Unpretentious Chinatown restaurant provides delicious, inexpensive bánh mì. We sample dặc biệt (special combination) and thịt nướng (grilled pork).

9300 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77036
(713) 777-9500
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8am–9pm, 7 days a week

Visited on July 31, 2018

If Chinatown is a galaxy within the greater Houston Supercluster, it might help to think of its strip malls as planetary systems. This is especially the case with the large shopping plazas that have bustling Asian supermarkets at their core: each a discrete world within worlds. The depth of discovery awaiting you in these retail centers can gobble time as rapidly as a black hole. Once the curious and somewhat peckish park and start walking around, a couple hours is nothing. You discover an exciting restaurant to add to your list of places to try, then another, and another. The deeper you look, the more tempting it is to explore every storefront no matter how hidden. Upon reaching one of the plaza’s corners, you find what seemed like one business splitting into more: a copy store, a bubble tea counter, a foot reflexology parlor. How can so few retail feet squeeze in so much?

Clustered around Jusgo Supermarket are many satellite Vietnamese and Chinese eateries, including the well-liked Mala Sichuan Bistro. On a recent Tuesday morning, we were running errands, making smart use of our time, when we noticed something about this shopping center. While the other businesses were still waiting to open or were simply closed on the second day of the week, Don Café & Sandwich seemed to assert a magnetic pull on the clientele streaming in from Bellaire Blvd. Like a rogue planet off on its own in the middle of the parking lot, this small, cash-only Viet restaurant knocked us off our trajectory.

A tale of two bánh mì. Despite our long to-do list, we felt drawn by Don Café’s obvious popularity to stop for an early lunch. We ordered two bánh mì: dặc biệt (special combination) and thịt nướng (grilled pork), both $3.75. Each packed generous fillings with textural variety in a crusty baguette. The sandwiches came dressed with shredded pickled carrots, thick-cut cucumber, sliced jalapeño, and yolky mayonnaise.

Dặc biệt: Of the two, the special combination had the slight edge. It contained pâté, chả lụa (steamed pork sausage), and giò thủ (headcheese), but the meat that inspired our awe came from a loaf of sliced pig ear and red, roasted pork. Considering how recognizable and unprocessed these ingredients looked, some deli miracle cohered them into paper-thin cold cuts. The dặc biệt’s porcine flavors, buttery mayo, hot jalapeño, cool veggie snap, and crackly exterior combined to produce one of the most inviting and complex sensory experiences you can buy for less than $4.

Thịt nướng: The grilled pork sandwich was no slouch either. Although the pork lacked some tenderness, it delivered a salty, caramelized, savory punch that grew more addictive with each bite. These well-constructed sandwiches are delicious, and you would not go wrong with any of Don Café’s bánh mì—as long as it has their mayo. This condiment is magic, so golden it shoots cosmic rays through the glass pane of the sandwich station. (A few Yelpers suggest ordering extra mayo, an idea that radiates genius.)  

 

Cà phê sữa đá: We each had a Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk ($3.50). These were creamy, cold, sweet, yet bracing, perfect for a summer day in Houston.

En efectivo por favor: Besides sandwiches, Don Café has a full menu including noodle soups, rice plates, and appetizers like spring rolls, all of which the numerous other patrons were enjoying. If you forget to bring cash (as we did), there are several banks with ATMs on Bellaire walking distance just to the west.