When I recently did a post on Pho in Rancho Bernardo, I received an email asking me about my pick for Pho in the Kearny Mesa area. To be honest, most of my Pho intake occurs to the South of Ulric street, or North of the 52 Freeway. I haven't had Pho in the Convoy area for at least a year, and that was at Convoy Noodle House……truth be told, it was a pretty good bowl. As with so much that happens here, your recommendations, questions, and requests, are the real ideas behind my posts….. I just provide the stomach! So, with my marching orders in hand, here are some updated visits to Pho T Cali, Phuong Trang, and Convoy Noodle House.
Before I get rolling, there's something I noticed with these places; first, the garnishes have dwindled, you'll need to request more basil, bean sprouts, etc……also, you'll never get Ngo Gai (culantro) delivered with your standard dish of garnishes. You can ask, I have, but that doesn't mean it'll be on hand. So here goes……
Pho T Cali:
**** Pho T Cali has closed
The favorite of many, for me, very MOR (middle of the road) Pho. In past visits, the Pho has lacked character, and I really didn't think things would be much different on this visit. The service was standard Pho shop, I'm pointed to my table, a menu dealt out like the ace of spades, and the gentleman is standing on top of me waiting for my order before I open the menu.
I went with the "Chín, nạm, gầu, gân, sách" (well done steak, flank, brisket, tendon, and tripe – $5.50).
Well what can I say…… the garnishes were fresh, but sparse. Check out the broth……..I think the beef flavoring was provided by "old Betsy" in the back of the place who exhaled on a pot of water. The broth was also very salty…… Funny thing was, I had a flashback of Pho I had in Hanoi, and not in a good way. In fact, that bowl from Pho Cuong was better than this.
The noodles were done well, and the brisket was tasty, though the flank lagged behind in flavor, and there was but one tiny piece of tendon in my bowl.
In the end, I decided to cut my losses………
Try as I might, I just couldn't bring myself to have another spoonful. No wonder I saw everyone dumping loads of hoisin and sriracha into their bowls. What the heck happened here? For those who eat here often, I hope, for the sake of your tastebuds, this was just a bad day.
Pho T Cali
7351 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111
Phuong Trang:
AKA "Vietnamese Denny's"….as a couple of folks I know call the place. Still, the food is consistent, and usually non-threatening. Actually, the older Gentleman serving me was the nicest and provided the most friendly service of the three places.
Here I went with the Flank and Brisket ($5.50):
Though still pretty light on the beef flavor, there were at least some clove and anise hints in the broth. The broth was also the least salty of the three places, it was funny, I could taste the difference in the flavor form each leaf of basil I added to the broth. Still, much to light for my tastes. The bean sprouts were brown and going South, so I asked the older Gentleman if I could get a replacement, which was done post-haste, and apologetically. As for the meats, the flank was cut too thick, it was dry, and tasteless. The brisket was a bit under-done, and could have been more tender.
When taking this photo, I decided to use another angle since I've always been accused of taking my Pho shots from the same angle….and sometimes even for using the same generic photo of a bowl oh Pho over and over…..
If you want "Pho not to offend", you can't go wrong with Phuong Trang……. They do ride that middle line in the road well here…..
Phuong Trang
4170 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Convoy Noodle House:
**** Convoy Noodle House has closed
This is the place I usually recommend in the area, but I hadn't eaten here in over a year. As with Pho T Cali, I ordered the "Chín, nạm, gầu, gân, sách" (well done steak, flank, brisket, tendon, and tripe - $5.15).
Even though the garnishes here were the most sparse, this bowl was my favorite by a mile. The broth was mildly beefy, with clove and anise over-tones that were smoothed out by a tiny squeeze of lime. It could have used perhaps a bit more oil, but it was pretty good. The noodles were perhaps a touch over-cooked, but edible. Of the meats, the brisket was over-done and crumbled everywhere, and the flank had good flavor but was tough. The look of the tendon lying on top of the bowl wasn't too promising, but it was very soft and almost melted in my mouth.
Funny thing, the cheapest bowl of Pho, turned out to be my favorite.
Convoy Noodle House
4647 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
So there you go……I'm sure all you "Pho-natics" out there have formed your own opinions……
Thanks for reading!