Technically, I am cheating on this first review.  I’ve been to 163 Vietnamese Sandwich several times before, primarily because it’s cheap, it’s quick, and it has great sandwiches and spring rolls.  They also sell bubble teas and shakes if you like that kind of thing (which I don’t).  They have over 20 flavors with and without bubbles.  Also available are teas and coffees.  I recommend the Vietnamese hot coffee, it’s cheaper and vastly vastly superior to Starbucks.

If you’ve never had a Vietnamese sandwich (also known as Bánh mì if you’re pretentious), they are delicious.  Basically, it’s a crusty baguette with cucumber, onions, daikon radish, carrots, soy sauce (possibly mayonnaise, though I’ve never seen them use it at 163), and filling.  They are the typical sandwiches that farmers in Vietnam would eat (I am told - I’ve never been to a Vietnamese farm).  For vegetarians, there are four options for filling: vegetarian ham, chicken, duck or tofu (yes, the menu says vegetarian tofu).  For the meat eaters, you should try this blog for suggestions.  I’ve had the chicken, ham, and tofu (not the duck, as it is a pricey 50 cents more), and all are delicious, though my favorite would be the vegetarian chicken.  The tofu is in a brown paste that is oddly reminiscent of humus (not to be confused with hummus), and the ham is pretty bland.  There was a time when I was convinced that the veggie chicken was in fact, REALLY chicken (even my meat eating friends weren’t sure).  I thought when they meant “vegetarian” chicken, they meant chicken with vegetables.  Then I got the veggie ham, which tasted the same as the veggie chicken, but was shaped into cold cuts.  So, now I stride comfortably into 163 Vietnamese Sandwich and get the veggie chicken with much aplomb.  One nice feature is that none of the veggie sandwiches can be easily confused with a meat option.  There is no ham or duck sandwich, and the real chicken sandwiches are either BBQ or curry, so if your sandwich is covered in sauce, then you should probably try to get another sandwich.  As a word of warning, the baguettes are very flaky, and will make a mess, so I would recommend eating them outdoors or in a place that you don’t have to clean up afterward.

I also enjoy getting the tofu spring rolls (gỏi cuốn for the culturally sensitive) here.  They come with a peanut dipping sauce which has upwards of 4 shreds of carrot in them!  So, I often get this when I feel I should be eating more vegetables.  Inside the spring roll is vermicelli pasta, mint and cucumber. Unlike the sandwich, this makes little mess, but is not as filling, so I would recommend this if you want half a lunch or are on a diet.  If you like fried spring rolls, they also have those, though be careful when picking, because they are in a box with meat spring rolls on one side and veggie spring rolls on another.

I did not get any bubble drinks, because I don’t like bubbles.  If you don’t know what bubbles are, they aren’t air bubbles - they are giant globs of tapioca.  I feel as long as I have teeth, I have no time or patience for tapioca.  But if you like bubble drinks, you should definitely get them here.

Eating at 163 is super cheap.  I got both a sandwich and spring rolls for slightly over 5 bucks.  Also enjoyable is listening to the ladies making the food yell at each other in Cantonese (apparently they aren’t Vietnamese, according to my Chinese friend).  Unfortunately, there are only a few tables of 2 to sit in, so only come here if you are comfortable with taking it out.  You can always eat in the Chinatown park if it’s a nice day and you don’t work nearby, and don’t want to walk to Boston Common.

I haven’t quite decided how to review things, so until I have a good system, I’m going to call 163 Vietnamese Sandwich a “4 cheese sandwich”.  It would have 5, but I’m usually hungry 2 hours after eating it, which is never a good sign.