The Best Thing I Ate All Week: The Dr. Bahn Mi Henry From Side Hustle Sandwiches

Like many businesses in the aftermath of COVID-19, Eight ½, the off-Main Street restaurant, pivoted its operations. The eatery, owned and operated by City of Vancouver councillor Michael Wiebe, opened up the aptly named Side Hustle Sandwiches with the goal of providing hungry folks some solid takeout.

Since its opening six weeks ago, they’ve added a rather roomy patio area so you can engage in some solid people-watching while keeping the appropriate distance. They’ve also started experimenting with specials every couple of weeks to add to strong, creative repertoire like the PBLT (braised sakura pork belly, gravlax and tarragon aioli on sourdough) and the East (V) Chee (mushrooms, bell peppers, chimichurri, onions, arugula, vegan fondue, on a pretzel hoagie).

The hardest thing to figure out about the latest addition is what’s better, the name or the actual sandwich. For the Dr. Bahn Mi Henry, an ode to our provincial health officer (health care workers get 20 percent off) is an awesome cross between a classic bahn mi and a beef dip. This doctor is comprised of thinly sliced beef, sweet and spicy pickled carrots, garlic and ginger aioli, fresh cilantro on a french hoagie and, of course, Pho Jus dipping sauce.

At $14 it ain’t cheap. Delicious stuff usually isn’t, sorry to say. It also likely won’t be around much longer. Hopefully like COVID-19 in B.C.?

UPDATE: We called it, Side Hustle ran out of the Dr. Bahn Mi Henry in a few days. Maybe that’s a good thing, though: could it be the restaurant’s next permanent staple?

Side Hustle Sandwiches

151 E 8th Ave
sandwichesarebeautiful.com