About a 20 minute drive directly east of New Orleans you come upon Versailles - a thriving Vietnamese American community. As you make your way out to "New Orleans East", you begin to see more and more store fronts, Buddhist temples, and Catholic churches with signs in Vietnamese.
Theresa and I made the trip out on Saturday morning to catch the tail end of the Vietnamese Farmers' market which runs from around 5 to 9 am. By the time we arrived, most of the fresh produce and fish had either been sold or packed up. However, we were still able to poke around a bit and chat with some vendors, fisherman, and grocery store clerks before headed back to the city. Interesting thing to note about this farmers' market: they sell live peacocks, peahens, and roosters!
That morning, Theresa and I enjoyed perusing the shelves of a local Vietnamese grocery store where we bought some spices and other dry ingredients for phở, a traditional Vietnamese soup.
One of the grocers recommended a few nearby places to grab breakfast. We were more than happy to accept his recommendations and promptly set out to find Bahn Mi Sao Mai for the "best bahn mi" in Versailles. To say the least, we were not disappointed by the sandwiches which were characterized by chili sauce, pickled vegetables, pork, and the crackling crust of French bread made at a nearby bakery, Dong Phuong. Theresa noted that these sandwiches were a bit different from some of the other bahn mi she has had in the city, which were served with a duck pate spread. Note to self: conduct a survey of bahn mi in New Orleans and the surrounding areas to find the best one!
After eating our bahn mi, we started to drive home only to stumble upon THE Dong Phuong bakery. We quickly decided to pull off the highway and check out this celebrated institution as well. From moon to meat pies, from coconut to pumpkin pastries, and from bean buns to croissants, this bakery had a wonderful selection of Vietnamese, French, and New Orleans baked goods to choose from. I went for the chicken pie (marked by three red dots to distinguish it from pork and beef) and a fruit and nut moon pie.
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