Thread: Pho - I'm hooked!

Originally Posted by lunchbox

i've been eating this stuff since i was a kid. traditionally, it's only a breakfast/brunch meal but i know a bunch of people who eat it for dinner partially because the pho shops are open so late so it caters to everyone's schedules. my dad'll only eat it for brunch or as a midnight snack on his way home from the graveyard shift. haha.

i normally go for pho tai (the one with the rare meat) or pho tai sach (rare meat + tripe). some places are real gnarly with not shredding the tripe appropriately though so if i go back i'll just get rare meat. as a kid, i liked pho bo vien (beef meat balls), that's like the chicken tenders equivalent when you drag your kid along with you, lol.

there are a bunch of places in little saigon i default to, but i couldn't tell you their name. i just know where to drive, park and stroll in. part of my problem is that i don't really speak the language (that's what my mom gets for teaching me french instead) so the names don't really stick in my head so well. i'm just lucky i know how to order what i want to eat.

there's a dish that is similar to what ges is mentioning called bun thit nuong cha gio that my husband loves. rice vermicelli noodles with char grilled pork and egg rolls. it's the same thing but you're replacing bun (the rice vermicelli noodles) for banh uot (rice flour sheets).

and hey hey hey, ges, only the commies pronounce cha gio with a "z".

lol. story goes... at one point in our early twenties, me and a couple of friends all worked swing, so we'd often hit the Alhambra joint between around 11 and noon. since we were almost always the least Vietnamese in the house, and regulars, our waiter used to always give us lessons on pronunciation... that was basically how he taught us to say it... damn pinko bastard!

i can't remember what it's called, but i also like the cold vermicelli noodle one as well.

i also gotta say... outside of maybe lumpia, i think the best "rolls" in the universe are the Viet steamed spring rolls... so fresh!

Originally Posted by lunchbox

there was actually a "what the pho" right on PCH in HB. i never went though. i only go to little saigon or directly outside of it (fountain valley) or the san gabriel valley (rosemead, alhambra, etc.) the prices and flavors are usually right on if you stay where there's more competition. i hate to put it this way, but they don't try to cater to non vietnamese taste buds when they're serving a mostly viet clientele, if you catch my drift...

once i got a call, and when i answered it, my friend was cracking up because he just passed it and was turning around to go...





funny story... when i was living in San Diego, we had a barbeque one weekend and my roommate invited a bunch of the discharged members of his old unit. so amid a cloud of puff puff, carne asada, and a raging Halo tournament, i would joke to them about how i wanted to open my own Pho cantina over by Pendleton somewhere and call it Chariie's... apparently they're still laughing about it.

The first one I tried was at SW Lincoln Tustin in Orange it used to be Pho 99. I ate there and man was that bowl was like nuclear white hot temp. wise. It was good. My partner and I trusted the waiter who ordered for us and it was very good. It changed its name and I haven't been there since.

Next we ate at Oodles of Noodles at NE Imperial La Palma in Anaslime and again that bowl was like nuclear white hot temp. wise. I can only eat Pho on a cold day otherwise wearing all my gear I will be soaked when I leave. That place is still owned by the same people but now called Pho Vina I haven't been there yet since the name change. That was good.

The last one I tried was the one SW Imperial La Palma in the In n Out shopping center and that seemed pretty mainstream. For starters the menu was in English and it was not nuclear hot. It was ok though but not like I had at the above.

Overall I like Pho but only on a really cold day...

Pho Today in Stanton On Katella and Knott is pretty good. Was there yesterday.

Pho with rare meat and tripe.

Originally Posted by UnholyGoalie

Pho with rare meat and tripe.

Where can I find good Pho?

I'm no ah-pho-cianado (just made that up) but I like this place. Small mom-and-pop place. Everything I've had there has been excellent.

Song Phat - Winnetka - Canoga Park, CA

I

Originally Posted by UnholyGoalie

I'm no ah-pho-cianado (just made that up) but I like this place. Small mom-and-pop place. Everything I've had there has been excellent.

Song Phat - Winnetka - Canoga Park, CA

I will have to try it. Thank you.

I lost my Pho cherry only recently and thoroughly enjoyed it. Probably far from the best (Phobulous), but not knowing any better it was pretty damn good. Today, tried their Banh Mi (a Banh Mi deflowering) and damn, it was two hours ago and I'm still smacking my lips. One of these days, I'll try a good pho place.

I tried Pho Citi in Burbank. It was ok, but the Yelp ratings aren't so great. 2/5 stars. Not good.