Cafe 900

They are so sweet and nice :) and I liked their yogurt and flan :)

This place has been closed for construction but I saw a new sign for something called Banh Mi Cali go over it recently so hoping it reopens soon (with the same delightful owner). I only come here for the veggie banh mi and it is tasty! Unlike most of the veg banh mi in the city, the main draw isn’t some kind of gluten or tofu patty but a bed of tasty, tasty vietnamese rice noodles with cilantro, cukes, and faux ham sandwiched in a soft almost italian roll like bread. Seasoned deliciously, it even balances out my intense hatred of faux ham (usu vomitrocious on its own). A squeeze of Sriracha by the friendly owner and it’s carb-​on-​carb heaven.
**UPDATE: Womp womp, new ownership. Very nice but the veg option is just not as good (actually quite bland). Can’t speak on the meat options but another delicious lost veg banh mi in this city.

The worst vegetarian bahn Mai I’ve ever had.

Not a fan of the banh mi here. The bread is basically a hoagie roll and not the baguette, which, to me, is a pretty essential component, and the meats in the special are bland. The pickled daikon and carrots is too salty and not very good; I had to take mine out of the sandwich because it really didn’t add anything. Yes, the prices are cheaper than Q.T. but I can also get a MUCH better sandwich on Washington for about the same price. The most disappoint component, to me, was the bread. It’s not a Vietnamese hoagie if you don’t serve it on a proper authentic baguette; it’s a regular old sandwich. They do give you plenty of cilantro, but I am not a cilantro fan anyway so that didn’t really salvage the meal for me. Also, they don’t use any pâté (just a tiny smear of mayo) or cucumbers, which are other seemingly trivial or actually important components. Head to South or NE Philly for your banh mi.

Had a craving for banh mi. Debated between coming here and walking two blocks to QT. I keep replaying that moment in my head, wishing I could undo that horrible, horrible wrong.
At first glance, the hoagie looks pretty large in size, but this is misleading, as the bread is super compressible and gets easily flattened into a pretty meager looking lump. The bread has an odd sweetness to it that makes me think it is actually just a large, toasted hot dog bun. The meats are flavorless and rubbery (I even took a moment to examine the beige-​colored substance to determine if it were actually meat). The pickled carrots are also not very pickled and quite bland. The best parts — and the only components with actual flavor — were the jalapeño and cilantro.
Yes, the banh mi here are only $ 3.50, whereas QT’s are $ 5. But that meager marginal cost is nothing compared to the monstrous opportunity cost you would be throwing away. Be a man — do the right thing.

I was feeling cheap, so I decided to try this joint in place of my regular bahn mi love at QT Vietnamese. BIG MISTAKE!
This place is not well kept. It’s old and dingy, with a glass case of less than fresh skewered meats. I ordered the «Vietnamese hoagie» thinking that I’ll get the likes of the house special at QT. Another BIG mistake. Not only were the meats tasteless and rubbery, they were so processed that I would have gladly traded someone for some fried spam. One of the meats they included in the sandwich was this beige colored chunk of processed rubber that was almost an inch thick and stuck out awkwardly from the baguette. Unappetizing. Needless to say, I didn’t finish my sandwich.
Walk it instead of riding the bus, drink water instead of buying that bubble tea. Whatever you do, don’t cheap out by getting this mess.

bad bad bad BAD BAD food and experience! Does anyone realize they use the cheap a$$ bread that places like Abner’s uses for cheap a$$ cheesesteaks?! This place actually makes me kinda mad! It’s this dirty hole in the wall that has a bright yellow menu with red writing like one of those gross fried chicken or Tex Mex places you find in any major city. You walk in and the smell of grease is so heavy in the air. Thennnnn, you order with the owner’s little son who messes up my order (I definitely said Vietnamese BBQ pork hoagie – and yup! they call them HOAGIES here) and they give me what is usually the house special one (Vietnamese ham, Vietnamese meat and pork). They YELL at me when I point this out and after I give them some little girl Asian attitude (my boyfriend was with me and heard me say BBQ pork – he doesn’t like fake ham/​meat like SPAM so we definitely wouldn’t order anything but tofu or pork bahn mi) they reluctantly make me a new one.
Reasons to never come here again:
1. They use sriracha sauce instead of jalepeno peppers. NOT OK.
2. The bread, as mentioned above.
3. The pork is SAUSAGE… cheap breakfast-​meat sausage and they add some Asian sauce to it to try to make this. Is this for real???
4. There’s one piece of cucumber and the skin is left on.
5. Did I mention that you feel like you jumped into vat of oil when you walk in?
People come in here to get chips, soda and a greasy burger. It’s a shame that people get bahn mi here. It’s the most gross tasteless fake bahn mi I’ve ever eaten. If there’s a 0-​star option, this place would get it.

