Suburban Pho

While pho places abound in the city of brotherly love, its sisterly suburbs are mostly devoid. But there are a few spots... emphasis on the few. One of them is Pho Tai Nam, and we headed out there on one of the annoying rainy nights of this week to check it out. It actually turned out to be a perfect day for pho as it was cold and dreary. It's like a pho/vietnamese/thai joint. So definitely a mix of cuisines. It's in a nondescript strip mall. The inside is bright, sizeable, and clean.

Three of us got various bowls of pho, and H/A went crazy and got the pad thai. Which he didn't really like very much.

We also got some dumplings, as C had mentioned they were good here. And they genuinely were.

The pho did not dissappoint. While clearly overpriced for pho, it was still a sizeable bowl and the broth had good flavor. The meat was nice quality, and overall, I enjoyed it.

C got some mango ice cream for dessert and S got some green tea mochi.

I never leave room for dessert. I was too busy stuffing myself with a long awaited bowl of suburban pho. So for those of you afraid of venturing into the city, head up to Blue Bell and get yourself a bowl in all its suburban glory.

Best. Pho. Restaurant. Name. Ever.

While on Fort Lee's Main Street, I passed by this place. Mo' Pho. Hands down, the best damn name for a pho spot, ever. So bravo to you. If I'm ever in Fort Lee again, I'll stop in, just because the name is so good.

July 4th Vietnamese Dinner

To celebrate July 4th, we decided to bbq. Ok, no, there were no facilities to do that, so we went for vietnamese instead. There are a good number of vietnamese spots in the mission. Thanh Tam II was just the place we randomly picked. It's a small little joint, dimly lit, with christmas lights on the wall. I dug it. The traditional vietnamese garbed lady on the cover of the menu is a bit menacing / creepy.
J got the chicken and shrimp rice plate. Good and good.
I wanted soup, but not pho or anything with meat, so I went with the seafood noodle soup. It came with scallops, shrimp, squid, and fish cake. All good. It was a really light broth, but spot on with just enough flavor. I can't even really describe what it tasted like, but it was just what I wanted, and it was delicious. I practically drained the bowl.

Service was good, the food came out fast, it tasted good, and it was super cheap. What more can you ask for in vietnamese fare?

Thanh Tam II
577 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 252-1190

Pho Only

We met up with C and S for some pho... on an incredibly warm and muggy day. C's a big fan of Pho 75, so we went there. I'd never been there before. Since C is half vietnamese, I trusted his pho tastes.

Pho 75 serves pho only. That's right folks, no rice plates or vermicelli or spring rolls. Just pho, and a few drinks, and some scary looking technicolor desserts. If you don't want just pho, then move along. Despite having a couple of asians along for the party, we all got very safe pho bowls, with safe meats... steaks, briskets, flanks. Not an innard to be had between any of us.

They serve a hearty bowl of pho here. The broth is actually a bit stronger than any of the other places I've been to in philly, and I've been to quite a number of them. So if you're looking for a stronger flavored broth, Pho 75 is your place! Everyone agreed that the meat quality here is superior. For the healthy ones with us, they liked that it was less fatty than other places. And it seemed that you get more meat than at other places. We all stuffed our gourds.

I usually bastardize my pho with a giant heaping of sprouts and a few little squirts of sriracha and hoisin sauce. That's usually it. I don't put in jalapenos, and I normally don't squeeze any lime. But C did the lime. And he doesn't know why he does it but he does it cuz his mom does it and she's vietnamese. So J and I both followed suit and limed our pho this time. We both liked it. Just a little squeeze. I can't explain how it changed the pho, but it made it a little bit better. I'm convinced.

It was a good, filling, and cheap meal. The only down side is that on this hot and muggy night, all the windows were closed and there was no a/c on at all, so it was just uncomfortable. And it was also eerily deserted. There were a few people there when we showed up, but by the time we left, it was just us. Perhaps they just close early? Or perhaps real pho eaters don't eat pho for dinner? I don't know, but it was slightly weird. Oh, and they're cash only. Considering the upcoming weather, I'm not sure how much more pho I'll be eating until it gets cold again!

