Mekong Sandwich — Restaurant in Des Moines

DO NOT COME here if you don’t meet one of these two requirements:

Didn’t put in a phone order and you don’t pass as Caucasian.

Don’t speak Vietnamese.

As excited as we were to drop by since we were only in town from out of state for a wedding, the owner asked if we put in a phone order.

We didn’t.

Yet none of the reviews on Google said they ordered by calling ahead.

She then ignored me for 10 minutes at the pick up window and refused to let me order. Only yelling from an unseen space to another customer who spoke the language to acknowledge them when they walked in.

So we ended up leaving.

I love supporting my Asian community, but I guess that’ll be somewhere else. No soup for me...

These are the best Mekong sandwiches in the Des Moines area the family patriarch brought his receipt from Viet Nam. He first made them at Viet center on MLK. The family is now making them on 2nd Avenue. The only changes I see is the bread. I am sure the other sandwiches in DM are loyal to their area in Viet Nam but Mekong sandwiches are the first I ever had 25 years ago and they are what I use for my yardstick all...

I've had a lot of Bahn-mis and this is up there with the best. Veggies are fresh, perfect little kick from some thinly sliced jalapeño, bread was crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. You know it's gonna be good when it's someone serving them from a kitchen connected to their home. $4 per is a steal. Cash only, took 15 minutes to have them made and there's a cool fish tank to look at while...