Lee’s Store

They’ve upped the prices of the banh mi to $ 3 but this place is still the shit. It’s up there with with Ba Le for the tastiest beef banh mi in the city.
They do typically run out of bread by 1pm so call ahead.

Not much in the way of… food…some junk food, but random off brands. No milk!
I give it 2 stars instead of 1 because they do have some Vietnamese things, which is who they are marking to.

I remember the place from the time it was called the Avenue Bakery. I live very close by and am in here at least 6 – 7 times a week. The coffee is excellent and for the price, there’s really no comparison. I’ve never developed a taste for Vietnamese cuisine, but I’ve heard good things about the offering that Lee’s puts forth. They also have very cheap and tasty «traditional» sandwiches… traditional being ham and cheese, roast beef, etc, etc. for under 3 bucks! There’s usually a group of older Vietnamese men to the left when you walk in playing keno or some mysterious game from the orient at a table. They can sometimes get in the way, but generally they’re pretty nice. Also, Lee, the proprietor is a very nice and friendly person.

Great bánh mì in an oddball of a Vietnamese-​owned convenience store.
I’ve long relied on Web sites like Chowhound and Unilocal for tips on new restaurants. Last year, I jumped on the social-​media bandwagon, adding thousands of friends on Twitter and Facebook, many with restaurant-​industry ties. My new intelligence channel quickly reaped benefits: when I bemoaned the closing of King Do Baguette, my lone known source for a sardine bánh mì, a Facebook friend suggested Lee’s. Sure enough, this little Dorchester bakery and convenience store, with its oddball mix of Western, Vietnamese, and Cantonese pastries, cakes, groceries, and sundries, has bánh mì for takeout in six varieties, including sardines.
Each bánh mì ($ 2.50) starts with the critical foundation of great bread, here a fresh 12-​inch baguette with a super-​crackly crust, courtesy of some added rice flour. This is filled with shredded, lightly pickled carrots, a long spear of fresh cucumber, a lot of fresh cilantro, some mandolined white onions, and a schmear of mayo, occasionally with the yellow tint of added oleo. Request «spicy» and it gets sprinkled with slices of tiny fresh green chilies, packing surprising heat. Last is the meat of your choice, including meatball (made from pork, crushed just before serving into a coarse pâté), ham combo (actually a trio of cold cuts resembling head cheese, mortadella, and char siu pork), beef (like shredded brisket), or shredded pork skin (like steamed chicharrón, bland and quite chewy).
A few pointers: English is spotty here, so be sure to insist on «Vietnamese style,» or you’ll get an American sub with (gasp) cheese and none of the good salad-​y stuff. Bánh mì are done for the day when the rolls are gone, so call ahead to check on availability after about 2pm. Sometimes there’s no Vietnamese iced coffee ($ 2); at other times, no Vietnamese beef stew with bread ($ 2.50). But there are always excellent smoothies ($ 3) based on an array of fruits both familiar (avocado, mango, strawberry/​banana) and strange (like jackfruit or the confoundingly stinky/​sweet durian), with or without tapioca pearls. Canned soft drinks ($ 1.50) range from standard American sodas to Asian beverages like coconut juice, flavored soymilk, and the amaro-​like grass jelly drink. As for the much-​sought sardine bánh mì, it’s just okay: the fish canned, lightly mashed, a bit like Chicken of the Sea. But that’s a quibble. I’m still elated to have found Lee’s: its terrific sandwiches rank among the tastiest under-​$ 3 lunches in town.

Is it still bahn mi if the sandwich has lettuce, tomato, and cucumber instead of pickled carrots and cilantro? Is «no onion» code for an Americanized bahn mi? Or does it simply mean that you don’t want onions?
Although I asked for carrots in the hopes of finding an answer, the woman was so into making my sandwich she didn’t seem to understand, even though I saw an open container of cilantro on the the work surface. So I admit that I wussed out, instead of saying, «Hey, why are you making this kind of sandwich?» I wasn’t going to make any assumptions, and figured I’d give the lettuce and tomato a try for my grilled steak bahn mi. It was OK for a $ 2.50 sandwich, and it had a decent meat-​bread-​veg ratio. But I don’t think I’d call it a bahn mi; it was a grilled steak sandwich on French bread made by Vietnamese people.
The women working in the store were friendly enough, but I definitely interrupted the sandwich maker, probably while she was eating her own lunch. They didn’t have much in the way of baked goods, though the black and white cookies looked very fresh.

I feel like I shouldn’t put this on Unilocal,but in my opinion, Lee’s Store and Bakery has the best Vietnamese sandwiches in Dorchester. It’s totally mom and pop, and they don’t always speak English, but the barbecued beef is way tastier than the bigger, flashier stores (I won’t name names, but I have eaten at them, too.) I find it less sweet and less dry, which makes for a moist and yummy sandwich experience. All for $ 2.50 which is cheaper than the other places, too. My kids like the little pastries (and the gumball and tattoo dispensers!). Worth a stop!

Cheapest smokes on Dot Ave. The blunts are usually dry though. The cakes and coffee and bakery stuffs are sweet and yummy. Alot of the neighborhood poor get sandwiches here too because they are inexpensive. They also rent Vietnamese DVD’s and have a pretty good selection of ice cram treats. The staff are local moms and women from the neighborhood and they are nice. I love this little store. Oh Cash only!!!

It’s a convenience store, but they also make Vietnamese subs and birthday cakes.
There are some great options on Dot Ave for banh mi, but I’m trying to give them all a chance. Stopped in here and ordered a sandwich for lunch.
One woman behind the counter made my sandwich. A mixer whirred behind her, probably making a cake. The other woman behind the counter rang up my purchase. She chatted happily with my sandwich maker as she CLIPPED HER FINGERNAILS, standing about 2 feet above a small receptacle positioned near one of the food prep areas.
The end.