Pho 75
1122 Washington Ave # F
Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 271-5866

Pho Ha's Greatest Fans

So when I say I have a pho problem, I mean it. I mean it's not a problem like crack is a problem or meth is a problem, but seriously, I need it all the time. And it's usually a toss-up between Pho Ha or Pho & Cafe Viet Huong. Pho Ha won this time out. The summer rolls, one of our staples. They're usually always fresh here, with the wrappers being nice and sticky and pliable, so you know they just made em.
We've been here a bunch of times before where we've seen people order the pork and shrimp vermicelli bowls. J had to have one this time. It was a bit disappointing when he got a whole 2 shrimp in his bowl. 2. We knew there was something wrong with that, because when we'd seen other people getting it in the past, they always had at least 5 or 6. He was disappointed. And it looked like they'd tried to make it up to him by giving him extra pork instead. The pork is damn good, but he ordered pork and shrimp, not mostly pork and 2 shrimp. Unfortunately, J is pretty non-confrontational, so he didn't say anything. The 2 sad little shrimp he did get, they were very good.
I was in the mood for chicken, but not the broken rice plate, so I went with the grilled chicken vermicelli bowl with an added spring roll. Their chicken was awesome, as always. And I'm a big fan of the spring rolls here. They're super meaty and flavorful and crispity fresh. Perfunctory service as usual. Nothing really to complain about other than the lack of shrimpage.

Vietnamese, Again and Again

It was an extremely cold weekend. And extremely cold weekends call for a little pho action. Sunday night - dinner at Pho Ha. I had me some delicious hot pho, J had some grilled chicken on broken rice. And of course, an order of the summer rolls. The rolls weren't the freshest, but still good. My pho? Great, as usual. And the grilled chicken on broken rice? Well, I happen to think that Pho Ha has the best broken rice dish by far, and the chicken is the best. EVER. If you're gonna order broken rice at Pho Ha, you have to get the chicken. Just trust me. And the chicken portion is just ridiculous.

I had lunch with my colleague on Monday before our visit to Comcast (btw, the Comcast building is PHAT and the marketplace in the basement is as dreamy as they claim). We stopped by Nam Phuong. I'd never been here because I tend to go to the divier vietnamese joints on Washington Ave. The place is really huge, and a bit on the nicer side. They actually have tablecloths and stuff, that's how nice it is.

I got the broken rice with roast pork, M got the vermicelli bowl with chicken, and we also got a vietnamese crepe. Everything was good. Nothing spectacular, but very good standard vietnamese fare. Something I especially did like about this place was that instead of little paltry sticks of the pickled carrot and daikon, there were big slices of it, and plenty of it. I have to give them props for that. I haven't had a crepe in awhile, but I enjoyed it and as it is typical, it was ginormous. Just plain huge. It could feed a couple of people as a meal in itself. Their vermicelli bowls get fairly herb-y, being heavy on the mint and cilantro side, if that's your thing.

The service was a bit noticeably slow here. In some of the more no frills joints, the food comes out super fast. Here, it probably came out normal fast. And since it was a vietnamese place, it was a bit of a departure. As far as vietnamese places go, the speed of the food is definitely slow. The prices aren't higher though. So if you want a bit more atmosphere, it's a nice option. [Sorry for no pics, but sometimes, I just want to eat and not bother with all the camera shenanigans.]

Pho Ha

610 Washington Ave

Philadelphia, PA 19147

(215) 599-0264

Pho Duc

You know I love me some pho. And on a particularly cold evening, I decided to warm myself up by having a giant bowl of pho.
I always like to order the fresh spring rolls just to see what I'm in for. You know if you get a hard spring roll, clearly not made fresh to order, you may be in for some bad news. This was the first time I'd ever had a roll which had open ends. In reality, I guess there's no real reason to have to fold over the ends. It actually makes for quite nice presentation. While the roll was quite nice, and definitely fresh, the sauce was very different. Instead of the typical hoisin based sauce with a little peanut taste, this one was warm and pretty much just peanutty. While not bad, it was just not what I was expecting, and I much prefer the traditional hoisin based sauce. There was just something strange about it, and the fact that it was warm also put me off a little bit. Putting a cold roll into warm sauce just seemed wrong! But like I said, the roll itself was fantastic.
For the pho, I went with my standard, which is flank steak. I stay away from the innards, and usually just stick with the flank. I quite enjoyed this soup a lot. For a small bowl, it was plenty for me. The broth was meaty and strong enough, not bland at all. And the meat was hearty. And everything was just a big ol bargain. The service was good and the staff was very friendly. You can tell it's a family-run joint, and they knew a lot of patrons by name. If you have regulars, that's always a great sign. It's tucked away right next to the convention center, so stop by next time you're over that way.

