Handheld Bites

There is a massive, vibrant Vietnamese community in Houston, Texas, so as a huge fan of bánh mì, I knew I had to find the best spots in town. My research led me to Roostar, and after seeing the rave reviews and mouth-watering photos on Yelp and Google, it went straight to the top of my must-eat list.

They have multiple locations, but I visited Roostar Vietnamese Grill 2 on Richmond Ave. It’s situated in an outdoor strip mall, so parking was a breeze. Once inside, you order at the register, and there is plenty of seating available to dine in comfortably.

I started off with a 20oz Vietnamese Iced Coffee ($6.19). It was solid, though perhaps a little on the sweet side for my taste.

For the main event, I ordered the grilled pork bánh mì ($8.99) with light jalapeño. The sandwich comes packed with cucumbers, pickled carrots, cilantro, soy sauce, and garlic aioli. The flavor was excellent—a perfect mix of smoky and sweet. The bread was the real highlight; it was wonderfully soft inside and had that signature crunch on the outside. The pickled carrots and garlic aioli were a great touch, and adding a bit of Sriracha to each bite really took it to the next level.