Food. No matter who you are, you gotta eat it. For many of us, however, food isn’t just a necessity for survival, it’s a way of bringing people together, sharing heritage, and enjoying new experiences. Come with me as I go into excruciating detail about my experiences and explore food from various cuisines as we go from small mom-and-pop shops to iconic chain items across The Centennial State.
Restaurant #1: Paris Banh Mi, Colorado Springs Branch
The Origins
Bánh Mì’s (Banh Mi) are a delicious staple food across Vietnam. Back in the mid-19th century when Vietnam was a part of French Indochina, the French baguette was introduced to the populous. During the 20th century, a unique type of sandwich developed in Saigon using the long, crusty loaf. With a wide variety of toppings from savory grilled pork to pickled daikon radish and carrot, it’s no wonder why the dish was so popular.
Fast-forward a bit to today, where the small chain of cafes began forming, founded by Hien Tran, one of which ended up being located on 6472 Templeton Gap Rd, Ste. 130 in Colorado Springs. I’d highly recommend reading more about Paris Banh Mi’s origins and goals on their website, but that’s not what we’re here for today. Let’s get into what everyone really wants to know about:
The food
What everyone really cares about.
Taking a glance at the menu, it becomes abundantly clear that there’s a little something for everyone here. When I went in, they not only had their big, main menu with their drinks, sandwiches and other foods on it, but also several handwritten signs advertising different desserts or snacks, including a shelf to the left of the entrance containing various treats. There’s no shortage of variety when it comes to what’s offered, though be warned, if you plan on going later in the day, some of the items may be sold out.
There’s 16 different types of sandwiches you can order, all of which fall into one of three categories: Baguette, Croissant, or Burger. The classic baguette has the most options for fillings with 8 different choices. The other two categories – croissant and burger – have 4 different options, but are no less tasty. When I went, I ended up trying two different sandwiches, the grilled pork croissant and baguette banh mi which is not currently available on their online menu containing crispy pork belly. All their sandwiches include pork pâté, butter mayo, cilantro, and thinly sliced pickled carrot and daikon radish, though any of these can be left out. The classic banh mi’s also includes jalapenos, cucumber, and a house sauce which adds a tasty umami flavor to it all.
Alongside our sandwiches, we also ordered a Korean Corndog, specifically the potato half & half and Taiwanese fried chicken. Different from American corndogs, Korean corndogs don’t actually use any cornmeal, but rather a yeasted batter with either wheat or rice flour, giving them a lighter, chewier texture. They are also occasionally coated with panko breadcrumbs, crushed instant ramen, potato cubes, or even more recently Hot Cheetos or Taki’s before being fried. The one we ordered was of the potato crusted variety and was half hotdog, half mozzarella cheese. Taiwanese fried chicken is incredibly similar to pop-corn chicken, typically using thigh or breast meat which is marinated before being coated in a batter or seasoned flour before being fried. Fried Thai basil was also added, and the chicken is covered in a spice mix. Taiwanese fried chicken typically uses a mix of salt, white pepper and or five spice.
To drink, we had a peach green tea with coconut jelly – or nata de coco – as well as a tiger milk tea, a popular Taiwanese drink including brown sugar boba (tapioca pearls) and a thick, sweet syrup that coats the sides of the cup, milk, and black tea.
To round us off, we got dessert. To be honest, it was next to impossible for a sweet-tooth like me to pick just one dessert here. From lemon berry mascarpone cake, to chocolate macarons, there’s seemingly endless options, all of which look fresh out of a Pinterest board. In the end, I decided to get the Paris Fruit Croffle. If you don’t know what a croffle is, it’s a cross between, well, a croissant and a waffle. Taking a buttery, flaky croissant, you press it into a waffle maker till it’s warm and crispy outside. For this specific flavor, it’s then topped with fluffy whipped cream, fresh fruits including blueberries, strawberries and kiwi’s, before being lightly dusted with powdered sugar.
The Rating
Let’s talk about the good and bad of this place.
To start with, let’s talk about the food. It was absolutely delicious. Each dish I tried had a wonderful balance of flavors, textures, and even temperatures. The fatty pork belly compliments the crusty baguette, but is reigned in by the vinegary, crunchy pickled carrots and radish, as well as the freshness of the cucumber. The croffle is fresh off the iron, making it warm and crisp, contrasting to the cool, fluffy cream on top and the slight tartness of the fruits. Best of all, it’s not too sweet, which is possibly the biggest compliment I can give to an Asian dessert. Moving onto the atmosphere. The inside is clean, bold, but also welcoming. There’s plenty of tables and chairs to enjoy your food at, a display case showing several of their desserts, a small stand with napkins, forks, knives, sauce and even takeout containers right by the order/pickup counter. There’s a handful of screens showing pictures of their various drinks, as well as a small section of the wall dedicated to their new items and catering options.
