Resident Foodies say: We tried out the banh mi sandwich place Spice Kit, which opened this summer at 405 Howard Street downtown. Will Pacio (pictured above), last from Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry, founded Spice Kit. Fred Tang is the chef and runs the kitchen. Will’s very friendly and the place definitely has a good, inviting atmosphere. We discovered the place after reading American Airlines magazine, which ran a feature on the best banh mi shops in the country.
Spice Kit offers French Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, Korean ssam, and pork belly buns. We tried out the roasted pork banh mi with pate and really loved it. The ingredients (cilanto, pickled carrots, daikon radish, jalepenos, cucumbers) are very fresh, perhaps fresher than your typical banh mi place. The pork shoulder is naturally raised and marinated in lemongrass and spices. The French baguette was perfectly toasted–crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside. You definitely can tell that the guys at Spice Kit put a lot of care into the ingredients, while keeping the prices pretty reasonable. We could eat these sandwiches everyday!
We also tried the pork belly buns, which we liked, but not as much as the banh mi.