I have to admit a terrible inability to tell really “great” pho tai from good-to-average; sure, a terrible broth and poorly cooked noodles are obvious. Or, veggies that look like they were purchased during (one of) the Bush Administration(s). The rest seem the same.
From your list I love the rich Oxtail Pho at Phorage and the gingery Pho Gai at Viet Noodle Bar.
Does East Borough have pho? I’ve never had it there, but I have tried their excellent pho baguette. If that’s any indication, it’s probably pretty good.
I can’t wait to see what you find @theoffalo. Thanks for taking one for the team.
I was originally going to say, “But… you recommended Pho Quong Trung to me, in the heart of legit Vietnamese cuisine (Little Saigon)! You don’t want to go back?” but then I saw you said it was for an article.
Now that you mention it, I hang out the most on the westside, but just instinctively know from reading our old board and here that we need to head East to get some good stuff. I never bothered trying any of the Westside places.
Well, I can’t drive to OC or SGV at the drop of a hat (say for lunch on a workday), so beyond fodder for an article (which may or may not happen), I figure I’d check in to see if any hidden pho gems have popped up on the Westside in the last couple of years.
Chef Gary Nguyen (formerly of Melisse) took over Dot Saigon at the fox hills mall and does a nice Pho. The Bahn mi are really flavorfull as well but not particularly traditional -more like Bahn mi meets mexican torta (softer roll, more filling…)
Interesting. I saw that Dot Saigon had 4-star rating on Yelp with 71 reviews, which I found somewhat unusual for a food court shop, so I was going to investigate further. Good to get a data point from a trusted source. So they went from food truck to food court? Will have to check them out.
I have yet to try Dot’s Pho. But the Pho there before was not terrible (it wasn’t that good either) to begin with. Second Best in the area to Super Pho on Venice. Better than the one at Phorage. Our non SGV or OC Viet place is Saigon Dish in Lawndale. All around GOOD diner type Vietnamese food.
Having had bun bo hue in SGV, Nong La’s is not funky enough for me.* If I want a BBH fix, I usually go to Qin West and get the Liuzhou noodle soup. Not that it’s like BBH but it scratches the same itch for me.
*I guess maybe I have lower standards for pho? Or maybe I’m in the mood for pho more often, so I’m a little more willing to compromise to get my pho fix.
It’s a fairly light flavor broth, i’m not surprised we’re both easily pleased with pho. i usually get my bbh fix at song phat in the valley… if i’m ever going to SGV it’s almost always for chinese
i’ve oft wondered why ramen is so popular and pho isn’t. young
foodies line up for the latest and greatest ramen, whatever the neighborhood.
pho doesn’t seem to have that sort of penetration.