Borrowed bravely, dressed well

Jed’s Local has done what good kitchens often do: borrowed a dish from somewhere else, treated it with respect and made something worth eating.

The Mid City restaurant, which began mostly as a po-boy shop, had bánh mì on its original menu, but it vanished when the menu was changed to add more entrees. You can order the sandwich through the end of the month, while it is still a special, which feels like the right way to meet a sandwich like this. Not everything needs to settle into permanence.

Its current version is not a strict traditional one, and that is fine. The sandwich keeps faith with most of the flavors that matter. There is grilled Gulf shrimp instead of pork, pickled carrots, jalapeño, cilantro and cucumber. Then comes the small turn that makes it theirs: a light swipe of Jed’s sauce, a mayo with the tang of soy and vinegar that pulls the sandwich together rather than smothering it. People of Vietnam might not call it a bánh mì. But we think they would still cheer.

The fries at Jed’s are good. Skip them anyway. A side only distracts from what is among the best sandwiches in Baton Rouge.