Pho Duc Restaurant
3815 196th St SW
Lynnwood, WA 98036
(425) 672-2466

Pho On A Frozen Day

This weekend was a particularly frigid one. We wanted to go to NYC for the day for my birthday, but the freezing ass temperatures put the kibosh on it. As much as I like wandering around the streets of new york, I don't like doing it in sub freezing temperatures. So with that plan on hold, we stayed in town and stopped by Pho & Cafe Viet Huong for some steamy vittles. I was in the mood for some spice, so I went with the pho bo kho. It was just what I wanted. I just wish there was more stewed meat in it and less joint/knuckle stuff. I know plenty of people who enjoy eating the knuckley jointy bits of the cow (and by plenty of people I mean my mom, her friends, and my grandmom), but it doesn't really do it for me. It's just kind of gelatenous and flavorless. I'm much more into the fleshy bits.
J got a ho fun with beef and vegetables dish. He was hoping for more veggies beyond just onions and sprouts. It was still good, but when someone reads vegetables, they imagine perhaps some broccoli, maybe a carrot or two. Maybe another time.

Something intrigued us during this visit. While we were eating, we kept hearing this "ding dong" doorbell type sound every so often. Not all the time, not on a regular interval, but just occasionally, randomly, a ding dong. We couldn't see anything directly causing the ding dong, nor could we see anything happen as a direct result of the ding dong. Unless someone can enlighten us, it shall remain a mystery.

Pho & Cafe Viet Huong
1110 Washington Ave # 2A
Philadelphia, PA

Pho On a Dreary Day

Ever since I got back from LA, the weather at home has been particularly dreary, wet, and depressing. It's a good thing I escaped! The day before taking off for warmer and sunnier weather, I headed off to South Philly for a nice warm bucket of pho at Pho Hoa. I actually hadn't been to this one before. The restaurant is fairly big on the inside, you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell from outside. There's booths and tables and flat screen tvs. It's nothing exciting or interesting, decor wise. The summer rolls. These are pretty much a given. I wanted hot food though, so I didn't partake. They were probably ok. I myself, I make a mean summer roll. And my sauce beats any restaurant sauce. I swear. Chicken pho. Kinda seems to defeat the purpose of pho, but it looks good, if not healthy. I still miss my unhealthy chicken pho from the long defunct Le Cyclo. Best. Chicken. Pho. Ever. Never to be tasted by these lips again. How sad. I went with my simple brisket pho. I wanted to see how Pho Hoa stood up against the other pho joints, so I made sure to taste the broth before I adulterated it with sriracha and such. And I do have to say that the broth was quite great. This was a great bucket of pho. I cleaned my bowl. Service was perfunctory, as usual. The food came out super fast, as usual. Even though it's a "chain", this is a good one.

Slowly Getting Better! Pho Real!

When you have a bit of a cold, there's nothing like drowning yourself in a giant bucket of pho. So that's exactly what we did. Before catching a film festival flick and getting a parking ticket a 9 PM on a Sunday (up yours PPA), Washington Ave was to be the street of choice. And Pho & Cafe Viet Huong was the pho place of choice.


H/A got some strange rainbow ice drink. I wouldn't exactly call it a drink. There's very little drink, and much more chunky stuff. There's sweet red beans, shreds of green jello, yellow mung bean, and coconut milk. I don't think this is a drink for me.


Got some rolls (Goi Cuon), as tradition always calls for it. They were pretty good, but there were tons of mint in. I like a tiny bit sometimes, but this may have been a bit too much for me. Don't get me wrong, still good.


H/A went with the pork chops on broken rice (Com Tam Suon Nuong). Holy crap, this was good. I'm totally ordering this the next time. Screw the pho, now I'm all about vietnamese pork chops!

But no complaints about the pho here. I got beef eye round and well done flank. After throwing in the entire pile of sprouts and the requisite sriracha, it was just what the doctor ordered. Although it was pretty ginormous and I did not finish it. Damn you sickness and my diminished appetite!

The service? It's not so great here. The place is huge and run like a cold machine. You get your food real fast, but they don't really follow up or check on you. Then you go up front and pay. Attentiveness is not their strong suit. But that's ok, because they're food is good.

Pho & Cafe Viet Huong

1110 Washington Ave # 2A

Philadelphia, PA
215-336-5030

The Vietnam (Restaurant) War

If you've ever been on a particular block of 11th Street in Chinatown, you know of the two rival vietnamese restaurants located across the street from each other. On the east side is Vietnam Restaurant, which had a facelift in the late 90's to become very cute and swanky. Before the renovations, it was quite a dive. On the west side is Vietnam Palace. Now I heard a rumor that they are run by family members who had a falling out and decided to compete against each other. Whatever the reason may be, I'm always up for vietnamese food. It's so one of my favorites.

