There’s a fleeting hesitation I feel whenever a sandwich crosses the $10 Rubicon. Is this sandwich going to taste like $10? Curiously, I felt the same when I saw a bánh mì for $5.08 at Cali Sandwich & Pho in Houston’s Midtown neighborhood. Is this going to taste like a $5 sandwich?
It was a surprise to find that Cali’s sandwich tasted well above its pay grade.
Cali’s history is actually intertwined with another famous Vietnamese restaurant: Les Givral’s at 2704 Milam St. Nga Chung ran Givrals for a time with the Le family. She later left and opened Cali less than a mile away at 3030 Travis St. In 2017, Nga and her son, Andrew Dinh, relocated the business across the street to 2900 Travis St.
Nga continues to run Cali while Andrew handles front-of-house duties. Inside the modest and unassuming space, empty cardboard boxes are piled high in one corner of the dining room. There’s not much in the way of decorations save for the back wall, which features rows of trinkets and a Buddhist statue with a dollar in its mouth.
There’s an easy tell between the newcomers and the regulars inside. The new arrivals wait to be seated. The loyal customers don’t. Cali’s dining room filled up not long after 11 a.m. with a diverse crowd of customers, from white and blue collar workers and people just enjoying their Friday.
Cali’s menu, like its name, is filled with different kinds of bánh mì and pho. The prices for the sandwiches range from about $5 to $7, but never past $10. All of the sandwiches are served inside French bread with homemade mayo, pickled daikon and carrots, cucumbers, cilantro, a mild jalapeño, and soy sauce. You can add a fried egg for an additional $2.
I ordered the #91, a bánh mì with steamed barbecued pork for $5.08. The crusty baguette and crispy, sweet vegetable mix complemented the tender slices of pork. What I was most surprised by was how filling it was. The sandwich doesn’t have sides, but I walked away feeling like I ate a $15-$20 meal. In this economy, I can count on one hand when that’s happened.
Cali Sandwich & Pho is a nice reminder of the world before COVID. I can tell you the two Vietnamese restaurants near my house will sell a bánh mì for double the price of Cali. (The cheapest at one of them is $14 + fries!)
Of course, Cali’s $5.08 sandwich doesn’t entirely take the sting away. In 2015, the same sandwich only cost $2.77.