No. 86 Vietnamese Pork Panini at Lumi Empanada & Dumpling Kitchen
The day we met Lumi's gastro-phenomenal Vietnamese Pork Panini, our world rocked.
There is some Asian fusion we're just not wild about. After all, why fancy up a perfectly good dish, and in the process, compromise the very authenticity that made it special? Lumi's panini, however, maintains the integrity of a traditional Vietnamese banh mi thit, all while improving upon it with small, but rewarding, adjustments. Juicy pieces of grilled pork are joined by the familiar accoutrements of pickled carrots, daikon, jalapenos, cilantro, cucumber, and homemade mayonnaise. As if thick slices of marinated grilled pork weren't enough, Lumi adds nem nuong, or Vietnamese sausage, to the already flavor-packed sandwich. The result is a banh mi thit on steroids.
The "a-ha" factor (as Oprah would put it), ultimately is the bread. Throughout the years, Vietnamese sandwich baguettes have grown larger and thicker while the fillings have become sparser. Lumi sidesteps this nuisance by panini pressing their French bread sandwich. The result is both beautiful and ingenious.
Sadly, the Vietnamese Pork Panini is only served during lunch.
Lumi Empanada & Dumpling Kitchen
3407 McKinney Avenue
Dallas, TX 75204
214-979-2424
Check out our previous favorite dishes by clicking on these links:
No. 100: Oatmeal Pancakes at Legal Grounds
No. 99: Shanghai Buns at Jeng Chi Dumpling House
No. 98: Mashed Tater Parfait at Cowboy Chow
No. 97: Chicken and Waffles at Victor Tango's
No. 96: Colorado Lamb Osso Bucco at Hibiscus
No. 95: Flatbread Pizza at Dish
No. 94: First Chinese Barbecue in Richardson
No. 93: Elotes at Fuel City
No. 92: Summer Platter For Two at Big Shucks
No. 91: Chicken Gizzards at Sushi Yama
No. 90: Bob Armstrong Dip at Matt's Rancho Martinez
