During my visit to Renaissance Towne Center to see what was going on, I had intended to getting a Chicago Dog from Chicago Fire Grill. However, I noticed a business that I hadn't heard a peep about named Viet Nom. And the place was open.
The sign said "soft opening" and things were 10% off until mid-April. So, I decided to head on in to check things out.
The interior is small, with just a few tables and a counter. The young lady who was working was nice and professional. She was also quite patient with the folks walking in to ask if they had sandwiches (they don't) and other questions.
The menu is small; three versions of pho and six sides, including youtiao, sesame balls, and such. The prices were also on the high side, but I decided to order their Pho Nom which was $19.50 and some Tamarind Wings, which was $16.50.
And then, while waiting, I saw this.
And then I realized what jogged my memory. I asked the young lady if this place had the same owner as Formoosa and Steamy Piggy and was told "yes". Ugh…..I haven't had much luck with the food from either place which just seemed all about concept. In fact, "FOY" Kenneth had asked me why I haven't gone to Flama Llama yet, knowing I love Peruvian Cuisine and I replied about having eaten at F and SP, which gave me pause when thinking about eating there and also at the company's new "KFC" place (you can read about Soo's visit here).
Anyway, it was too late to back out now and my wings soon arrived.
The coating on the wings were getting soggy quickly and ended up being more mushy than crisp-crunchy. The flavor of the glaze was extremely sweet, way too sweet for my taste, as it over powered all other flavors. The quality of the wings didn't seem too bad, though this was a bit much for me and I only finished two wings.
Soon enough the sprouts and accoutrements for the pho arrived.
I'm not sure if it's just me; but the portion sizes of sprouts, basil, and seem to have shrunk. The basil, as seems to be the norm these days was turning brown.
As for the bowl of pho; it was humongous.
It was loaded with meat. The beef rib, their version of Xí Quách Suon Bò had also been seared a bit before service. The sliced "short rib" (as defined in the menu) was cut too thick, super tough, and lacked flavor. Strangely, what is usually not my favorite item in a bowl of pho, the squeaky meatballs was the item I enjoyed the most. Of course, there was no option for tendon or tripe. The rib meat came off the bone cleanly, was decently tender, but seemed to have had all the beefiness cooked out of it. Yes, it was a large portion of meat.
The huge clump of noodles were mushy and over cooked. The broth was super bland….I do complain a bit about how pho broth in San Diego seems to be on the sweeter side of the scale….well, you know what, I would have gladly accepted that here! Much like the Niu Rou Mian broth at Formoosa, the soup here seemed to have been made using the "wave" method, whereupon a piece of beef was waved over some water to hopefully create flavor. The broth was super thin and watery. This seemed to be more about presentation and portion size.
Well, at least I got 10% off; even though the wings cost $16.50 and the pho $19.50. Viet Nom made Xin Chao seem like first rate pho. The thought that this is the future of pho depresses me. I usually do more than one visit; but since the place has just 9 items on the menu; three of them pho and one version of broth with the rib meat in it, I'm just going to say "Viet No" to "Viet Nom" for now.
Of course, with my luck, a couple of days later there's a post on Eater about Viet Nom. If only it had been posted before my visit. Though there was one tidbit of information in that post. Looks like the owner of these places that makes everything from Dumplings to Taiwanese to Peruvian/Latin American to Korean Fried Chicken to Pho is now going to open a ramen shop…….
One last, somewhat humorous item. I brought the remainder of the wings back to the office and told folks about it. One of the guys really enjoyed the wings. I was fascinated and asked him why. He told me "this tastes just like Panda Express….I love Panda Express!" 'Nuff said….
Viet Nom
8895 Towne Centre Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 930pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 1030pm