![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Annies_BahnMi_Jsellergren.jpeg\")
B\u00e1hn m\u00ec from Annie\u2019s Vietnamese Sandwiches Shop. \u2014 Jordan Sellergren\/Little Village<\/p>\nB\u00e1hn m\u00ec from Annie\u2019s Vietnamese Sandwiches Shop. \u2014 Jordan Sellergren\/Little Village<\/p>\n
B\u00e1nh m\u00ec became a street food staple in Vietnam in the 1950s, about a century after French imperialism brought\u00a0 the baguette to the country. The sandwich took off in the states in the 1980s and\u00a0 you can find them in several places around Iowa \u2014 Pho Real Kitchen and Bar, Zavy Kitchen, TNT Vietnamese Restaurant and Pho Viet Restaurant in the Des Moines metro; Pho & Tea\u00a0 in Ames; Viet Thai Star in Pella; Viet-Thai Taste in Newton; Yummy B\u00e1nh m\u00ec in Hiawatha;\u00a0California Pho and Rozz-Tox in the Quad Cities; and Iowa Pho, Nodo and Annie\u2019s Vietnamese Sandwiches Shop in the Iowa City area.<\/p>\n
Annie Duong, a native of Saigon\/Ho Chi Minh City, and her husband Travis Duong opened Annie\u2019s last September\u00a0 because they wanted to provide the most authentically Vietnamese b\u00e1nh m\u00ec experience, using bread that\u2019s baked in-house every day. The couple have lived in Iowa City for 15 years, and soon celebrate their first year in the restaurant business in a little spot facing Gilbert Street with oversized photos in the windows.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The menu is no-nonsense: sandwiches, egg rolls, spring rolls and a few drinks. B\u00e1nh m\u00ec start at $8 with a choice of fillings \u2014 Vietnamese ham, braised pork belly, Char Xiu pork, breaded fish or tofu \u2014 all served on fresh, cruchy bread with vegetables, cilantro, mayonnaise and sweet hoisin sauce (with vegan options available).<\/p>\n
In a nonstop world teeming with choices that clutter our psyches day after day, a brief menu and a small storefront \u2014 just an open kitchen, a counter to place your order and three stools by the window \u2014 can be a real breath of fresh air.<\/p>\n
My order: One #2 Char Siu Pork Sandwich (B\u00e1nh M\u00ec Th\u1ecbt X\u00e1 X\u00edu) with p\u00e2t\u00e9 (optional), served with cucumber, jalape\u00f1o, carrot, pickled radish, cilantro and sauce on the side. Flaky bread, crunchy vegetables, tasty proteins, a nice sauce and no extravagancies, wrapped in paper and out the door in three minutes flat, plus one Vietnamese Black Milk Coffee to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Annie\u2019s Vietnamese Sandwiches Shop
221 S Gilbert St, Iowa City
Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Closed Sunday & Monday<\/p>\n
B\u00e1hn m\u00ec near me<\/p>\n
Other restaurants that serve stellar Vietnamese sandwiches<\/p>\n
Eastern Iowa<\/p>\n
Iowa Pho, 53 2nd St, Coralville,\u00a0Sun-Wed 11 a.m.-8 p.m. (Closed Mon); Thurs-Sat 11 a.m.-9 p.m.<\/p>\n
Yummy Banh Mi and Boba Tea, Coffee, 1950 Blairs Ferry Rd NE Suite 116, Hiawatha,\u00a0Sun 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Closed Mon; Tues-Sat 11 a.m.-8 p.m.<\/p>\n
California Pho, 3559 W Kimberly Rd Ste 5, Davenport,\u00a0Sun-Mon 10 a.m.-8 p.m. (Closed Tues)<\/p>\n
Central Iowa<\/p>\n
Pho & Tea, 725 24th St #102, Ames,\u00a0Sun 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Closed Mon; Tues-Sat 11 a.m.-8 p.m.<\/p>\n
Pho Viet Restaurant, 5002 EP True Pkwy, West Des Moines,\u00a0Sun-Mon 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (Closed Wed)<\/p>\n
Zavy Kitchen, 111 E Grand Ave Ste 101, Des Moines,\u00a0Sun 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Mon-Thurs 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. (Closed Tues); Fri and Sat 11 a.m.-10 p.m.<\/p>\n
TNT Vietnamese Restaurant, 3452 Martin Luther King Jr Pkwy, Des Moines,\u00a0Sun 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; Mon-Sat 10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. (Closed Wed)<\/p>\n
Pho Real Kitchen and Bar, 200 4th St, Des Moines,\u00a0Sun 11 a.m.-7:45 p.m.; Mon and Tues 11 a.m.-8:45 p.m.; Wed 4-8:45 p.m.; Fri and Sat 11-1:45 a.m.<\/p>\n
Viet-Thai Taste, 208 S 2nd Ave W, Newton,\u00a0Closed Sun; Mon-Sat 11 a.m.-8 p.m.<\/p>\n
Viet Thai Star,\u00a0905 W 16th St, Pella,\u00a0Closed Sun; Mon-Sat 11 a.m.-8 p.m (Closed Wed)<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t see you favorite spot on the list? Let us know: editor@littlevillagemag.com<\/p>\n
This article was originally published in Little Village\u2019s August 2026 issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
B\u00e1hn m\u00ec from Annie\u2019s Vietnamese Sandwiches Shop. \u2014 Jordan Sellergren\/Little Village B\u00e1nh m\u00ec became a street food staple in Vietnam in the 1950s, about a century after French imperialism brought\u00a0 the baguette to the country. The sandwich took off in the states in the 1980s and\u00a0 you can find them in several places around Iowa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13258,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[262],"tags":[12000,10709,12001,12002,5558,12003,12004,1945,448,446,447],"class_list":["post-13257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vietnamese-restaurants","tag-annies-vietnamese-sandwiches-shop","tag-banh-mi","tag-downtown-iowa-city","tag-food-reviews","tag-immigrant-owned-business","tag-iowa-city-dining","tag-iowa-city-restaurants","tag-restaurant-reviews","tag-vietnamese-food","tag-vietnamese-restaurant","tag-vietnamese-restaurants"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dnc\/117128846659663922","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}