Cafe Duong Dong

Café Duong Dong doesn’t have a menu and offered only pork bahn mi.
eats: pork bahn mi (3.5)
–bread chewy, definitely day old though toasted
–fillings ham, pork, pâté, cilantro, carrot, jalepenos, etc.
didn’t taste that fresh
2,5 stars
crumbs:
–courteous service, bahn mi made to order.
–only one patron present.

This was wonderful, people were nice and helpful. Sandwiches were good double toasted, never will taste other places except this place. People will say the big makes the difference but for me I dont see the difference for the bread. The only difference is when you bite it and taste the meat, veggie, and bread all at once. Location is a slight off from where I work but it’s worth the trip

I walked in and ask for «One sandwich to go.» The guy didn’t ask me which one so I assumed it was the only thing on the menu. I didn’t realize till I got up to pay that there’s a menu… with a variety of sandwiches. The dry-​erase red marker was a bit faded but I think I saw: pork, shredded pork, fancy pork, and «sunny side up?» (Not too sure about this one, didn’t bring my glasses either.) I’m going to go ahead and assume the guy gave me the «pork» Banh Mi.
The sandwich:
The baguette was a bit flat and toasted to a diamond-​hard crisp. The filling had the usual medley of processed pork. What was different about it, it appears he toasts the entire sandwich, including all meats. I’m accustomed to most locations toasting only the cured pork with the baguette and other meats are served as cold cuts, placed in the sandwich AFTER pulling it out of the toaster oven. The pickled carrots were a bit sweet. There were a few slices of green bell pepper in there. It was drenched with soy sauce, making the entire contents of the sandwich brown. It looked very unappetizing, but it was surprisingly edible. You can taste that all the meats have been toasted and it’s not bad. Not bad, but not great either.

So maybe I just don’t know what a legit bahn mi should taste like. I worked at a bahn mi shop in St. Louis, and no one ever complained about mine. So I know that I make a decent sandwich. There are two reasons I gotta knock off stars from this review.
1. THAT DAMN BAHN MI CUT MY MOUTH. With all of my bahn mi expertise, I feel as though that shouldn’t happen. But it did happen because the bread was so toasted it shredded the roof of my mouth something fierce. I was bleeding at work and it was not cute. And it hurt something fierce the next day. This has been my first and only bahn mi experience in San Francisco so far, so I hope other shoppes toast the bread a little lighter.
2. The location: yes, some Unilocalers act like simply walking in the TL means getting mugged. I know this isn’t true, but still, the location’s best adjective is «sketch.» as in the 10 – 15 sketch people you will encounter as you make your way here. Sometimes if food is delicious enough, the location doesn’t matter (which is why I’m opening my okonimiyaki shop up in Hunter’s Point-​only for the daring!). Sadly Duong Dong’s food is not amazing enough for me to venture out of my way to eat here. I’d stop by if I was starving and passing by, and if I didn’t mind bleeding from the mouth once more.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Dat’s phở king phu-​née, dude.
But all seriousness aside, I remember during a trip to Taipei, that outside this building there was a big but short legged dwarf mutt/​dog that was prancing the entrance, howling at strangers. I heard the owner refer to the dog’s name as «Duan Duan», with Duan meaning short, and they double the character up to make it sound kiddy and cutesy.
So yeah a dwarf/​shorty. Everytime I see a furry little short legged fella, I think «Duan Duan».
But this isn’t Café Duan Duan. Say it too fast and you might accidentally say Café Duan Dong. Furry yes, fella yes, short legged yes, dwarf yes, unsexy? Phở shizzle…

Café Duong Dong took the place of Café Can Tho. I happened to be in the neighborhood today when a parking place materialized directly in front indicating that now was the time to sample their bahn mi.
One guy was sitting at the counter along the window and there were 2 tables full of Vietnamese men, all of them are playing dice. The lone woman tends to a small child and is cooking up something in an electric pot. No menu is present on the wall or elsewhere, the sign outside announces bahn mi, coffee, and sandwiches. I ask for a sandwich, just one the woman questions? It turns out to be a combo (aka dac biet) for $ 2.50.
She assembled a rather large bahn mi on a run of the mill French roll, it lacks the shattering crunchy crust of my preferred bahn mi. I smile as she removes part of the inner bread before spreading it with mayo and pâté. The roll then goes into the toaster oven for a while to warm it while some pork (it didn’t appear to be roasted) goes into the microwave. Head cheese, pork roll, and another mystery cold cut go into the roll. Although the meats were ok, the veggies were crisp and fresh. Large spears of cucumber, matchsticks of chilies and lightly pickled carrots, and fresh cilantro are lightly dressed with a dash of soy sauce and some black pepper.
Interesting place to stop by if you’re on that corner, but I wouldn’t go out of the way for this bahn mi.