Lee's Sandwiches in Falls Church - A San José, CA-Based Vietnamese Franchise at Route 50 and Annandale Road in West Falls Church

[weezy]

This place has been open for about a year, across Annandale Road from Anthony's.  I stopped in for the first time yesterday for a quick lunch. The website shows it is a chain/franchise, and the Falls Church location is the only one in Virginia.  The menu is divided into two sections, European sandwiches and Asian sandwiches.  Plus they have a selection of house brand coffee beans, macarons ($1.99 each), a variety of pastries, and a sign that says they make fresh baguettes every hour.  The outside signage says open 24-7-365, but signs were posted inside that they're going to a 7 am. - midnight time schedule now.  It was a little later than standard lunchtime, but I was the only Caucasian person in the place.  A couple of Hispanic blue collar guys picked up orders, and the rest of the clientele was Asian.

You order at the counter and there's plenty of seating.  The menu was a little confusing, but the gentleman working the counter was very helpful, asking first if I wanted European or Asian, and then if I wanted a hot or cold sandwich.  I said hot, and he listed the numbers of the hot sandwiches (the menu board showed the various meats/ingredients per sandwich) to help me narrow it down.  I went Asian with a basic pork banh mi and some iced tea.  The sandwich came out very quickly, and I thought it was good.  The baguette was nicely crusty on the outside and not too spongy on the interior.  The ingredients were bright and looked & tasted very fresh.  The marinade on the pork was a little sweeter and more forward than at DC 50, and they used a moderate amount of mayo instead of a big glop, which I prefer.  The iced tea was made with green tea.  For $7.20 all in, a tasty lunch and fairly priced.  I think I would give it a slight edge over DC 50 Sandwich on this particular day, mostly due to the very good bread.

[Bob Wells]

Interesting. They made the leap from Oklahoma City (the nearest location) to lil ol Falls Church. Their website is charmingly retro.

[NolaCaine]

I have not been to a Vietnamese chain before, but now I have. I really enjoyed the bun bo hue, but thought husband's pho was too sweet. Rich broth combined with perfectly slurpy noodles made this particularly satisfying (or maybe it's because I have a hell of a cold right now). I am very curious how we got this franchise about a mile from Eden Center.