New Vietnamese food business finds fast fans
Aug. 22, 2018
A new business serving Vietnamese specialties has a growing fan base after selling at a few summer events.
DL’s Banh Mi will be one of the food vendors at Saturday’s 605 Made Night Market in the parking lot of Cherapa Place.
It’s owned by Luan Ha and Duong Thai.
“We were trying to open a business but decided to try doing festivals first because we like to travel too,” said Ha, who handled getting the business operations going while Thai traveled back to Vietnam earlier this year to learn signature recipes from his grandma.
The namesake item, a traditional Vietnamese banh mi sandwich, was one of the first things on the menu, along with a grilled pork sandwich and made-from-scratch egg rolls, when DL’s debuted at JazzFest in July.
“I was surprised because nobody knew us, but people came and tried our food and like it and came back for more. They told their family and friends to come. We were overwhelmed with how it turned out,” Ha said.
A couple of weeks later, they drew diners at the Sioux Empire Fair.
“We had a lot who came back from JazzFest and brought more people,” he said. “We were so happy.”
For Riverfest downtown last weekend, they added beef and chicken fried rice and lo mein to the menu. It proved a good idea: Before the end of the night, they had sold out of many items.
“We make everything from scratch,” Ha said. “We grind the meat and my partner has a secret recipe he puts on there, and everything is homemade.”
They will bring the full menu to the 605 Made Night Market and be joined by the following other local food vendors:
Breaking Burrito
This Mexican food truck was part of last year’s market. Business has been so good that Breaking Burrito is operating out of a new truck this year. It will serve burritos, tacos, quesadillas and tamales.
Hunny & Bunny
This longtime standby for Mediterranean food is joining the market this year. The truck is known for its shawarma, falafel and gyros.
Jekyll & Hyde BBQ
This newcomer to the food truck scene is owned by three friends with a mission of building a following for their signature dry rub that they’d like to sell in grocery stores. Jekyll & Hyde will serve ribs, pulled pork sandwiches, brisket and barbecue spaghetti.
Ode to Food & Drink
The restaurant at Cherapa Place will serve beer and wine from a tent at the market. The offerings will include craft beers from local brewers Fernson Brewing Co., Hydra Beer Co., Remedy Brewing Co. and WoodGrain Brewing Co.
Stone’s Famous Kettle Corn
This popcorn product has been sold at 605 Made events since the beginning. Stone’s Famous Kettle Corn will be making three flavors at the market: Kettle corn, salted caramel and its signature Famous Fetti, which is cherry, green apple, orange and blue raspberry. The truck also will sell cotton candy and fresh-squeezed lemonade.
Tasteas
If you’re a fan of Asian bubble tea, visit the Tasteas stand. The beverage shop opened on West 41st Street last year.
The Tasty Trolley
This eye-catching 26-foot trolley serves 40-plus flavors of soft-serve ice cream and toppings. The Tasty Trolley also will sell walking tacos and super nachos.
