My revisit to Pho Mignon back in September had me wondering about Pho Lucky, which has been a regular stop for me over the years. Recently though I'd noticed that the pho here has seemed to go downhill a bit, which had me sticking to the Banh Mi Bo Kho.
So, a few days after my visit; I dropped by Pho Lucky. It had been awhile; in fact, I don't recall seeing the "No Fried Fish Welcome Sign" on the door before.
I wonder what event triggered that?
I went ahead and ordered my usual; the #4, flank, tripe, tendon, and brisket.
Things looked fine and that tendon was really good as were the noodles, just prepped perfectly.
The problem was the broth……
It was a lot more defatted than I recalled; gone was the nice anise tones I enjoyed, and worse of all, it was strangely "sweet". Egad! Was Pho Lucky joining the ranks of "Sweet broth brigade"?
The main reasons I enjoyed the pho here was for the flavor of the broth and the tendon. This just didn't cut it.
I intended to return fairly quickly to see if this visit was a fluke, but then we entered into that cycle of records temperatures. And then, when things cooled down; the amount of work heated up. My life right now include weekend morning conference calls. But, unlike regular work days; there's a short window of time before my call and I decided to drop by Pho Lucky to see if my last visit was just an off day.
I ordered the #4; went to wash my hands and this is what I got.
What the pho? I didn't order rare steak? Had they changed the numbering on the menu? I had just a short window of time before I needed to be in the office, so I just went ahead and had my bowl.
The rare steak was actually not bad; much more tender than I recalled; though I missed the usual amount of tendon and tripe. The broth was better; a bit richer, but more importantly, not overly sweet not too salty. I do think the days of nice anise and onions tones in the broth are gone though. Sad. The noodles were nicely prepared; the portion of sprouts was smaller than I recalled.
I rechecked the menu while waiting to cash out.
Hmmmm……#4 looks the same to me?
Maybe the Server didn't get enough of a caffeine fix before taking my order? I saw him chugging this down whenever he had a chance.
Well…whatever…it seems to be slim pickins' with regards to decent pho in San Diego these days. I guess I'm back to the Bo Kho here.
Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126