For those unfamiliar with Vietnamese cuisine, the bahn mi generally consists of a French-style baguette—crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy inside—split and filled with ham, shredded pork, Vietnamese sausage, chicken, meatballs or other meats, accompanied by neatly chopped colorful vegetables.

Find these Southeast Asian sub sandwiches in Murfreesboro from the BombMi food truck. In the immediate future when the weather is nice, look for the truck parked at the corner of Broad and Church streets, in the site of the former car lot not far from the Square.

“We make all of our own sauces,” says BombMi owner Mike Thiphavong as his wife, Lisa, pickles carrots behind him in the food truck.

These sauces include a popping Vietnamese orange sweet sauce, served with the egg rolls, while BombMi serves a peanut sauce with its fresh spring rolls.

“The spring rolls were incredibly fresh and I loved the peanut sauce that they were served with,” one pleased customer said. “The sandwich was pretty hefty and had a good sized portion of meat, which was expertly marinated with a delicious sauce.”

The truck’s “Wicked Wings” drip with flavor—and come with some fresh jalapeño slices for those who want some heat along with the dish’s crisp, garlicky sweetness.

All of the bahn mi (translated from Vietnamese as “wheat bread”) come with toppings of cilantro, cucumber, pickled carrots, daikon (white radish), jalapeño peppers and pâté; BombMi varieties include the Classic—with cured pork and Vietnamese pork sausage along with the veggies and pâté—as well as Korean BBQ, chicken, grilled pork or fried tofu sandwich options.

“The owners of BombMi are super friendly and can throw down in the kitchen. The flavors are great,” a local eater, Jackie, posted to Yelp after having a classic banh mi and the salt and pepper shrimp, saying she was delighted to see the new culinary option in the local “Asian food desert.”

After just launching its truck earlier in 2024, BombMi continues building a fan base in the area.

“We have a good following; we are blessed,” Mike said. “A lady just drove from Shelbyville. She heard we were open today and came to get some tacos.”

Yes, BombMi places an Asian spin on the street taco.

Another BombMi customer, Kim, said she used to live in Atlanta, a city with a bit of a Vietnamese food scene, and that she was so glad to see some authentic Vietnamese food in Murfreesboro. Her usual is the tofu bahn mi.

“What I think would have elevated the banh mi is if they put some Vietnamese mayonnaise and more pâté,” said a different customer, who said he grew up in a larger Vietnamese community eating banh mi. “There was so much of the white bread fluff that adding more pâté or mayonnaise to cut some of the dryness of the white bread would balance it all out.”

Although the diner, Daniel, did say he found the sandwich to be a good value for the price and the service was friendly.

After trying the Korean BBQ sandwich, Joe LaFerriere, a big supporter of area independent eateries, said he “loved the flavors in this sandwich and the roll was soft on the inside with a nice crunchy crust. The Korean BBQ meat was perfectly seasoned and not too sweet while the veggies were plentiful and very fresh and crispy. This is a solid Bahn Mi and I can’t wait to try some of the other versions . . . especially the special pork belly version.”

For something a little more Southeast U.S., the Southeast Asian-themed truck also offers a fried shrimp po boy sandwich with fries.

“Every day we are off, the phone is ringing off the hook, ‘Where y’all at?’” Mike says on a cool but sunny day on the busy Murfreesboro street corner.

Although BombMi has earned some solid local reviews and loyal customers, operating a food truck has its challenges, inclement weather included.

“People think ‘Oh, you’re a food truck. You have low overhead.’ No, we have a lot of overhead. Gas, propane,” says the BombMi proprietor. “The cost of beef is way up.”

But perhaps in the future Murfreesboro can expect a brick-and-mortar BombMi location. Mike shared his vision of one day opening a BombMi location in a traditional restaurant space one day, a comfortable spot for the whole family.

“The flavors and crisp on the rangoons, shrimp and wings were on point!” said yet another happy customer, Gina.

Check social media for daily updates from the truck; find BombMi FoodTruck on Facebook.

BombMi Vietnamese Subs
615-728-8553
Location and hours: varies
Classic bahn mi: $9.95; Crispy egg rolls or fresh spring rolls: $7.95; Wicked wings: $15.99; Korean BBQ bahn mi: $11.95; Shrimp po boy and fries: $15.99
615bombmi.com