Eugene weekly., January 27, 2011, Page 44, Image 44

FULL MEAL SANDWICH
Saigon Street Cart brings a taste of Vietnam to the Whiteaker
BY RICK LEVIN
TRASK BEDORTHA
W
Saigon Street Cart chef
Bryson Fairlamb
hen, in 1787, the French military came to the aid of Nguyen Anh in
his efforts to reclaim territory lost to the Tay So’n, a long and tangled
history of imperial intervention and colonial carpetbagging was
unleashed upon that part of the globe now called Vietnam. And yet,
as any anthropologist will tell you, it isn’t only shrapnel that flies when societies
collide; there is also assimilation, melding, brokering and borrowing, often leading
to new and surprising cross-cultural pollinations. In the case of Vietnam and the
legacy of French Indochina, there is at least one silver lining: That food is damn
tasty. The French introduced bread baking to the Vietnamese, as well as pâtés and
other comestibles, all of which local cooks made uniquely their own.
Local chef Bryson Fairlamb was turned on to Asian cuisine when he and his
wife traveled to Thailand in 1999 and then again in 2000. A Eugene native who
spent about a decade as an executive chef in Bend before returning home three
years ago, Fairlamb recently opened Saigon Street Cart in the bustling Whiteaker
district. Located between 2nd and 3rd on Van Buren, the cart opens five days a
week between 11 am and 3 pm and specializes in banh mi, those baguette-style
sandwiches that are in many ways the epitome of the Franco-Vietnamese fusion.
For Fairlamb, starting up a food cart was something of a lark, a combination
of timing, know-how and good luck. “I’d seen a restaurant built from the ground
up,” he says. “I saw how hard it is, how expensive it could be. I just wanted to go
the minimalist approach.” When he spotted a used food cart for sale, he decided
to dive in head first — a decision that was sweetened by the fact that a buddy of
his owns the lot where he’s set up shop. “I just kind of went for it,” says Fairlamb.
While in Bend, Fairlamb worked under a chef with an Asian background. “I
had free range to do all kinds of Asian specials,” he says. His travels to Thailand
only furthered his interest in the cuisine. “I just really got into it,” he says. “I love
the flavors of Southeast Asia,” especially, he adds, the combinations of hot/sour
and saucy/sweet that are its trademark.
As with many Eugene chefs these days, Fairlamb is punctilious about using
organic, locally produced ingredients. He gets all his meats from Long’s Meat
Market, and he buys his French rolls from Sunrise Market, which ships in loafs
from a traditional Vietnamese bakery in Portland. The bread is crucial. “It has to
have a crispy, crunchy crust,” Fairlamb says, “but yet be fluffy on the inside.”
All of Saigon Street Cart’s sandwiches, which run between $5 and $6, are
garnished with pickled carrots and do chua (daikon radishes), sliced cucumber,
cilantro, jalapeños and mayo. The hum-dinger is the “deli special,” a savory,
tangy sandwich that — along with tender, hoisin-glazed pork — includes layers
of ham and country pate, which Fairlamb describes as “ghetto French pâté with
Vietnamese flavors.” It’s these touches that put the sandwich, which is rich,
savory and tangy, right over the top. It’s exotic but unpretentious, and completely
delicious.
Saigon Street Cart also offers lemongrass chicken ($5) as well as sides of pate,
chips and pickles for a buck each. Vegetarian options are available; Fairlamb says
he’s been extremely pleased with the Soy Curls product made in Salem, which he
puts on bread with a homemade mushroom pate.
“My cooking philosophy has always been kind of family style food, something
you’d eat at home,” Fairlamb says. In this case, home is where the street cart is. ■
THE Magic IS IN THE HOLE
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8 CHOW! Winter 2011
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