Duc Loi Market at 18th/Mission officially kicked off its brand new kitchen today, and the star of the show is the “Authentic Vietnamese” sandwich, which owner Amanda Ngo serves piled high with cured ham, pork belly, chicken liver pâté, and head cheese. How does it compare with the $3.50 banh mi’s you’ll find elsewhere in the city? The quality of ingredients, proximity to the Mission, generous portions, and overall flavor package make it well worth the extra buck and change.

The menu also has a good breadth of variety – including a fried chicken sandwich, a BBQ menu, and a veggie portobello tofu sandwich that can be made vegan if you ask for no mayo. According to Helen Tseng, “It’s as big as your head and contains about half an avocado”. Hit the jump for a closer look!

The Authentic Vietnamese sandwich

Amanda is a total sweetheart and offered us a tasty side of Vietnamese salad while we waited

The Vegetarian Tofu Portobello sandwich

The full Duc Loi Kitchen menu. They’ll be open from 11am-7pm every day, so head on down!

It had been on suicide watch since around April, but now the Mission’s only supermarket (is Duc Loi a supermarket? That’s a whole other debate–not helped by an 8pm closing time) appears to be gone for good.  Sure, the prices were atrocious, and the selection wasn’t great, but it was open late (a great boon for folks who didn’t finish up their busy days until 10pm) and the staff was exceedingly friendly.  What will happen to that charming security guard?

Now we are left with the question of what to do with the massive industrial husk left over on South Van Ness.  Do we try to get Trader Joe’s to move in (they are having trouble securing that Market Street location).  Finally move forward with that Peace Park in the parking lot?

What do you think?

Previously:

Not a Very Happy Thanksgiving for DeLano’s Market Employees

Scenes from The Final Days of Delano’s

The Vegan Burger: the new best fast food vegan option in the Mission

The verdict is in: Mission Burger is the jam.  The vegan burger was incredible, the fries were great and the McDonald’s ketchup packets?  Amazing.

Tragically there is absolutely no seating, so we had to sit on the cold sidewalk outside.  That said, if you are patient (we aren’t), you can just take your food to Dolores Park.

Logo? Awesome

McDonald's Ketchup? Awesome and fancy