**** 40N Pho & Grille has closed
A few weeks back, Calvin told me about a new Vietnamese/Pho shop that had opened in his neighborhood. He said that he was taking the family there on a regular basis. It was located in a strip mall in Scripps Ranch? Scripps Ranch? I had to go and check the place out.
40N is located off of Scripps Ranch Boulevard, in the same Strip Mall as Vons and Starbucks. I have to say; I didn't even know this strip mall existed; even though it's but a few miles from Miramar Road and the 15 Freeway.
I was the first customer on this weekend morning; there was a nice, friendly Asian woman working….she seemed to know all the customers who came in after me. She was wonderful, though this was the only time I saw her on during my three visits.
By the looks of the restaurant; I could tell this used to be a Sushi bar as the sushi case was still in place.
Since Calvin had told me the Pho here was quite good; I ordered the House Special (Dac Biet – small $8.50).
This was actually not too bad. The rare steak was still rare when the bowl arrived. The noodles were nicely done, it still had a bit of chew and wasn't mushy. The broth, while cloudy, wasn't overly sweet as is the norm in San Diego these days. It had a mild beefiness, light saltiness, though it lacked complexity was a bit on the bland side and was overly defatted for my taste.
The other cuts in the broth were fine; though the flank was tasteless, the brisket had some beefiness, and the tendon was adequately tender, if not buttery in texture.
The basil was starting to brown and the amount of bean sprouts was rather sparse as is the case in many more "westernized" Pho shops.
So, overall not horrible.
During my visit, it seemed that every table ordered the Cha Gio. So, I decided to return and try it out.
I got the 3 roll ($4.50).
I knew I was in trouble when these came out in less than 3 minutes. It had obviously been reheated. The wrappers were really chewy and this lacked any crispness. The nuoc mam cham was watered down and way too sweet. The filling was fine, but was totally ruined by how bad the wrapper was. Well, at least the lettuce was fresh, right?
Well, the meal wasn't over yet. I ordered the Banh Mi Bo Kho ($10). It actually says "Beef Stew" on the menu….what arrived wasn't no "stew".
Lukewarm, doctored pho broth, made really salty by whatever seasoning was used to make it seem like Bo Kho. The meat was too chewy and some pieces were still slightly cold. The best part of this were the carrots; which looked unwieldy, but was fairly tender.
The banh mi was standard issue, no complaints as it was light, yeasty, and had been heated up.
This was just not a very good meal at all.
And yet, there were two more items on the menu I wanted to try; so I decided to head on back.
I'd seen Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings on the menu. So I ordered the 6 piece ($7) version.
While looking a bit greasy, these were actually fairly crisp, with a good amount of seasoning….edging perhaps on the salty side, but not spicy at all. All the pieces were moist, the wings were actually quite good. The huge drumettes on the other hand, while crisp and moist, had a bitter, slightly freezer burnt flavor to them. Too bad, because this might have been pretty good overall. I ate all the wings….and said goodbye to the drumettes.
I also ordered Banh Xeo ($10). Sadly, this was not very good.
The crepe lacked crispness and was very spongy, the bottom a soggy mess. It was also very bland and the watered down, overly sweet nuoc mam cham did it no favors. The pork and shrimp were tough and dry; the bean and mung bean sprouts under-cooked. This really looked like it was slapped together. All that wonderfully fresh lettuce and mint deserved a better version of banh xeo. 
So, while the pho and the chicken wings weren't bad, I didn't care for anything else as it just seemed a bit dumbed down. I'm sure folks in the neighborhood appreciate the place; but for me, I don't think it's worth going out of my way for….after all Mira Mesa is just right up the I-15.
40N Pho & Grille
9978 Scripps Ranch Blvd
San Diego, CA 92131
Hours:
Mon – Sat 11am – 9pm
Closed on Sunday