I've been to Vietnam Restaurant probably half a dozen times, pre-renovation and post. I love it there. This was my first time at Vietnam Palace. I've heard good and bad things about it. In the same way I've heard good and bad things about Vietnam Restaurant. But I was definitely excited to check it out. We had a large party, and the upstairs, where they put us, was actually quite perfect for this. There was noone else there so we could actually talk and hear ourselves.


I had the broken rice combo, which came with chicken, beef, and shrimp. I certainly liked it. The beef was particularly good. And I have an extreme weakness for the pickled daikon and carrots that you always get with this dish. At Vietnam Palace it's not julienned, but just sliced into big pieces. That was especially delightful. MF got the bun (vermicelli) with pork and a fried spring roll. It looked damn good. She liked it. She also got an avocado milk shake, which did indeed look like a shamrock shake. She liked that too.



C had never eaten vietnamese food before, and that was in part why we ended up here. To right that wrong. He got the pho bo kho, which is a spicy beef stew noodle soup. He seemed to enjoy it. We were also mighty impressed by his use of the chopsticks for most of the bowl. He didn't resort to the spoon until nearly the very end (he picked up the spoon early on just for the picture below). Nice job C. He was also quite proud of his recent haircut. And in light of being part of his first vietnamese food experience, I promised to include his haircut in my blog. There he is ladies and gents, the first full back-of-the-noggin that has ever graced this here blog. And a big shout out to supercuts.

There were some other broken rice dishes, some more noodle dishes, some tea that tasted like root, papaya salad, crappy merlot, and on and on. In general, everyone enjoyed their meal. I can't say that I like it better than Vietnam Restaurant. But I did definitely like Vietnam Palace. I think they're quite different. Perhaps not in food, but in design and ambiance, and a little attitude. Different strokes for different folks.

My Love Pho You

On Saturday, I did alot of walking. The 16th Philadelphia Film Festival was going on (and still is), and so I wanted to catch at least one flick, but had to go to the Kimmel Center by 8PM. A colleague had laid some free tix to Art Garfunkel on me earlier in the week. He's not my scene, but I knew my mom would be into him, so I took her. It'd been her first time to the Kimmel and let me tell you, for those of you that haven't been there, go! It's a beautiful building, on the outside and the inside. And the large hall is even more gorgeous and has the most amazing acoustics you've ever heard. It's a totally beauteous place.

While hauling my butt 13 blocks to get from 2nd to Broad, I had to stop in for a quick bite. And on my way, of course, was Chinatown. This is a girl that never gives up a chance to stop in Chinatown. If you remember, Saturday was freakin cold. And after walking all those blocks, I decided that pho would be my meal of choice. So I stopped at Pho Cali, again.

Do you remember the first time you had pho? I do. It was the summer after my freshman year of college in Cleveland. I was staying that summer at a fraternity house (yeah, hilarious, I know). That's ok, it wasn't a real fraternity, it was the nerd fraternity. One of the people staying there that summer had a car, and he was going to go drive and eat Vietnamese food. Vietnamese food? What's that, I thought! I had no idea. I'd never had it before. So we trekked to the west side of town to a tiny Vietnamese place. I didn't remember what it was called, but I just googled it and it is called Minh-Anh. Gosh. So it's good to know it's still there.

So this guy also gushed about this thing called "cinnamon soup". Yes, cinnamon soup. That absolutely sounds gross now that I think about it, but at the time, it sounded fascinating. And I had to have it. It was actually pho he was talking about, and I loved it! And from then on, I've been hooked. At Minh-Anh, you didn't get the giant bowls that the chain pho places typically serve. You got a tiny mini bowl and you treasured every flavorful spoonful of broth and every crunchy sprout. Mmmm.... I also had my first goi cuan (fresh summer rolls) there, and also my first bun (rice vermicelli bowl). Now that I think about it, I realize how much Minh-Anh has affected my eating life. Thank you!

