Leo’s has good food, but pass on the Banh Mi

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Before I get to telling you NOT to order the Banh Mi sandwich down at Leonardo’s Cafe, let me preface with the fact I really do like the place, and think their food is often quite good.

The Peppadew Club (French bread with beef, turkey, bacon, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sweet peppadew peppers and balsamic vinaigrette) and the Picasso (Ham, pepperoni, pastrami, provolone, tomato, romaine, spicy Dijon mustard and caramelized onion sauce served on french bread) are two super solid sandwiches. I like them a lot, and usually order one of them (along with a cup of the always-good soup selection) when I grab lunch at the restaurant inside the Washington Pavilion.

But I like to try new things, and whether I missed it before (possible) or it’s somewhat newish, I went with the Banh Mi when joining a friend for a quick lunch this week.

A Vietnamese sandwich that mixes that country’s taste with the French, the Banh Mi at Leonardo’s is sliced pork loin, melted provolone cheese, a fresh vegetable slaw of carrot, daikon, cucumber and onion, then drizzled with a Hoisin vinaigrette, and is normally served on French baguette bread.
I’ve had a few Banh Mi before and enjoyed them. This one left me wanting a bit. For starters, they substituted focaccia for French bread. This might have been an inventory thing, but it wasn’t a good trade. But the main thing I didn’t like was the Hoisin sauce was far too sweet and overpowered the sandwich (oddly you can’t see much of it in the above photo).
On this one, I’d pass, and stick to the other two sandwiches mentioned above.
This also got me wondering why don’t either of the, I think very good, Vietnamese restaurants in town, Pho Quynh and Lam’s, offer a Banh Mi?
It would be welcome.