The bánh mì shop in Hanoi under a yellow tree and red lanterns

We smelled it before we saw it.

Vietnam

A Plastic Stool in Hanoi

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We smelled it before we saw it. Pork fat and charred bread, drifting through Hanoi at dusk. Under a wide yellow tree and a string of red lanterns: tiny plastic stools, a patient crowd, and the best sandwich of our lives. We got in line without discussing it.