However, there are also things I dislike about the place as well. For starters, what frustrates me the most is the fact a good portion of their menu isn’t online. Several of their pastries, appetizers and snacks aren’t even listed on their website nor their google page, which makes it incredibly difficult for someone like myself who chooses restaurants based off of the menu to know what all is there (and it also made writing this a nightmare). Moving onto the food, I found the tea to be rather disappointing. I personally am quite picky when it comes to my tea, and unfortunately this place did not meet my standards. Both the black and green tea were over brewed, though with the black tea it was a bit less noticeable thanks to the milk. I also found the Thai fried chicken to need a little salt, but that’s a tiny detail, and there are several people who would like it as is. The bigger issue with it was its lack of juiciness and somewhat overwhelming taste of white pepper. I did, however, enjoy the fried basil as it added a delicate crisp texture to the otherwise dull meat. The Korean corndog was alright, nothing particularly stood out about it. Next, the staff. Every time I’ve come into Paris Banh Mi, it is, or almost is, entirely empty. Despite that, the wait times for food are rather laughable. I’ve seen a handful of the workers simply standing around on their phones rather than preparing any of the food. As someone who has volunteered in the service industry and has family who has worked in the service industry, I like to believe I’m rather forgiving when staff needs a break or it takes awhile for something to come out. However, a lot of the staff simply didn’t seem to care. Similarly, we had come in later in the day, about 4 or so hours before closing, and yet they began to close up while we were still in there, sweeping and putting chairs up. Of course, it could very easily have just been an off day, but the online reviews share a similar story. My final gripe with this cafe is the prices. Personally, I think the prices are a bit outrageous, primarily for their desserts. For the two sandwiches, the corn dog, the chicken, the two drinks and the croffle, I paid roughly $71.74 pre-tax. To put it into perspective, I could get approximately 4 big macs, 6 large fries, and 12 soft serve cones at McDonalds.
The Verdict
Finally, we reach our conclusion. Was coming here worth it, and would I recommend it to others?
Let’s start with the scores – I’ll be rating the food I ordered, the atmosphere, and the service on a scale of 0 to 10 with my reasoning for the score on the side.
Pork Belly Banh Mi: 7/10, Very tasty, very thin loaf |★★★★★★★☆☆☆|
Grilled Pork Croissant: 7.5/10, Very tasty, small portion |★★★★★★★⯪☆☆|
Thai Fried Chicken: 4/10, Yummy friend basil, underwhelming fried chicken |★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆|
Korean Corn Dog: 5/10, Very middle of the road | ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆|
Peach Green Tea + Coconut Jelly: 3.5/10, Over brewed tea, lacking peach flavor |★★★⯪☆☆☆☆☆☆|
Tiger Milk Tea: 4.5/10, Over brewed tea, chewy tapioca |★★★★⯪☆☆☆☆☆|
Paris Fruit Croffle: 8.5/10, Incredibly tasty, Croffle was a bit too chewy to easily eat |★★★★★★★★⯪☆|
Atmosphere: 7/10, Clean space with nice decor, lack of people making it slightly eerie |★★★★★★★☆☆☆|
Wait Time: 3/10, Long wait time, but no other customers |★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|
Service: 3/10, Uninterested staff, self service station is nice though |★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|
Overall: 5.3/10 | ★★★★★⯪☆☆☆☆☆|
Would I recommend this place to others? No, most likely not. While they have some rather tasty food options, the drinks and non-Vietnamese food weren’t worth the long wait time and slow service.
Places I would recommend instead:
If you’re just looking to try some Vietnamese food in the nearby area, I’d recommend Pho-Nomenal off of Stetson Hills Blvd. Pho is another incredibly popular Vietnamese street food, and while this restaurant does not offer Banh Mi’s, they’re tasty, reasonably priced, and give big portions.
Specifically craving Boba? I’d recommend Sharetea off of Union Blvd. In the past, the tea has been well brewed, and there’s a wide variety of toppings and drinks to choose from. My personal go to is a classic pearl milk tea with black tea and adding pudding for extra texture.
Willing to drive a bit further?: If you’ve got a craving for croffles and a wide variety of food, I’d recommend Coark Collective located off of Arapahoe Rd. With 10 unique vendor stalls selling delicious Korean street food, desserts and beverages, you truly can’t go wrong!
Credits
Locations mentioned:
Paris Banh Mi – 6472 Templeton Gap Rd, Colorado Springs, CO 80923
Pho-nomenal – 5825 Stetson Hills Blvd #100, Colorado Springs, CO 80923
ShareTea – 8834 N Union Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO 80920
Coark Collective – 15775 E. Arapahoe Rd, Centennial, CO 80016
Photo Credits:
All images used were taken by: Izzie V.
Disclaimer:
All opinions expressed in this article are my own and are not written to cast judgement against or dissuade customers from visiting, but simply sharing my own views and experiences.
