Baguette House & Cafe Credit: Photo by John Anderson

Baguette House & Cafe

10901 N. Lamar Ste. C-312, 837-9100
Monday-Friday, 8am-8pm; Saturday, 8am-7pm; Sunday, 9am-7pm
www.chinatownaustin.com

Mich­ael Dinh opened Baguette House five months ago in the Chinatown Center after relocating from a similar restaurant in the L.A. area. Baguette bakes its own all-wheat bread, producing a long, thin loaf with a thin, snappy crust and a moist interior. It offers 12 variations, ranging in price from $2.75 to $4.50. Sandwiches are 10 inches in length and about 3 inches in diameter, with a plump filling. Baguette makes its own mayo and puts a light marinade to the carrot and daikon, with thin, lengthwise slices of jalapeño on the side.

We sampled the special combination ($2.95, with pâté, headcheese, ham, and pork loaf) and the grilled beef ($3.75, marinated and grilled, with rich flavor). Both were flavorful, spicy, and well representative of the genre. Dinh’s personal favorite is the pork loaf with meatball, but he says that the Cajun shrimp is rapidly gaining in popularity.

This article appears in October 10 • 2008.

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Mick Vann is a retired Austin chef who is a food writer and restaurant critic, cookbook author, restaurant consultant, and recipe developer. He moonlights as a University of Texas horticulturist with a propensity for ethnic eats and international food, particularly of the Asian persuasion, but he also knows his way around a plate of soul food or barbecue.