Houston has no shortage of Vietnamese restaurants selling the ever popular banh mi, a sandwich that has become as common in this city as a barbecue plate or a chicken fried steak. With a large Vietnamese community, Houston has been on the forefront of introducing Americans to dishes such as pho or bun bo hue but also creating a fusion cuisine known as Viet-Cajun that very much appeals to the H-Town love of spice and boiled crawfish.
The bounty of culinary options in Houston is rooted in the city's port, proximity to the Gulf and the country of Mexico. In 1975, after the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese, many Vietnamese refugees made their way to the United States. A few years later, the mass immigration would hit its peak and often the refugees were making the treacherous journey on boats and ships, many of them dying along the way. In the 1980s, Boat People SOS was founded to rescue people and protect their rights as asylum-seekers.

The mission has increased over the years to include offering legal services for immigrant victims of crime and domestic violence, help with citizenship, senior citizen outreach and a program dedicated to fighting human trafficking. There are branches across the United States and Southeast Asia.
BPSOS Houston has fundraising events to raise money for its mission and this week organizers held its much-anticipated Banh Mi Cookoff 2023. It was 7th one for the event which was shelved during the pandemic. This year, it was held at Chapman & Kirby, 2118 Lamar, which was also the setting in 2018.

The Houston Press was lucky enough to be a featured judge at the cookoff, along with a former Banh Mi Cookoff winner, Linda Nguyen, who, along with her husband Ronnie Nguyen, owns the renowned Roostar Vietnamese Grill. Nguyen has been termed by some as the Queen of Banh Mi.  Also serving as judges were Mimi Lin, a chef specializing in pop-ups and personal catering, and Stevie Vu, director of Asia Society Texas Center.
While attendees roamed about the venue, tasting the various banh mi sandwiches and enjoying the iced Thai tea and matcha from Roostar plus boba from Boba House, the judges were seated at two booths awaiting each contestant's dish and story. The first up was AtCha, which served a tasty take on a beef sandwich in tribute to the Hulu television show The Bear. The butter was made in-house with garlic confit and a pork pate. AtCha is known for its sandwiches and beverages but banh mi was a new gig for them. We were impressed by all the hard work that went into the homemade ingredients. The sweetness of the lemongrass and beef au jus worked beautifully with the sandwich. The dipping sauce theme, especially pho broth, would be prevalent throughout the competition.
Our second entry was from Xin Chao, delivered to us by Chef Tony Nguyen. Xin Chao is an acclaimed Vietnamese eatery that is a culinary partnership between Nguyen and Master Chef champion and restaurateur Christine Ha. The creativity and culinary skill of the two James Beard Award-nominated chefs and their drive to do something spectacular was evident in this meaty concoction. Smoked rib from R-C Ranch, Duroc pork belly and lemongrass porchetta were made even more luxurious with duck liver pate, egg yolk mayo and beef tallow aioli. The pickled rainbow carrots helped to curb the richness just a bit.

Chef Nikki Tran brought us her rendition of banh mi which was very unique. Known for her Viet-Cajun cuisine, Tran also likes to describe her food as Southern Union, blending both her South Vietnamese food culture with the Southern flavors of  the Texas Gulf Coast. Her sandwich was spicy, one-half with shrimp, the other half with jackfruit, an ingredient commonly used in Vietnamese cuisine. It was similar to goi mit nom tom, a jackfruit and shrimp salad. Tran has a similar salad on her dinner menu. I liked the spicy kick in her sandwich and the addition of thinly-sliced green apple gave it a nice balance. We were told there was thit kho tau (carmelized pork and eggs in coconut water) in the sandwich as well but there was a lot going on ingredient-wise and I am not sure I actually could taste it.
The chef from Kim Son produced not one, but four banh mi: beef, pork belly, cold cuts and a meatball version meant for dipping in the pho broth. They were fairly traditional in their composition and delicious but my fellow chef judge agreed with me that one show-stopping banh mi would have been a better approach. Of all four, I particularly liked the meatball banh mi.
Blood Bros. was the next competitor and as always, had the most energetic crew. Founded by brothers Robin Wong and Terry Wong, along with longtime friend Quy Hoang, the business has received numerous accolades from Texas Monthly, Bon Appetit and Food and Wine for their unique spin on Texas barbecue. Their menu is often changing but cha lua, a Vietnamese-style pork sausage, can be found on occasion and that is what was on the Blood Bros. banh mi this evening, along with smoked head cheese. My fellow judge, Chef Lin, was very excited to see the head cheese, though it's something I rarely ever eat myself. However, I think the team at Blood Bros. could smoke a roof shingle and make it taste good. The head cheese melted in my mouth like a lush Italian lardo. The banh mi was served open face to showcase the meats. The garlic aioli and chicken liver pate got a little lost in the smokiness of the meats but we were assured they were there.

Saigon Hustle, owned by Sandy Nguyen and Cassie Ghaffar, delivered our next bite and the explanation of the ingredients was a fun one. It was a banh mi of homemade pork sausage that had the brilliant addition of tightly rolled eggroll wrappers to give it a little crunch. The chefs and judges agreed that it was similar to adding potato chips to your sandwich or crispy fries to your burger. That was clever in itself but the accompanying sauce took it over the top. It was a mix of pate, chili oil and ground chicken. This selection shot up to the top for some of the judges.
We were then greeted by the chefs from The Pho Fix who had based their dish on the roast beef debris of New Orleans and the American standard, the French Dip. Their version, however, had a touch of Thai basil and was served with a pho dip. The black Angus brisket was tender and the pho broth was drinkable but the decision to use a bolillo roll instead of a French baguette resulted in a bit of sogginess at the bottom of the sandwich. While I appreciated the nod to the Hispanic culture of Houston, the bread did not stand up to the flavorful ingredients.
Vina Deli's entry arrived next, along with its owner who was very proud of his contribution and ready to discuss it at length. It was a generous portion of pork, pickled carrots, cucumber, jalapeno and cilantro. It was a solid, straight-up banh mi. It didn't blow our socks off with creativity but it would be a perfect lunch option for anyone looking for a hearty sandwich. The addition of honey added a pleasant sweetness.
The final contestant was Wokker. The dish was presented beautifully with the banh mi done bruschetta-style. The meat was almost like a pot roast, served on top of a foie gras pate that made the combination unctuous and creamy. It was topped with a sweet carrot puree and a citrus twist of cumquats though we judges never actually figured out how the cumquats were used. This was a morsel that would be perfect for a cocktail party, accompanied by a dry champagne. The French influence on Vietnamese cuisine was definitely highlighted in this dish.

After we judges turned in our scores and the attendees made their votes, the winners were announced. The Judge's Choice winner was Xin Chao and the People's Choice top honors went to Saigon Hustle. I was glad that there were two winners because it was an even split in my opinion. And apparently, the crowd thought so as well since Saigon Hustle was 2nd in Judge's Choice and Xin Chao was 2nd in People's Choice. Blood Bros. took 3rd in Judge's Choice and The Pho Fix was 3rd for People's Choice.

However, Wokker's banh mi bruschetta is still on my mind.