I-Cafe

«You can’t choke me out and expect me to like it everyday.»
«B¡2Ch, your (he probably ment you are) lucky to have a man like me.»
«A man like you?#!!! I have been up for 3 days straight,
waiting for a man to come home.»
«Woman, you don’t understand that a man has bizness to take care of.
Not a lone woman and kid.
Sirius bizness.»
«It’ll be nice to know a real man.»
*cops siren
«Woman, I ain’t got no time for this or you.»
*cops siren gets closer
Gooooaaaallllll!!!
Besides the lively entertainment in front;
soccer is played on the TV,
along with cards and video poker and some sort of chain smoking challenge.
I can’t tell who wins that one.
It is sort of let’s stare at the strange white guy, not blink, not talk, and smoke.
Everyone seated does it so well,
I can’t tell the best apart.
The workers are hells nice tho.
They always smile and say thank you and seem happy.
Just a fun time neighborhood spot.
I like it,
okay.

Was driving home from Phở Ao Sen and spotted iCafe with a parking spot right out front. New-​ish Banh Mi shop? Had to stop.
I got a «somebody’s crashing the party» vibe when I walked in as everyone turned and stared at me. By everyone, I mean a crowd of men around a table who appeared to be just hanging out. For an SF equivalent, think Tenderloin hole in the walls like Sing Sing.
Small menu with just sandwiches and drinks. Everything is $ 3 here including drinks like Viet coffee and shakes plus the five varieties of Banh Mi. All the banh mi come with pâté and you can get combo, pork roll, grilled pork, grilled chicken, or meatball. Combos of Banh Mi + Drink are $ 5 (
).
I got the combo, the Banh Mi Dac Biet, to go with no cilantro.
The baguette is short, fat, and nicely toasted with a crackly crust, even after the drive home. You can’t see much out of the gate because the inside has been hollowed out (
).
Inside is cha lua (pork roll), ham, headcheese, and pâté along with pickled diakon and carrots, jalapeño slices, and cucumber spears (
). I liked the flavor of the pâté, the crunch of the headcheese, and what tasted like a sprinkle of Maggi. Everything was nice and fresh though I would have like the veggies more pickled.
Nice banh mi. Will have to return to try the banh mi thit nuong.

i-​Café has a sign up «Grand Opening
Special Discounts 10÷16»
menu: vietnamese sandwiches (3), coffee (3)
now’s the end of november. yesterday they had 1 or 2 tables, today none.
was told to come back tomorrow both times. didn’t see anyone in the sammie section.
crumbs:
–maybe they sold out of everything.
–maybe worker off thanksgiving holiday.
–maybe…