Creolized Burger and Fries: The Banh Mi Burger

The Saigon Burger at Burger Guys in Houston

The banh mi burger is a very tasty emerging trend. Most of the banh mi burgers I have heard about are created by American restaurants and burger joints rather than Vietnamese banh mi shops. Rub BBQ in NYC has one as a sometimes special and another place in Redhook Brooklyn offers them too. The Houston version I tried was pretty impressive.

It was called a “Saigon burger” at The Burger Guys on Westheimer near Kirkwood and it featured their standard half-pound akaushi burger patty on a toasted hamburger roll spread with French-style paté and topped with pickled carrot and daikon–extra jalapeños on request. I would love to sample a banh mi burger made on a banh mi baguette. If you see one in Texas, let me know.

The original banh mi sandwich is a syncretized Viet-French creation, but I am thinking the American-born Vietnamese burger is an example of full-on creolization. Especially if the pickled jalapeños come out of a Mexican La Costeña can.

5 thoughts on “Creolized Burger and Fries: The Banh Mi Burger

  1. sobelri

    Pho Nga 2 in Humble has started to advertise an Asian burger. I haven’t tried it yet, but the do make a nice banh mi sandwich.

  2. Texmex1

    Lose the pate, add some thinly sliced roasted pork, and yes, Cilantro, then you are cooking with gasoline!

  3. Dr. Ricky

    Banh mi is more about the bread than the cilantro. I don’t think it needs it (and is just another perishible ingredient to keep track of), but I do think they need a less salty paté.

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