By Brett Callwood
As much as possible, we try to avoid reviewing chain restaurants unless they’re hyper-local mini chains. That said, Lee’s Sandwiches isn’t exactly a giant corporate beast. They have 59 restaurants in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia, including this one in Gardena. But it’s become an important part of the Gardena culinary landscape that it simply couldn’t be ignored.
Lee’s Sandwiches deals in bánh mì, which are baguette sandwiches in a European style, crammed with Vietnamese fillings. According to their online biography, “Chieu Le, founder of Lee’s Sandwiches, came to America and settled in San Jose in 1980. He began taking education classes to study English and would frequently buy food from catering trucks before and after class. Seeing the potential, Chieu decided to work on a catering truck to get more involved with the business. The following year, he bought his own vehicle and began his first route around San Jose.”
From those humble beginnings, Lee’s Sandwiches has grown into something really quite special. Their sandwiches, of which the choices are many and varied, are delicious. It all starts with the bread, which is fresh and comforting. There’s the perfect crunch to the crust, while the inside is warm and inviting. It serves as the most voluptuous of beds for the filling.
“Lee’s Sandwiches is the product of family, tradition, and hard work,” they say. “It would not be here today without the support from an amazing community. Lee’s Sandwiches has been grateful to be able to attract a diverse crowd and offer a unique dining experience for everyone.”
That diversity means that they sell “Euro Sandwiches” as well as their Asian specialities. That means standard fare such as tuna melts and turkey clubs. But we had to try a bánh mì, and we went with the BBQ Pork.
The meat was marinated beautifully – tender and full of flavor. The serving of pork wasn’t particularly generous, but the flavor is so strong that the balance works anyway.
The vegetables are equally tasty. Onion and carrot sit alongside cilantro, and sliced jalapeno peppers. There was a touch too much heat for us, but that was easily solved by removing a couple of pieces of pepper.
Overall, the sandwich was great and it paired wonderfully with some of the Asian products that Lee’s also sells – we had some shrimp chips but they have a varied selection of drinks and snacks.
Lee’s Sandwiches is located at 1451 Artesia Blvd., Gardena 90248. Call 310-945-4900 or visit leessandwiches.com.
