Saigon-style banh mi

Saigon Sandiwch House in Lowell is just a few blocks from my office, so we get lunch from there somewhat regularly. Their specialty is their banh mi, and this is their “Saigon combo”, which is the standard traditional banh mi with ham, pork, pate, daikon, carrot, jalapenos and cilantro. For me, it’s the Platonic ideal of a banh mi, and they make a really good one. You have to have that super-crispy exterior on the baguette to get it right, but the interior of the bread can’t be dried out. I’ve had other banh mi where they just used stale sub rolls, and those suck. Or even worse, super soft rolls like you get at a Subway. ::shudder::