When you order pho, you basically need to know what type of meat you want in it. I typically just go for brisket. You also can choose flank, steak, tripe, tendon, meatballs, or any combination of the above. It comes out in a bowl with rice noodles, the soup, your meat(s) of choice, onions, green onions, and cilantro. Immediately after you order pho, before you even get your pho, they bring you a plate full of mung bean sprouts, some sliced jalapenos, some lime wedges, and some basil. And at every table, you always have sriracha sauce (the spicy sauce), hoisin, and garlic chili sauce. And you put any of these ingredients into your pho. Then you shovel and enjoy! For me, I stick in all the sprouts and some sriracha. That's it for me, I'm a simple pho kinda girl. I also ordered a limeade. So so good!

Oh yeah, by the way, after the Kimmel, I made my mom take me to capogiro. And I also forgot to say that after that night at Penang, I also stopped at capogiro. Hilarious. Ladies and gents, my addiction is fully raging.

Closed Pho the Winter

There's nothing I love more than a nice big bowl of steaming pho. The beefy broth, the crunch of the sprouts, the whole thing. I love every bit of it. I also love a very particular chicken pho. Now most pho joints serve a very bland chicken pho. It's made with chicken based stock and sliced up chicken breast. Very boring. This is not my chicken pho. My chicken pho is made with beef stock. My chicken pho has grilled/fried chicken with incredible flavor. My chicken pho sometimes even trumps regular beef pho. Where can you get said delicious chicken pho? At Pho Ba Le, on Washington Ave (sometimes called Restaurant Cyclo). Only thing is, the last two times I've been there, it's been closed having a sign saying "Closed for the Winter". How can you be closed for the winter when you serve the best winter food there is?

There's another pho place across the parking lot called Pho Ha. It's one of those mostly pho only shops that brings out your food in 2 seconds. We were in the city last night going to a concert, so we stopped round Washington Ave to grab a bite first. I decided not to get pho last night because it was fairly warm out, and I got the chicken and spring roll over broken rice instead. As you can see, it was alot of food, and it was delicious and moist. I think the key is that it's not white meat, but dark meat. One of my favorite things about getting this Com Tam dish is the pickled daikon and carrots that you always get on the side. I love the slightly sweet sourness of it, and the crunch.

M got a small pho. Small in pho places usually means pretty big. And the large means huge. I've had the pho there before and it's very good. M seemed to enjoy it alot, and she pretty much ate the whole thing, broth included. I was so impressed!!!


Monday night I had to stop at the mall to return some stuff. While there, feeling particularly lazy, I picked up some chicken teriyaki to go from one of those "japanese" chain joints that serves teriyaki dishes. I really like it cause it's so simple, just chicken with teriyaki sauce, and some grilled veggies and rice. I got a giant carton full for about $4. And on a lazy night, it doesn't get any better. It's fresh, steaming hot, and tasty, and requires absolutely no work whatsoever.


Pho Ba Le
600 Washington Ave

215-389-7844

Pho Ha

610

Washington Ave

215-599-0264

Pho and phlowers

Friday night I got to go to the Philadelphia Flower Show for free. It was part of the Young Friends of the Horticultural Society's efforts to get feedback from the under-40 crowd. My friend invited me, and when she couldn't go, I took another friend. It was a pretty good deal. Free food, free entry to the show, and then we got to give our opinion about the show. I never turn down free food, ha!

They had cheese and fruit and wine. They even had some servers walking around with some appetizers. But the highlight was the mashed potato bar. They had three different kinds - roasted red pepper, cheddar, and garlic. Then they had mashed potato condiments - bacon, chives, cheese, and sour cream that we could add on our own. And they served it in a plastic martini glass. Hehe. I only had the roasted red pepper one, but it was damn good! The guy serving it said you've never had anything like it. And he was right! I loaded mine up with lots of bacon and sour cream and it was very good. It was slightly spicy, but not too much so, and had a bit of potato chunks still. I could have eaten it all night.

Alas, I did not eat the mashed potatoes all night. I never give up a chance to go to Chinatown when I'm right there. The convention center is pretty much in Chinatown, so we had to go there to eat afterwards. It was quite cold, so we just picked what was closest, and ended up at Pho Cali. Pho Cali is one of my favorite pho places around. You always get sat quickly, the food comes out lightning fast, and it's good and cheap.

I decided not to have pho (not sure why) and had the beef with noodle soup instead. I wanted some spice, and I surely got it. It had round egg noodles. And what I think was probably flank steak. It was very spicy. Not too spicy, but it definitely was not a mild spicy. M had a grilled beef with noodle soup dish. It was a chicken broth soup with rice noodles, and came with grilled beef on the side. It was just what we needed to fill our bellies and get all warmed up.

Pho Cali

1000 Arch St

215-629-1888