Trinh Food Truck

Banh mi have become pretty ubiquitous in the Twin Cities, but Trinh’s name should definitely be mentioned when seeking out some of the best that the Cities have to offer.
For starters, they get their bread from Trung Nam — if there’s a better base for a banh mi in the Cities I haven’t found it yet. Their choices extend beyond the typical pâté/​pork rolls found from most purveyors, including; teriyaki chicken, tofu, pork roll and grilled pork. For $ 6 you get a generously portioned sandwich and a bag of chips, which is a bit more coin than you’ll typically drop on a banh mi, but well worth it.
Trinh has two trucks covering ground in both Mpls and St. Paul, but I’ve found the quality and service to be on point regardless of the means of conveyance. Definitely one to keep an eye out for.

Trinh Food Truck should technically be Trinh Food Trucks (plural). After only one year, they were able to keep two trucks on the road. Often they have a truck at the Northeast Farmers Market. It’s a friendly, family business. They know their customers and take pride in serving great food. I really liked their tofu banh mi. The tofu was slightly sweet and caramelized. Bread and toppings were great. My only quip is that there were only like two jalapeño slices.

Last week, my wife and I walked a few blocks from our apartment over to the Food Truck Court on Kellogg — in between Wabasha and Robert Street. Trucks lined the curb, and hungry workers streamed from the downtown office buildings to mill around Kellogg Mall Park, sizing up which of the trucks’ offerings would become their lunch
I zeroed in immediately on what I wanted to eat — a pork Bahn Mi from Trinh Catering. The sandwich is the perfect combination of savory pork and bright, crispy carrots, celery and cilantro — for an added kick, jalapenos are layered very lightly in with the rest of the ingredients. The real star of this sandwich is the crusty french baguette. Trinh’s kitchen is at Trung Nam French Bakery… which makes me want to head up there and see what other baked goods they have to offer.

I really really really want to like you. I do… I do. But I just can’t.
I came back from a 3 week trip in Vietnam where on every corner there was a banh mi vendor and I have long dreamed something similar would be available in the US. Banh mi is fast to make and easy to eat on the go, yet also very very filling. I was as excited to hear that someone had a banh mi truck! Therefore, it saddens me to have write this review. The owners of this truck are super duper nice, but I just simply expect better.
I love Banh Mi and it’s something I’ve been eating my whole entire life. I’ve eaten the traditionals ones, the specials ones and all the «fusion» ones they have around. However, I can’t get myself sold.
The good? The bread is always crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, just how a Vietnamese banh mi should be. The do chua is good with fresh veggies are correct.
The bad? Where’s the pâté? THE essential part of any banh mi. The special mayo? Not there. I’ve had the BBQ pork and the standard one… whatever it’s called. The «standard» banh mi (say if you go to Saigons, Quangs or Lu’s Sandwiches) usually include a variety of cold-​cuts with a slab of pâté and Vietnamese mayo on it. Trinhs version is just a few pieces of cut up cha lua (Vietnamese ham/​sausage/​pork roll) that tastes like the frozen stuff you can get from an Asian grocery store for $ 2 – 3. The BBQ pork was just as disappointing. For whatever reason, I assumed it would be grilled pork as I’ve never seen BBQ pork on a banh mi before. Anyways, good BBQ pork isn’t what they used. It was dried and tasted like it’s been sitting out cold for awhile. My family does this sometimes when we go to Tai Hoa BBQ on University and bring it home, stuff it in some banh mi and have it to each when my parents were lazy to cook for us.
All in all, I understand food trucks provide convenience and we should pay more. However, many of the other competitors provide scratch-​made foods with lots more thought put into it and provide it at a better price point. I mean — $ 6 for not at all special banh mi?! That’s ridiculous. And $ 10 total for banh mi + café sua da. I was in shock. Trust me, very often do I actually complain about the price of food. It’s just not worth it. Safe your $ 10 on the food that has love put into it. I’m obviously also über critical because I want a Vietnamese person/​company/​entrepreneur to be the ones that showcase the best Vietnamese food to be offered and it just does’t c

I’ve been to this truck a few times now when it is parked at Rice Park. The bread for their banh mi sandwiches is outstanding, and the toppings are just as delicious. Totally love them. I have gotten the teriyaki banh mi the most often, and that’s because it is killer delicious. They also have coffee drinks, and the Vietnamese iced coffee not only crushes awesomeness in flavor, it has some sort of cocaine/​caffeine hybrid in it or something as I am uncontrollably wired after drinking one — which now that I know going in, is totally cool.