Lee’s Bakery - Review - Buford Highway - Atlanta - The Infatuation
"Lee’s Bakery sits in a Buford Highway shopping center alongside a Chevron and a coin laundry biz. And inside this ordinary setting is the city's most impressive showcase of Vietnamese food. Whether you chow down in their relaxed, window-lined dining area or in the comfort of your car, you should be eating one of their legendary bánh mì sandwiches. Choose from eight options, including a few breakfast offerings with a generous serving of fried or scrambled eggs. The grilled pork is the most popular order, which makes immediate sense after your first bite. Chewing tender hunks of BBQ pork with crunchy cucumber and crispy bread feels like an out-of-body experience, except when you step out to high five your physical self. Make sure to work in some of their other excellent Vietnamese dishes like the comforting pho, tasty bún, and a variety of rice plates, too. Food Rundown Grilled Pork Bánh Mi This bánh mi is the best dish at Lee’s Bakery and evidence that a great sandwich can turn any day around. It's on crispy bread that we’d happily eat plain with no condiments. But that bread is stuffed with grilled BBQ pork that comes in shredded hunks and provides a slightly smoky flavor. That’s balanced with slivers of carrots and cucumbers dressed up with cilantro and a tangy mayo-like sauce. photo credit: Sarah Newman Scrambled Egg Bánh Mi This has all the same ingredients as above, but the pork is swapped for scrambled eggs. We don’t see this version of bánh mi on many Atlanta menus, and it’s served all day. It also happens to be very good. Fried Rice With “Shaking Beef” Cubes of tender beef sit in a pile alongside big onion chunks smothered in a sticky, slightly sweet brown sauce. There is a mound of rice and some shaved carrots nearby, but all of your attention will go to the bite-sized beef bits—and rightfully so. PlayMute video credit: Juli Horsford Grilled Pork Vermicelli There are so many toppings (massive portions of lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, and crushed peanuts) in this bowl that the tangle of vermicelli noodles is completely hidden. The grilled pork is the same as the bánh mi so you already know (and if you don’t, we’re telling you now) it’s good. The fish sauce is served on the side, and you should add it all to the bowl (without it, the noodles don't have much moisture, and the pork isn't enough to flavor the entire dish). Combination Beef Noodle Soup This made our best pho guide, so it’s a wise order. The beef broth is rich and doesn’t need extra doctoring, and the meats (steak, flank, brisket, tendon, and tripe) stay tender from start to finish. photo credit: Sarah Newman Hue Style Spicy Beef Noodle Soup We want to love this because it’s from Lee’s, but the overcooked noodles get limp and slimy, and the broth has a bit too much of the sharp fish oil aftertaste and not enough spiciness for us to order it every time. Chicken Curry Save this dish for when you want an extremely mild curry. There’s not much heat here, but there are a ton of potatoes, carrots, and shredded chicken swimming in the yellow coconut curry, so it feels like a hearty meal." - Juli Horsford
