Adam & Eats: Saigon Express

 

Editor’s note: Adam Brandt is a graduate from the Cobra Kai School of Culinary Callousness, where he received their highest award, the Red Apron of Merciless Eating. Aside from eating and talking about eating, he makes pots, paintings, prints, books, photographs, and generally, a big mess. He has been the studio assistant at Mudpuppy Pottery for almost nine years and is attending a local university in a desperate attempt to earn a biology degree. Feel free to give him a hard time.

Located in the old Sportman’s Liquor on the corner of North 17th and Rogers, Saigon Express gives new meaning to simple dining. It is the type of place that offers a no nonsense approach to food that, in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, is like an oasis in the desert of not having enough hours in the day.

When you walk through the doors at Saigon Express you realize quickly that this is a place where they let the food do the talking. There is no fancy décor. There is only a couple of booths, a cooler for drinks, and the counter where you order and pay. That’s it. No clowns or kings or guys who lost 3,000 pounds eating their sandwiches to try and sell you their product. There is only the food to sell itself. And at Saigon Express their food is Vietnamese-style sandwiches. Well, they also offer a few salads and turnovers and (sometimes) egg rolls, but mainly sandwiches.

The menu may not look very impressive, only 14 items the last time at last count, but there is a certain amount of comfort to be had in a simple menu. I also have it on good authority that the menu will be growing very soon.

All of the sandwiches are served on fresh baked French bread (Hooray for fresh baked bread!) that is made in-house, and topped with carrots, Daikon radish, cilantro, jalapenos, pate, and mayo. I suggest the grilled pork.

If you consider yourself a more adventurous eater, you might try the Saigon Sandwich, which consists of pork roll, jambon, and headcheese. Or, for the less adventurous, the Shredded Pork & Meatball Sandwich is also pretty tasty. For you folks out there who can’t eat a sandwich without chips they do offer the very traditional Vietnamese side dishes of Cheetos and Doritos for a small additional fee.

In the drink coolers, they carry all varieties of beverages, from bottled water to Pepsi to sweet tea. Let me tell you, you will be hard pressed to find a bottle of water anywhere else for 75¢.

The people at Saigon Express are always happy to see you and the service is lightning fast. I suggest going there for lunch, although they are open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, so stopping by to grab dinner on the way home is always a wise decision.

“No dishes to wash tonight, Honey. I got Saigon Express!” The cost for two people, with drinks, is under $10, and you can’t beat that.

Like most sandwich shops, dining in is optional, but at Saigon Express, I found it to be quite amusing. Within about three minutes of ordering and paying I was greeted by a delicious, piping hot sandwich served on a “Taco Time!” paper plate. Talk about an ethnic identity crisis, a Vietnamese sandwich, served on French bread, and eaten off of a Tex-Mex plate. Ethnically confused or not, Saigon Express can make one helluva sandwich.

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Adam also has this thing called Sandwich Control.