Bale French Bakery Inc

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(512) 491-9188

8624 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78753 30.3548 -97.7038

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Neighborhoods: Georgian Acres, North Lamar

Price:

$

Last updated 9.11.08

Category:

Bakeries, Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Visa, Discover, MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Local Favorite, Cheap Eats, Hidden Find

Cuisine:

Eclectic & International, Vietnamese

What People Are Saying About Bale French Bakery Inc

Featured Review

Cadien Clark

Contributor

In Short – Smaller in size than a typical fast-food restaurant, Ba Le stands alone in the middle of a strip-mall parking lot off North Lamar. Despite teeming with scents emanating from packaged seafood dishes on the counter and in the refrigerators along the wall, the ambience here is somewhat sterile. Traditional Vietnamese fare, including various vermicelli dishes and spring rolls with shrimp and mint wrapped in translucent rice paper, accompanies more adventurous endeavors like duck soup.

Editor's Tips

The Extras:
In addition to the various packaged takeout seafood dishes, there are interesting rice paper-sandwich concoctions. There are also imported fruit and soft drinks.
Know Before You Go:
The staff speaks little English, and there are no copies of menus, so ordering by phone is not a good option for first-timers.
1 Star Rating: Poor

02/06/08

$$ Hidden Fees $$

by MissPrissy at Citysearch

Customer quoted fee over telephone, however when return was complete she said she had forgotten to quote other fees for service. NOT GOOD BUSINESS!

4 Star Rating: Recommended

08/01/06

Great Viet Sub-sandwiches & spring rolls

by austinlexi at Citysearch

It was a Saturday around 6pm and my stomach's mission: to get the vietnamese pork "roll" (sub-sandwich) and some spring rolls.

My first impression of the place was: wow, it's sort of cramped in here. There were maybe 8 tables and 4-5 seats per. That was okay though - I wanted take-out. My order took about 10-15 mins because they made them to order. It's definitely worth the wait, because the sandwich was perfect (BBQ Pork) and the 3pk Spring Rolls (it will be listed on the menu as Goi Cuon with no English translation)

Springrolls: Best I've had so far comparing to other asian restaurants in town. Shrimp, thin sliced pork with shredded lettuce and vermicelli rice noodles. Because they're made-to-order, they're not dried out.

The staff was as friendly as Viet restaurant staff usually goes (less chit-chat, more speedy ordering, food prep and check-out). The order area, by the way, is on the right hand side if you enter through the front door. There were food displays and prepackaged goods everywhere, so I wasn't sure where to stand at first.

I liked that the prices were exactly as is - with (I assume) the tax figured in. My sub was $4.50 and my Goi Cuon spring rolls were $2.00. So for exactly $6.50, my tummy was very, very happy.

  • Pros: lots of parking on the side, made-to-order fresh sandwiches & spring rolls
  • Cons: not the cleanest dining area, limited seating
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

06/20/06

BBQ Pork Sandwich Heaven!

by hailbuzzy at Citysearch

Ba Le serves the most heavenly bbq pork sandwich in the world! Crusty, yet perfectly soft bread stuffed with bbq pork, lightly dressed veggies (cucumber, carrot, cilantro, etc) with this incredible 'mayo' spread. The Vietnamese coffee is thick and delicious and the sugar cane water so refreshing. If you're adventurous, try one of the many desserts and other interesting pre-packaged fare, or something else off the partially untranslated menu. But if you're like me, you won't be able to bring yourself to order anything other than the sandwich once you've tried it! :)

  • Pros: Great food, quick service
  • Cons: Not the cleanest place in the world, minimal seating
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

06/23/03

Different But Awesome

by robbie6805 at Citysearch

Finally after a year, I had the opportunity to stop by Ba Le. Why did it take me so? I have to honestly say this is the best sandwich I've ever experience. I had ordered the chicken sandwich and barbeque pork sandwich. The bread crust was so crispy and soft inside, the meat was very tasty, vegetables "pickled" carrots and daikon, with cilantro, and hot peppers, I also picked up some spring rolls 3 to a order. Two huge sandwiches and 3 spring rolls all for 8 dollars, what a dea!. It certainly beats any sandwich deal out there! It may not be for everyone but it's certainly for me.

  • Pros: Inexpensive, Good Parking
  • Cons: Seating is limted
4.5 Star Rating: Recommended

08/07/02

EXCELLENT

by TRAVEL2000 at Citysearch

THERE ARE MANY KINDS OF SANDWICHES AND DESERTS WHICH ARE VERY DELICIOUS.