**** Pho Duyen Mai is under new ownership.
No, it's not the candy or even the song from Alice in Chains. But I kept seeing the sign for "them bones" while (usually) having an early lunch at Pho Duyen Mai.
I'd recently had the pho here…..
And was not too impressed with the broth. Which while not bland as it had some hints of anise; it was way too salty and barely had any beef flavor. I couldn't bring myself to finish the bowl.
The proteins were decent though and the noodles, while the usual clump at the bottom of the bowl wasn't over done.
This was ok and I wasn't planning on having pho here anytime soon. But that Beef Rib Bones sign stuck in my head.
Curious I returned and ordered a regular sized pho ($7) and them bones ($3). Which turned out to be three good sized ribs bones which I believe is used for making the broth.
This was pretty good; not boiled into a mess; there was still some nice connective tissue; tendon and stuff, with a decent amount of meat. In spite of the pho broth still being way too salty, I scraped the meat off the bone and dipped it into the broth. I had added a touch of lime to temper the saltiness a bit and this ended up being quite good.
In fact, I enjoyed the rib meat had a lot more than any of the cuts in the bowl.
And while I wish the broth here was a bit less salty, richer, with more beef flavor, it was a nice foil for that rib meat. I cleaned "dem bones" up pretty good.
I was rather satisfied with this. Not cheapo at ten bucks, but someone just told me that a bowl at Pho T Cali, which is mediocre at best, set them back twelve bucks! Framed in that manner, this was a bargain.
Pho Duyen Mai
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123