I’ve been here for their assorted meats on a stick, but never for a viet. hoagie. Being a big Bánh mì guy (ate four different ones this week!), I decided to give one of their viet hoagies a try.
I ordered the chicken version and was pretty disappointed as it was just the one of their chicken skewers (usually $ 1) smothered in hot sauce topped with barely pickled carrots. No mayo sauce, no pickled daikon, no cilantro. So it’s an extra $ 3 for so-​so bread and carrots. Next time I’ll stick to the skewers and get my viet hoagie fix elsewhere.
On a positive note, the folks were there are adorable and super nice!

I come here sometimes to get the BBQ Pork banh mi. I ask for it spicy, and they throw some Sriracha sauce on it. At $ 3.50 a sandwich it’s cheaper than nearby Q.T. Vietnamese Sandwich and Phở Cali.
The sandwich isn’t too bad. It’s large in size — served on a hoagie roll to be exact. The bread is kind of soft and more akin to an Italian roll than a more fitting baguette. The meat is prepared to your order, and it follows that it is appropriately warm in temperature.
PROS:
— Larger in size than other banh mis in the neighborhood.
— Cheaper than most other banh mis in the neighborhood.
— Not pre-​packaged.
CONS:
— Not as delicious as nearby Q.T. Vietnamese Sandwich.
— Language barrier /​Shaky English.
— Shop is very small in size /​Awkward to eat-​in.

So this was my first place I ventured on my lunchtime Vietnamese hoagie foray into Chinatown. I am planning on hitting them all so I had to start somewhere.
It is small, a bit on the crusty side, and was very warm inside. (unfortunately I am describing the café, not the bread) I tried the BBQ pork. The meat was plentiful, and the sandwich was cheap at $ 4 or just under. However, the roll was not there. It was more like a little Italian roll they toasted to seem like the delicious baguettes that are normally used at most places. All-​in-​all it was okay, but I would not recommend it after having Q.T. Stay tuned for the rest of the center city lunch time Vietnamese hoagie roundup (CCLTVHRU?). HA.

This little hole in the wall is near my place of occupation and I was curious one day, so i went in to order a hoagie for lunch. My favorite one is the vegetarian hoagie, fresh and tasty. It has rice noodles mixed with a little bit of faux meat topped with carrots, cilantro, a cucumber, and a tasty sauce. I ordered a Vietnamese hoagie once, but it had some kind of ‘foul’ meat in it along with the regular cold cuts. I assume something congealed in blood… though it tasted okay, there were hard strips in it that made it inedible to my ignorant American palate.
They have fresh spring rolls, and made to serve meats on a stick.
It’s kinda dank, and I’m not sure how sanitary it may be, but its quick and tasty.

This small café is one of my favorite places to go for lunch. I nearly always call in advance and do take-​out, as it has limited, bar-​style seating. The food is very reasonably priced, with pretty much all items at $ 4 or less. Service is prompt and the food is delicious! The man who runs the store always seems very warm. While this isn’t a place I would bring a guest, as its décor is utilitarian, it is a place that I order food from at least once a week.

They’ve got pictures of iced bubble tea on their windows so i went in to order one and they said they only had it hot. May have been a language issue though. There’s barely any room to sit and drink in there. It’s more a bakery than a café i guess.

This teeny tiny café on the corner of 9^th and Arch has a bunch of random things available for purchase (Want a drink? Hey, it’s a café!) and service is friendly and quick. If you have a Vietnamese hoagie craving, head to south or northeast Philadelphia (or grab one of the pre-​cooked, wrapped up ones in the Chinese supermarkets!) instead. If you’ve never had a Vietnamese hoagie before, this might be a perverse way of testing the waters, so to speak, as the bread they use in the sandwiches are pretty large.

For just $ 2.95 you can get a Vietnamese Hoagie. They seem fresher and lighter than a Philly hoagie, with shredded carrots and cucumber on the meat. Ask for it spicy and get sliced jalapeño peppers mixed in. The sauce (is it fish sauce?) is delicate and not overpowering. A great alternative to eating a Wawa sub for lunch! Note: you won’t find this in the phone book or in a google search. In the yellow pages, it is listed as S&C Café, and the menu says Cofe 900. You’ll find them at the corner of 9^th and Arch.
They also have a variety of skewered meats, which you can ordered steamed or fried, for just $ 1 each. chicken, oversize chicken wings, shrimp balls, and more.