pho-king

Yummy Choice

I took a short stroll around the neighborhood on my lunch break yesterday and walked by a small Chinese restaurant I don't usually pay much attention to - a toned-down fast-food stirfry place that mostly caters to unadventurous and unsophisticated palates - but as I walked by I heard Viet spoken inside and glanced up to a small sign in the window: "pho - $5." I went in, ordered a bowl and ate it at the counter - it was a combination tai and ga, big chunks of succulent chicken and lots of thin slices of flavorful beef. Absolutely perfect broth, fat rather than the more typical thin noodles, and a huge pile of basil, lime and sprouts, and a small dish of Sriracha. It was actually about the most perfect bowl I've had in Sacramento, better than Saigon or any of the Hoa Viet locations. If you're in midtown/downtown Sacramento, I urge you to stop by, if only for the pho. Don't let the scary name keep you away! Yummy Choice: 1601 10th Street, Sacramento CA 95814. Counter seating downstairs, a few tables upstairs.

Best Pho in the OC?

Eddie and Megan of Deep End Dining suggest very strongly that if you are in Little Saigon - also known as Westminster - that you visit Thanh My at 9553 Bolsa. Eddie tells me that in his opinion they serve the best pho in Orange County, and I intend to check it out - it'll be one of three places I'll be visiting when I'm down there in February.

Why is the Pho Bo different in Vietnam?

Rob Boyle writes us about the major differences between pho bo in California and the preparations he's had in Saigon:

I guess it really has to do with the quality of the beef. I  didn't see a whole lot of refrigerators in Vietnam (much less freezers). They sell cut meat in open street markets with no refrigeration.

There are two key differences in the beef preparation for all of the Pho Tai I had in Vietnam (read more, inside!)...

I love the smell of thit bo kho in the mownin'

While pho may very well be the perfect breafast, lunch or dinner. I would like to invite you - gentle reader to another one of the Cong Khi's favs called thit bo kho, or beef stew. I don't know really how it's traditionally made or eatn I just know how I like it. What I like most is smothering the goddess of the most beautiful foods with it, the rice noodle. I mean what is a meal with out nooda? So along with that, it is a must for me to also be a glutten and have the nicest warmed viet-french bread with it on the side. I've heard tales that in some places they actually hollow out the core of the bread and fill it with the beautiful stew. While this sounds very scruptious I'm afraid I would be missing the noodas and not really enjoy it as much. So dear dear freinds and fellow expatriots, please stop by Lucky seafood on the corner of Mira Mesa and Black mountain road in San Diego California for some of the best Vietnamese Beef Stew I've had in my entire life. If you're not lucky enough to live near Lucky then you're not rucky at all but with any luck, I'm sure some where near you there is a place that may have a viable substitute. Till next time, high hoe sliver....

Saigon Restaurant

There was rumor and myth running through the dense underbelly of the city about a vestige of pho not yet discovered by the Cong Khi and crew. We had the general whereabouts but the specifics were fuzzy. One thing we did know, wherever it was, whatever it was, we had to find out all about it.