Banh mi-racle
Popular Vietnamese food truck wheels into St. Mary's Strip with new brick-and-mortar
A favorite local food truck has made the jump to brick-and-mortar with a new location on the St. Mary’s Strip. Offering affordable dishes like rice bowls, banh mi, and chili oil ribs, Singhs Vietnamese celebrated its first day of business off wheels on August 23.
Longtime friends and owners Eric Treviño and Louis Singh first opened their North Side trailer at 7327 N. Loop 1604 E. in 2014 after running a catering operation in Austin. The trailer will remain open, offering San Antonians two spots to get their banh mi fix.
Treviño tells CultureMap that adding a traditional storefront was always part of the plan, but they were originally toying around with a different concept. But when their brokers let them know about an opportunity at 2803 N. St. Mary’s St., a building that once housed dance school Karavan Studio and coffeehouse and venue GIG, they jumped on it and started the buildout in January.
Even though the space has a bigger kitchen than the cramped quarters of a food truck, Treviño says they decided to “roll with what [they] know” and duplicate the menu Singh designed for the truck like goi (salad), bún (noodle bowls), and Winghs — fried chicken wings tossed in Thai chili butter with sesame seeds, slice jalapeño, lime, and cilantro.
Although the roots of the menu are traditionally Vietnamese, Singh does add some San Antonio touches. Instead of using the standard French baguette for the banh mi, the sandwiches top toasted bolillos with pulled pork, shrimp, grilled chicken, and seasonal vegetables. They also source from local produce purveyors whenever possible.
For now, Singhs will operate under limited dinner hours on Tuesday-Sunday, but will expand the hours later along with a beer, wine, and possibly sake menu. As for the food, keep watch in the weeks ahead. Treviño says they have a “few tricks up [their] sleeves” for future menu items.
Mariela Camacho, Comadre Panaderia.
Courtesy photo
