh Fire» bowl, and the pork belly banh mi was sublime. I’ll be perfectly honest, the food here is geared more towards the American palate, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The dishes I sampled were very fresh, with crispy vegetables, tender meats and the baguettes tasted freshly baked (sourced from nearby Village Bakery) and had a crisp crust, but weren’t of the «chip your tooth» variety, which some say is the reference standard.
Other standout dishes were the coconut chicken breast banh mi (great aioli), sweet & spicy peanut slaw (crisp veggies, nice mint touch and dressing, although it was a little heavy on the dressing for me). I also had some chicken fried rice, made interesting with cherry tomatoes and broccoli, and Vietnamese noodle salad (basically spring roll in a bowl, a nice variation).
My drink highlight was the passion fruit colada; it tasted great, but watch out for brain freeze!
Best of all, I got to renew some old Unilocal friendships and make some new ones. And it’s always lovely to see Heli and chat with her.
Thank you, Unilocal,for a great event!

I’m so glad that Banh Shop teamed up with Unilocal to give us samples from their revamped menu (as well as samples from their current menu). I really enjoyed their frozen beverages, especially the passion fruit drink. It wasn’t too sweet and had coconut milk that made it creamy. As for the actual food, I really enjoyed the fried rice, chicken banh mi, and their coconut chocolate bars. They had extra dessert bars left, so some of us took some home!
Thanks again to the people at Banh Shop and Heli for organizing a fun event!