*** Update, Bolsaa has since closed. And is now the Crab Hut.
Yep, you read that right; it’s Bolsaa with 2 "aa’s" at the end. Not to be confused with Bolsa on Mira Mesa Boulevard, though I’ve been told that there is a connection. This Bolsaa is located in a strip mall along with several other restaurants on Convoy St.
About a year and a half ago, I had a decent bowl of Pho’ Ga (Chicken Rice Noodle Soup) at Bolsaa, and then had forgotten all about the place. Recently, on a trip to Balboa Tofu House I saw the Bolsaa sign and made a mental note to revisit Bolsaa. And so here I was……
The interior of Bolsaa is alot larger then the tiny storefront would indicate, and is quite clean. There’s also the requisite bar area, that almost all Vietnamese Restaurants seem to have for the express purpose of hiding the cash register.
The restaurant also never seems to be full, no matter what time of day I’ve visited.
On this trip I ordered the typical Pho’ Bo(Beef Noodles Soup) Combination(Rare Steak, Brisket, Flank, Tendon, and Tripe) Extra Large($5.75), compared to the Combination Large($5.25), or just the Combination ($4.75), for some reason I see some humor in this, though I can’t quite understand why. As is the norm, the garnishes arrived first:
I thought the amount of Basil was perfect for my tastes, though the bean sprouts were lacking. What to do about the lemon wedge??????
The large bowl of Pho’ arrived steaming hot to the table.
The rare steak was perfect, thinly sliced, and soft. The rest of the meat items didn’t fare so well, most were dry and tough, and the amount of tripe was negligible. The noodles weren’t in a solid clump on the bottom and were about as good as they could possibly be, not mushy, and not too chewy. The broth was on the light side, and very generic. The oil level was low, and the only very distinctive trait I could really get a handle on was how "salty" it was. It got to the point where I finished the noodles, but couldn’t bring myself to finish up the broth. Who knows, could be a glitch, but man was it salty.
On a recent morning I did manage to make another visit to Bolsaa, and this time decided on a change of pace and ordered the Chicken with Lemon Grass and Hot Pepper($6.95). The dish was delivered on two plates, first, a really "healthy"(or depending how you view carbs, unhealthy) portion of rice:
Then the good size portion of chicken:
The dark meat chicken had been cut into cubes then stir fried with onions. The sauce had a slight sweet-soy/fish sauce taste. There was almost no spiciness or heat, and the dish was on the oily side (even for me….). I honestly felt that I could do better at home. Pass on this one…..
I’ll probably visit Bolsaa again in the (maybe not so near) future. Though I’ll probably have the Pho’ Ga, or check out the Pho’ Bo, just to see if the bowl I had was a glitch.
Some Notes: I’ve been to Bolsaa four times over the years, and it’s always been a pretty quiet, not too crowded restaurant. With current construction in the mall, the parking spaces are always being reconfigured, and during certain hours parking is at a premium. The menu at Bolsaa in not as large as other Vietnamese restaurants; of course it’s all relative if you consider 120+ items to be a smaller selection. So at least Vietnamese Menu Paralysis won’t take over!
Bolsaa Vietnamese Cuisine
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Open Daily 9am – 10pm
If I can get my "act" together, I’ll probably do my Pho’ Retrospective post some time next week.