04/22/2026
In honor of our friend Theo's birthday week, the Tofu Bahn Mi returns today. He brought the idea for this sandwich to us when he was a baker here - along with the components he'd prepared at home. (He loved to tinker with recipes, and we all benefitted from his habitual cookie baking. ) We tried it, we loved it, but something was a bit lost when we tried scaling it up. The marinade wasn't punchy enough, the food processor cut the veg for the pickles too thin, and I tried to vegan-ize the sandwich by changing the mayo etc. He wasn't quite happy with it.
Theo passed away in the Fall of 2024 💔. Had we kept at it, I think we would have arrived at this version of his sandwich. He would probably recommend it to you on a seeded wheat, his favorite.
We were lucky to spend 2 years with Theo in the kitchen. He was constantly curious and extremely clever. He was always kind, and very silly. He was appreciative - of a beautiful book, a great song, an opportunity, his friends and his family. And Theo was generous. Never one to do things for show, he kept his volunteer work at the Greater Boston Food Bank on the down low. In Theo's memory, his amazing parents will be donating to the GBFB for every bahn mi we make for you this week. And you can 'round up' for them when you check out on Toast online or in store too.
❤️ Happy Birthday Theo ❤️
