pho-king

Pho Hoa in Gardena

Reader Mai Lee, who gave me the heads-up about the LA Times article today, has also informed me of the sketchy-but-delicious Pho Hoa in Gardena, not to be confused with the mediocre chain of the same name:

When you have time you'll have to try Pho Hoa in Gardena. I think the Pho is delicious nevertheless, I think it's a unique restaurant because there are no women servers or cooks. This place is run by lazy-cigarette smoking-card playing men in their 40s. Once they were so lazy a group of us drove up and a group of them were playing cards outside. They were annoyed we were there! One of the men stood up and grabbed some menus and lead us to a table with crumbs. I asked him if he could clean it. He looked at me pulled his sleeve over his hands bent down wiped the crumbs onto the floor and threw the menus on the table. hahahah ... later an old man brought us our bowls of pho. He had his thumb in the soup. It was so delicious we never complained ... honestly, I think that's the secret ingredient. We used to joke it was a front for Vietnamese money laundering.

Los Angeles Times readers, welcome!

Since we're about 1000 hits over our usual today, I am assuming that the rumor I heard earlier - that we were mentioned in today's LA Times - must be true! Ahh, here it is - an article in which the author seems to believe that the editor is someone named Diamond Dog. Actually, DD is a reader who submitted a few reviews a coupla months back, but I myself, JLT, am the editor, chief eater, and biggest pho fan within a few miles of Sacramento CA. Too bad the LA Times budget woes made them cut back on fact-checkers... But anyway, check out the article, and all the other great foodie sites mentioned! Yum. I'm getting hungry again, and I just ate lunch (a delicious chicken kabob sandwich on a french roll, no pickles, from the deli around the corner from my office).

Can anyone scan the story in the print edition and email it to me? I'd love to see it. Thanks much!

And while you're at it, visit Hewn and Hammered, if you're into that sort of thing.

Penultimate Los Angeles Pho?

Reader Robin Aguilar writes asking us for recommendations for two fantastic pho spots in LA - one divey, and the other something nice enough for a first date with a non-dive-appreciating person. Any suggestions?

Pho Hong Long

Shadd Wade writes to tell us about a recent pho find in Los Angeles:

I started eating pho while I lived with 2 Vietnamese roommates in San Diego. They took me to a nice little joint on Linda Vista called Pho Hoa Hiep. I instantly fell in love with it, and I make a point of eating there whenever I visit.

3 years later, I live in Los Angeles. I like to sample the local pho restaurants wherever I go in this massive interlocking puzzle of communites. After trying many, many restaurants, there is one that has captured the full attention of my hunger for pho – Pho Hong Long.

 

Located on Crenshaw, 2 miles east of the 405, I lovingly refer to it as ghetto pho. The restaurant is not very nice, but it is serviceable. The prices are average for LA. The staff is busy, but quick to respond. Be prepared to wait outside for a few minutes, as this place gets packed often.

 

I usually order the tai chin. The beef is good quality and fresh. You can hear the meat slicer running in the back. The noodles are tender yet tensile. 

 

It's the broth that has me hooked. They must boil a cow for a week to get the rich flavor of their broth. It is full flavor and thick – not runny or thin. At some restaurants, you eat most of your pho, and then just kinda get tired of the broth. Not here. I eat every last boatful of the big bowl of broth. And I make it spicy.

 

I always feel refreshed and full of energy when I walk out of Pho Hong Long, sweating and blowing my nose from all the chili paste and peppers. Highly recommended.

Wherefore the Veggie Pho

A reader in West Los Angeles who will soon be spending some time in San Francisco asks a question that can only be answered by you, dear readers: wherefore the veggie pho? Can anyone recommend good vegetarian pho in either city - not gha, not beef-broth pho without slices of tai, but real vegetarian broth, rice noodles and all the other acoutrements of pho - without the meat?

Phở L.A.

So there's Pho 79, Pho Bac, and then ... there was Phở Hoa. The other two get these great reviews every now and then, especially 79 (which is my less favorite of the two), but Phở Hoa was always head-and-shoulders better.

Now it's closed, and I fear for my Sunday-morning hungover self without a phở standby in town.

Suggestions, please!