“It’s near the Walmart” wouldn’t seem to bode well for good dining, but tucked in a corner of a strip mall just before the Evans Wal-Mart is Banh Mi Dang, a gem of a Vietnamese restaurant serving up sandwiches, pho, stir fries and more.
I stood in the parking lot waving down my friend Tricia, whose GPS had led her astray and who was circling the Walmart lot. Paige drove in, grinning at us, just as we were headed to the front door.
Inside, the restaurant is all pale neutrals, in soft grays and browns, with pops of black from the straight-backed chairs and fresh color from huge bunches of flowers next to the cash register. It was quiet that Tuesday night, with just one large Vietnamese family who looked inquiringly at us as we walked in.
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It was clear we weren’t regulars as we dove into the menu. Banh Mi Dang features a huge variety, including appetizers with a twist, such as eggrolls served with fish sauce or cured fermented pork; salads, like rare beef in lime-juice or lotus root; traditional Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, with their French influence of a baguette and optional pate topping; pho noodle soups and other soups; grilled meats or seafood with rice; crispy or “wet” noodle stir-fries; and drinks and desserts, from boba milk tea and iced tamarind drinks to a Vietnamese honeycomb-look cake or rainbow color dessert with layers of beans, coconut milk and ice.
We all wanted to taste a banh mi. So as a starter, we decided to split the char siu pork and shredded pork-skin sandwich. I was kicking myself that I forgot to add the optional pate, but not after the first taste. As I sliced into the sandwich, the baguette’s crisp exterior crackled into flakes, while the soft interior cradled a generous helping of char siu and rich brown pork skin, with fresh carrot, cucumber and cilantro. The sweet and savory taste of the Chinese-inspired char siu immediately took me home since it’s a flavor I’ve known since I was a child, with a surprising hit of spice modulated by the fresh vegetables.
I’m no pho expert, but if I was going to eat here, I wanted to try their version. So as my entrée, I ordered the Dang’s Special, with filet mignon, meatball, crunchy flank, flank and brisket, while Tricia ordered the Vietnamese Crab Soup with rice vermicelli and Paige chose the Crispy Egg-Noodle with Seafood.
Our waitress brought me a platter of bean sprouts, cilantro and jalapenos, with tiny dishes of sweet brown hoisin and sriracha chili sauce, before returning with our steaming bowls and plates. Paige’s was a gorgeous nest of crisp noodles loaded with a variety of seafood, while Tricia’s was a beautiful red soup loaded with tomatoes, thin noodles, tofu and pork meatballs, with a lovely scent of seafood wafting over to me from both.
But when I turned my attention to the meal in front of me, I found a brothy soup, loaded with soft, white, slurpy noodles, and a mix of meats, including soft and mild sausages, rich flank steak and other frills of beef. The broth had a unique, musky flavor—and I piled even more flavor on with a generous helping of cilantro and scoops of the sweet hoisin sauce (I had to put the sriracha aside after a small dab left my mouth burning).
As I left, the flavors are what stayed with me—and I wanted more. Banh Mi Dang joins several other Augusta Vietnamese restaurants, which begged the question: Which should I try next?
Make Your Reservation
Banh Mi Dang
4431 Washington Road, Evans
Open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Entrée cost: $3.95 to $14.95
Danielle Wong Moores is a local freelance writer who’ll never turn down a shrimp cocktail, sushi or cheese dip. Her greatest food influences are her mom and writers MFK Fisher and Amanda Hesser. Her Dine and Dish column runs the second and fourth Fridays in The Augusta Press.
