*** An updated post on Pho T Cali can be found here.
*** Pho T Cali has closed
One thing I really enjoy about doing this food blog are the emails, most of the emails I receive are very nice, kind, fun, interesting, and sometimes quite entertaining. Of course I get my share of Spam, Shills, and other unsavory Emails; but I'd say 90% of them are at least fun. A recent email surely belonged in the "entertaining" category. Someone named "Pho-grrrl" sent me an email, that was really a single run-on sentence…."Hey, you have to eat at Pho T Cali, it's the best! Pho T Cali rocks!!! They make the best Pho, SO YOU HAVE TO GO THERE SOON! Pho T Cali ROCKS, woo-hoo!" For some reason, I started laughing, I was feeling a bit under the weather, but this email still cracked me up. I knew right away that this wasn't a "shill" message. I mean, I've only seen 1 Woman working at Pho T Cali, who I really wouldn't think of being a Grrrl, nor could I imagine Her using the term "rocks", nor ending a sentence with "woo-hoo".
But, since Pho-grrrl brightened my day, and since I was feeling a bit under the weather, and a bowl of Pho would be a nice tonic, I drove over to Pho T Cali.
Pho T Cali was formerly known as Pho Hoa Cali, and as far as I could tell the menu and staff are basically the same. The food had changed slightly, and the prices had gone up a bit since the change. I've always found the food at Pho T Cali to be quite middle of the road, in fact, I had considered doing Pho T Cali instead of Phuong Trang for my retrospective, as the example of MOR(Middle of the Road) Pho. Being MOR has it's benefits, Pho T Cali is very popular with a wide range of people.
Today I chose the Pho Dac Biet Xe Lua(Special – Extra Large bowl – $5.50). The garnishes are the basic basil-bean sprouts-jalapeno-lime quartet.
The very large bowl of Pho arrived soon after:
In keeping with the MOR theme, the broth was on the lighter side, with a very mild beef flavor, though a tad on the salty side. There was no outstanding flavor element, and the oil level was low. That is not to say it was bland, the green onions, onions, and all of the garnishes(including the jalapenos) gave the broth life. The portion of thinly sliced rare beef was pretty good, not tough at all, but a bit on the dry side. The brisket and flank were very tasty, though a bit on the fatty side. In keeping with safe theme, the portion of tripe was really small, and tendon was nearly non-existent.
There was a humongous clump of noodles at the bottom of the bowl.
The noodles weren't cooked enough and were tough, but they are usually fine. Overall, the Pho was as expected.
Don't get me wrong, Pho T Cali has the formula down, decent food, good prices, and is fairly consistent. When people ask me about trying Pho for the first time, I sometimes recommend Pho T Cali. The service is efficient, and the "appetizer sin", where the Pho, or other main course arrives before the Cha Gio or Goi Cuon has never happened to me here. Most of the dishes(except for the Bun Bo Hue, which is lousy), are done fairly well. Here's to you Pho-grrrl. Woo-Hoo! Or maybe Hoo-Woo…….
Pho T Cali
7351 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
Hours – Sun-Thurs 830am-9pm
Fri-Sat 830am-930pm