So today a friend of mine from undergrad and I went out for lunch. He was visiting the DC area as a short break from his warm, fabulous life on the West coast. I'm not sure he made the right choice, but it's always great to see friends.
We met up at Simply Banh Mi, which specializes in Vietnamese food. Who doesn't like Vietnamese food, really? It's in Georgetown, which is not typically the neighborhood you hit up when you're hoping to throw around the term "affordable," but the prices really weren't bad.
Banh Mi is a Vietnamese style sandwich, typically full of fresh veggies and most notably made with pork belly. I'm a really big shrimp fan, so I got their shrimp banh mi.
The place is a pretty no-frills establishment. There's only two tables in the tiny shopfront and your sandwich comes out wrapped in butcher paper. All that being said, the flavors on the sandwich were fantastic. The shrimp were perfectly cooked, the slaw was full of fresh carrots and sprouts and cucumbers (though I could have done with less cucumber), and there was an aioli-style sauce that I would have eaten with a spoon, had I had the option. I got mine pretty mild, but they definitely had the option to spice it up with peppers and sriracha.
We also split an order of spring rolls, which were full of shrimp and greens and noodles and served with a peanut-y dipping sauce.
Again, definitely no-frills, but the flavor was there. Definitely would recommend as a nice under-$10 lunch spot for the Georgetown area. Don't expect a lot of atmosphere, and expect to be yelled at if you try and clear your own table, but it's definitely worth the visit.
7/10
just came across your write up of us! thank you so much! we are currently in the process of expanding to the upper floor (street level... we movin on up!) so please come back and check out our new offerings!
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