In a banh mi, savory meat is tucked into a crackling baguette that\u2019s packed with crisp pickled vegetables, spicy jalape\u00f1o and cilantro. Its flavor and textural contrasts\u2009\u2014\u2009rich against bright, crunchy against tender\u2009\u2014\u2009echo the sandwich\u2019s complex origins: It was shaped by French colonialism but transformed by Vietnamese culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the corner of Sherman and Aberg avenues, Dreamy Teazy serves banh mi in a space that mimics the contrasting elements of the dish. The restaurant operates in part of the space once occupied by the Klinke Cleaners next door, but any indication that it once housed a dry cleaner is erased by the restaurant\u2019s whimsical decor: Three walls display floor-to-ceiling faux greenery, while white and pink strings of butterflies hang from the ceiling, and purple and white drapes frame the front windows.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Owner Mee Yang spent more than a decade perfecting her baguette recipe while cooking for her six children. \u201cWhen their friends came over, they always said I should open a restaurant,\u201d says Yang. Once her youngest son neared high school graduation, she thought, \u201cThis is the time for my dream.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dreamy Teazy draws on Yang\u2019s Hmong heritage as well as Thai, Lao and Vietnamese culinary traditions. In addition to seven types of banh mi, the restaurant\u2019s menu includes pho, spicy Hmong sausage and sticky rice, and a variety of fruit and milk teas.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
After trying banh mi all over the country, Yang hadn\u2019t found one that hit the taste and texture notes she craved. Now more than a year into running Dreamy Teazy, she believes she\u2019s struck an ideal balance. All of Yang\u2019s banh mi begin with bread that\u2019s made fresh daily and stacked with house mayo, scratch-made chicken liver p\u00e2t\u00e9 (request the tofu banh mi without p\u00e2t\u00e9 to make it vegetarian), cilantro, cucumber, jalape\u00f1o, pickled carrots and pickled Chinese radish. Dreamy Teazy\u2019s traditional banh mi adds Vietnamese ham, head cheese, capicola and turkey pastrami to that formula.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yang emphasizes the importance of each ingredient on its own and as part of the whole. \u201cI can taste the p\u00e2t\u00e9, the mayonnaise, the veggies and the meat in there,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s just a good combination.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other Dreamy Teazy banh mi options feature lemongrass chicken, tofu, spicy Thai fried chicken, crispy pork belly or sesame chicken. For Yang\u2019s barbecue pork banh mi, she marinates char siu pork butt for days, producing a sticky, sweet and tender meat that melts in your mouth. Alongside the crunchy, tart vegetables and spicy jalape\u00f1o, it\u2019s the kind of combination that makes a Klinke Cleaners parking lot feel like the perfect place for lunch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lunch plans<\/p>\n
Viet Town offers a range of banh mi toppings, from grilled beef to lobster, which are layered onto creamy p\u00e2t\u00e9 inside a house-baked baguette. For to-go orders, the restaurant packs the vegetables separately to keep them crisp until you\u2019re ready to eat. 2249 Zeier Road\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
At Mad Rabbit Cafe, vegans can enjoy a banh mi with a twist: Grilled tofu and walnut mushroom p\u00e2t\u00e9 are served on sliced and toasted bread in place of a baguette. 805 Williamson St.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Photo by Erika RW Photography<\/p>\n
The Saigon Sandwich cart features a special combo of barbecue pork and steamed pork roll alongside traditional banh mi options. Corner of Charter and West Johnson streets<\/p>\n
Among many Vietnamese dishes, Viet Kitchen\u2019s banh mi xiu mai stands out with flavorful minced pork meatballs and pickled vegetables on a fresh, chewy baguette. 682 S. Whitney Way \u00a0<\/p>\n
Hot Lunch offers another vegan banh mi option, swapping traditional pork belly for roasted cauliflower while adding chickpea p\u00e2t\u00e9 and house-made vegan sriracha aioli on a toasted Stalzy\u2019s Deli & Bakery baguette. 708 1\/4 E. Johnson St.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Emily Tucker is a freelance writer for Madison Magazine.<\/p>\n
\u200bCOPYRIGHT 2026 BY MADISON MAGAZINE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.<\/p>\n
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In a banh mi, savory meat is tucked into a crackling baguette that\u2019s packed with crisp pickled vegetables, spicy jalape\u00f1o and cilantro. Its flavor and textural contrasts\u2009\u2014\u2009rich against bright, crunchy against tender\u2009\u2014\u2009echo the sandwich\u2019s complex origins: It was shaped by French colonialism but transformed by Vietnamese culture.\u00a0 At the corner of Sherman and Aberg avenues,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[262],"tags":[446,447],"class_list":["post-31701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vietnamese-restaurants","tag-vietnamese-restaurant","tag-vietnamese-restaurants"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dnc\/117327106169315339","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31701","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=31701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}