The Pandemic has really accelerated the Missus's online purchases….to the point that She often doesn't remember what has been delivered. Of course, while the Missus is very good at ordering and opening things up at home, as I noted before, She's not really very good at making trips to the Post Office to pick up or to do returns. Well, at least when I had to make this last trip to the Post Office, it was to return items. Luckily, working from home, I was able to schedule a quick trip to the Post Office. It was between meetings at around 10am and when thinking about what I'd be picking up for lunch in the area, the solution quickly became clear…….the "fastest pho in the west" might fill the bill.
So, just over a year to the day I last visited, I dropped by Pho Hoa Huong, this time for takeout. I placed my order…..for good old #4 (now $10) and headed to the Post Office where there was no line. I basically made it back to PHH in ten minutes and guess what? My order was waiting….in fact, the nice gentleman saw me walking over form my car and brought my order out to me! Man, it's such a far cry from those days when they basically dealt the menu out to you and then hovered over you to order. Not that I miss those days at all, mind you!
So, unpacking at home…man, the Pho broth was super hot! And in character it was quite dark, though a bit less fatty than before.
As I mentioned in a couple of recent posts….it just seems that portion sizes have increased quite a bit during the pandemic. Since I got home with a good amount of time before my next call, I decided to have an early lunch.
The broth wouldn't need much heating and the noodles were nicely under-cooked. So, I briefly brought the broth back to a boil, then easily separated the proteins and herbs/veggies from the noodles. I placed a noodle strainer in the noodle bowl, placed the banh pho in it and then poured the boiling broth over it, separating the noodles easily.
There was a decent amount of sprouts and a ton of sliced jalapeno. A couple of leaves of good looking ngo gai….though the basil was starting to go bad with most of the leaves discolored.
The broth was pretty dark and I noticed that distinct sweetness that pervades pho broth here in San Diego; not as bad as most other places, but it looks like it's creeping into the "old school" places like here. At least it wasn't overly salty. There was a mild anise-beefiness to it as well.
The noodles were just spot on perfect; even better than what I've had when "dining in" during those pre-Covid days. Once unclumped it had a nice al dente pull.
I was quite impressed with the tripe; clean finish with a good crunch to them. The rest was fine; the tendon was decent, the flank was actually better than the brisket, with a nice toothsome chew and good beefiness. The brisket was too tough for that cut and lacked a good bovine flavor.
This might be the best overall non-frills pho I've had in a while….of course, I haven't had much pho during these times. But I was quite satisfied with my lunch.
Pho Hoa Huong
6921 Linda Vista Rd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 8am – 9pm