Bale French Deli Togo

⁰¹²⁄₁₀₀ — 2016 Unilocal 100 CHALLENGE.
I saw that this place recently took over the old Vietnamese coffee shop that had been here. There’s another Bale in Mira Mesa, so I wasn’t sure if that Bale had moved or if this is a separate store. Does anyone happen to know if they’re related? lol.
Anyway, I had a hankering for banh mi so I thought I would go here as the plaza it’s in is a lot more convenient for me on the way home. I assumed they were the same as the other Bale and that it had just moved (the interior looked similar). I came at a time when things were a little slow (late lunch) so my banh mi came out in a pretty timely manner. The price point for the banh mi is about the same as other places.
I noticed that the shop also runs as a mini-​restaurant. When I came in it was pretty clean and nice looking. My banh mi (ordered 4 of them) came out after 5 – 10 minutes and then I went on my merry little way. The banh mi themselves are pretty good. I was under the impression that this Bale and the other Bale are by the same people so I thought the banh mi would be the same. It was delicious, but it lacked its usual punch. Thinking back on it now, I’m pretty sure it was the pâté they used.
Despite all of that, it was a good first experience and I enjoyed the banh mi. I’ll probably be trying out the actually dishes sometime in the future. The bun bo hue looks awesome.