Sunflower and I share an affinity for Swedish stockings and Vietnamese subs. When I dropped off a pair of sparkly tights I found at Simon’s, she insisted on taking me out for lunch. For this post, let’s listen to “DARE” by Gorillaz.
Since it was such a beautiful day, I recommended walking over to Eau Claire for a banh mi at Xich Lo. Sunflower is a vegetarian, so she was delighted to have options other than just vegetables. She picked the Vegan Ham with Mushroom Pate ($10.50). Unfortunately, Xich Lo ran out of cold-cut meats, so I chose the Tofu Sub ($10.50). I immediately got buyer’s remorse, so I asked if I could still get chicken cognac pate in my sub.
Sunflower poured a little of her mangosteen ($3.00) for me to drink. The smell was floral and, according to her, much sweeter than the actual fruit. I enjoyed the flavour but thought it would be better with some ice and vodka. She thought it would make a good sangria base. Great minds think alike.
I noticed Sunflower was supportive when I took pictures for my blog. She even suggested we cut the subs and plate them at work. I went a step further and showed her my secret – the ultimate banh mi pose. I told her that once, I managed to stack six subs for a close-up picture. I’ve got weird flexes that I’m oddly proud of.
Sunflower said her sub was delicious. She liked the crunchiness of the vegetables and the mushroomy umami from the pate. She felt the spiciness from jalapenos was the perfect spice level, and she usually douses her banh mi with sriracha. She loved the veggie ham and gave her lunch a 10/10.
The tofu in my sub was squishy and juicy, with a sponge-like texture. I wouldn’t pair the chicken pate with the tofu again, as the richness of the pate didn’t complement the soy-based tofu. However, that was my fault and not Xich Lo, who was merely accomodating my decadent tastes. I enjoyed the fluffy innards of the bread and the satisfying crunch from the cucumbers and jalapenos. I found my sub filling and satisfying.
It was nice to see Xich Lo so busy. I also think it’s fantastic they are offering unique options for vegetarians. Not many places in the city would go through the trouble of providing mock ham and mushroom pate. Hitting the Sauce gives Xich Lo two phat thumbs up.
Hitting the Sauce 