Baguette Express - San Bernardino

Baguette Express
1689 Kendall Dr. Suite D
San Bernardino
(909) 887-2562
Mon-Fri 10:30am - 8:30pm
Sat 11am-6pm
www.iebaguetteexpress.com

   The crisp french baguette crunches in my mouth, the jalapeno releases it's heat while the cucumber cools my tongue, then I taste the sweet and smoky BBQ pork. There's a sauce, wait... mayonnaise? Is that homemade mayonnaise? I've just met the most delicious sandwich and it's Vietnamese...bahn mi.
    Baguette Express is located in a strip mall (surprise, surprise) about four doors down from Thai Place and a block away from Cal State San Bernardino. You enter into a small dining area and walk to the left towards a counter to order. A large menu with pictures of their sandwiches and other menu items wrap around the counter. Behind the counter is an incredible rotating bread oven. I can see golden brown baguettes spinning circles in a giant metal container just calling out to me. I'm already excited about the bread and I can't wait for what they are gonna fill it with. 

Thai Tea

Spring Rolls

   We ordered three 12" bahn mis, BBQ beef, BBQ pork and Cajun shrimp. We also ordered combination spring rolls, which come with three, one BBQ pork, one BBQ beef and one shrimp. Of course I ordered a Thai tea to go with my meal and I opted to enjoy it with boba. The woman who owns the business is very friendly and helpful. She prides herself on making fresh bread everyday and sometimes even multiple batches throughout the day to ensure freshness. While the dining room is a little cramped the staff did a very good job accommodating us and we were set up with a fairly comfortable table.

BBQ Pork

Cajun Shrimp

   As I sat down, I enjoyed my Thai tea; and while it was delicious, I feel it was a tad overpriced, the 16oz was $2.99 and the 24oz was $3.49 plus an extra charge for boba. I'm a slave to this yummy drink, so I'll usually pay whatever it costs when its available. She brought us the spring rolls first. I'm used to springs rolls that are skinny and on the smaller side. What was in front of me, was basically a spring burrito. Clear spring roll paper wrapped around rice noodles, lettuce, cilantro, carrot, and the various meat fillings. They were served with a peanut dipping sauce that was sweet, sour and buttery all at once. My favorite spring roll was the BBQ beef because the beef was almost teriyaki flavored and the peanut sauce complimented the beef very well. The bahn mi arrive and upon first glance I see Vietnam in a basket. What's unique about bahn mi (which is the name for the actual bread) is that in Vietnam wheat is hard to grow, so the bread is actually made with rice flour, which results in a thinner bread with a crispier crust. We were lucky enough to receive sandwiches with bread that just came out of the oven and it couldn't have been any more obvious. Their bahn mi was downright perfect. All of the bahn mi is served with homemade mayonnaise, cucumber, carrot, raw jalapeno, cilantro and salt and pepper. We rotated sandwiches a few times and I couldn't pick a favorite. The Cajun shrimp was so tasty, not fishy or under seasoned. The shrimp was spicy but flavorful and it could have stood on its own, it was so perfectly prepared. The BBQ beef tasted slightly sweet, a grilled teriyaki flavor almost. It was very useful to have the sweet every time I bit into a jalapeno. The BBQ pork tasted like charbroiled Korean Short Rib...great flavor, very tender meat, with amazing grilled ends and pieces.
  Other than the Thai tea the menu items were fairly priced. Less than $5 for the bahn mi, $5 for the spring roll, and they also serve giant bowls of pho for around $6. These sandwiches have a very unique taste and flavor combination. The french style bread with fresh Asian condiments and drastically different styles of meat, marry together into a delicious lunch or dinner. If haven't experienced Vietnamese cuisine before, I highly suggest you put Baguette Express at the top of your list. If you've been lucky enough to try bahn mi definitely hit this place next. Always fresh veggies, daily made bread, and great service, Baguette Express deserves an opportunity to show you how bahn mi is done.