This is my favorite restaurant near campus hands down. Ba Chi is addicting. I am craving sweet chili tofu and spring rolls legitimately always. 24/7. I could eat Ba Chi every day, and I know I wouldn’t get tired of it. I’m super passionate about pasta, yes (as you’ll know if you rad my last meal diary about Sofia Nola) but I’m also passionate about spring rolls. They’re almost always gluten free, so delicious, and so fun. Somebody as excited about spring rolls as I am couldn’t NOT love Ba Chi.
As I’ve mentioned, the gluten free on campus options here have been quite limiting for me, unsafe, or honestly just repetitive. Because there are a lot of issues, specifically in the dining hall (which is called the commons here) affordable off campus dining has been my saving grace for 2 or 3 meals a week when I’m getting sick of the same chicken, rice, bagels, and broccoli. Ba Chi is affordable, a close walk to campus AND available on Uber Eats, and because of that, has become one of my favorite places to eat. My friends who aren’t gluten free also love it (specifically for the Bacos) and so I probably eat here once a week.
Ba Chi and Vietnamese History within Nola
Other than being yet another great place where I can get a safe gluten free meal, where the wait staff is knowledgable and there are tons of gluten free options, Ba Chi is a great place to eat in New Orleans because it fits into the city’s history in a unique way. It’s not creole or cajun, but it is Vietnamese, and because of that, it is definitely unique to Nola. We talked about Vietnamese history within New Orleans a little bit in our Tides class (you can read more about my class here)but I learned more by reading THIS website.
There’s a large Vietnamese population in Nola because post-Vietnam war, a lot of Vietnamese people fled and ended up in Louisiana. Out of everywhere within the state, New Orleans has the most concentrated Vietnamese population. There’s more information about why specifically New Orleans and Louisiana in the article I linked above on neworleans.com, but the climate and religious origins of this area matched, and more and more Vietnamese people came to know this amazing city as home. Now, there are tons of Vietnamese restaurants within Nola. There are 3 I know of near Tulane. I’ve only lived here for a semester, that how popular they are.
What makes Ba Chi unique to New Orleans is that it’s not a thriving restaurant because spring rolls are trendy. It’s a thriving restaurant because it is authentic Vietnamese food. Ba Chi isn’t focused on creating a social media presence or making a trendy drink menu. They don’t even seem to be focussed on fancy presentation. They are focused on the food, because that’s whats important.
For the Fun Part: THE FOOD!!
History aside, go to Ba Chi for the food. It’s fantastic. There isn’t much else to say about it. If you are ever in New Orleans, it’s a must-do, especially if you have Celiac. Every single waiter or waitress I have had knows what’s gluten free, and what can be modified. They always notify the kitchen, and they can make their bao tacos (called bacos) gluten free with a lettuce wrap.
I’ve been so many times, and here’s my usual order-
In my opinion, the sweet chili tofu vermicelli salad bowl is the best thing on the menu at Ba Chi. It comes with a delicious dressing, crunchy lettuce, fresh picked vegetables, peanuts, and rice noodles. The tofu is INCREDIBLY crispy on the outside. It doesn’t feel to heavy, but it’s filling, and I’m always happy to increase my vegetable intake here.
Aside from the sweet chili tofu, I usually also get an order of the tofu spring rolls. I don’t have a photo of them, BUT if you are interested in learning more about spring rolls in general, here’s a recipe I made for them a while back!
Other than my usual order, here’s what else I’ve tried:
The first photo is the basil and jalepeno tofu noodle salad bowl, and it was AMAZING. The perfect level of spice, but honestly, nothing beats the sweet chili tofu for me. It’s essentially the same thing, just different flavors.
The two photos of the “bacos” is usually what my friends order. I believe the bacos pictures are honey chicken, bulgogi, and pork belly.
as you can see, I was very happy to find buffalo tofu on the menu
Next is the gluten free baco I got, which was essentially just a lettuce wrap. Usually, I don’t love when lettuce is an alternative for bread, even though I understand that gluten free bread can be tricky. Here, however, I didn’t care, simply because I was SO excited to get buffalo tofu. Buffalo tofu is one of my favorite foods, ever. It’s rarely ever anywhere, so finding it at Ba Chi made me love the place more.
The fries pictured are kimchi fries, and they are AMAZING. Not usually gluten free, but my waiter knew that leaving off the bulgogi would make the dish celiac safe.
Overall, Ba Chi has been a HUGE part of my Tulane experience so far, simply because of how often I get it and how consistently delicious the food is.