Baguette Express

Perfumed with the aroma of dark roasted coffee and freshly baked bread, banh mi shops -- Vietnamese sandwich cafes -- are a familiar sight in certain local Zip codes. But the sandwiches they serve -- baguettes laden with Asian-style cold cuts -- while a staple in Vietnam for decades, are still a long way from the mainstream here.

That may change, though, with the opening of Baguette Express in San Gabriel. The immaculate, glassed-in dining room of this trendily designed shop attracts young professionals and students who lounge at the tables sipping soy-based smoothies, ice-blended mochas or sparkling French lemonade. The efficient, fast-food-style service and smart logo makes it seem imminently clonable. And why not? The beloved Vietnamese standards served here should play well to a wider audience.

Although Baguette Express serves authentic, French-influenced Vietnamese dishes, the proprietors have made it a point to bridge cultural culinary gaps. Each sandwich description in written in English with Vietnamese names following. And there are "European-style" baguette sandwiches on the menu, such as roast beef or ham and cheese.

The heart of great banh mi is the right bread. So the restaurant mixes, proofs and bakes its baguettes from scratch. The skinny loaves emerging from the ovens almost hourly are dead ringers for the airy baguettes you can pick up in a neighborhood bakery in Paris.

Baguette Express owner Daniel Ngo became an American resident at age 13. Growing up with Subway, El Pollo Loco and the like, says the former banker (who owned a Chinese restaurant for five years), helped shape his idea for a multi-branch restaurant.

Ngo intends to blend the convenience of a fast-food restaurant with high-quality, made-to-order food. The shop prepares 6- and 12-inch sandwiches in full view of customers, allowing for modifications and special requests. Sandwiches are made with the best charcuterie Ngo can procure, including a beautiful lean Black Forest ham and an elegant French Canadian pâté.

Among the sandwiches on offer, Baguette Express' dac biet is a careful layering of Vietnamese-style ham and cold cuts embellished with pâté spread like butter over the baguette. The No. 2 sandwich is made with wafer-thin slices of a house-made pork cold cut reminiscent of pancetta but with Asian seasoning combined with Vietnamese-style ham. Another good choice is the roast chicken filling, infused with garlicky-sweet marinade, that seems to have been invented to complement a baguette.

Daily specials such as barbecued pork or "siu mai" sandwiches occasionally reflect Vietnamese cuisine's links with Chinese food. In this case, the siu mai sandwich isn't actually stuffed with dumplings; it is a deconstructed version with a layer of deftly seasoned ground meat.

Recently, Ngo hired a baker who prepares buttery brioche with a hint of orange blossom water, as well as croissants and beignets. His repertoire also includes cappuccino mousse cake and tiramisu.

The shop's espresso machine pumps out brew that's served iced or hot, Vietnamese-style with sweetened condensed milk. That's already a bit of a departure from the traditional drip coffee of a banh mi shop, so it's not a surprise to learn that servers will gladly make a cappuccino or an Americano, instead. It's another of the small touches that brings Baguette Express closer to the mainstream.

Baguette Express
Best dishes: Baguette special (dac biet), roast chicken sandwich, "siu mai" sandwich.
Prices: Sandwiches, $1.50 to $4.25; iced blended drinks, $1.75 to $3.25.
Details: No alcohol. Parking lot. Cash only.