Pho – Page 13 – mmm-yoso

Revisits: Alforon, Spicy House, Sultan Kebab, and Pho Hiep and Grill

March 27, 2011 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Lebanese Restaurants, Pho, Turkish Food

Just a couple of revisits for a slow moving Sunday……

Alforon:

Man, during my last couple of visits, business sure was slammin'. It's good to see this little mom-and-pop joint. On this visit, I just had a Chicken Tawook ($5.75), which arrived looking just plain delish.

And some garlic paste and pickles to go of course!

Alforon
5965 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

My previous posts on Alforon can be found here and here.

Spicy House:

A friend and I dropped by Spicy House for lunch recently.

We had the Pork Intestines with Preserved Vegetable. This was pretty good.

Except the slices of preserved vegetable were really cut too large. Decent flavoring, the intestines had a nice musty-funky flavor without going over the top.

We also had the Crispy Fried Eel with Peppers.

Unfortunately, this dish was a mere shadow of what I had before. Too salty, soggy, and very greasy. It seems that Spicy House has hit a plateau.

Spicy House
3860 Convoy Street #105
San Diego, CA 92111

My previous posts on Spicy House can be found here and here.

Sultan Kebab and Baklava:

I guess I've posted enough on Sultan already. But this is the Missus's latest favorite. We've been eating here quite often recently. So I'll just go with photos.

Sultan Kebab & Baklava
131 Jamacha Road
El Cajon, CA 92019

Pho Hiep and Grill – Linda Vista:

We never really had fog where I grew up, so it still has some fascination to me. On a recent foggy morning…..

I'm not sure when spring is going to start this year……. it's been pretty chilly. So, a bowl of Pho just seemed to be the perfect thing. I headed over to Pho Hiep and Grill for a bowl.

Maybe it was too early in the morning? The broth on this day was lighter than any I've had here before. The flavors just seemed diluted. The meat were fine, but I left somewhat unsatisfied……

Pho Hiep & Grill
6947 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Finding the Pho in Phoenix: Pho 43 Express

March 8, 2011 ed fromyuma Bun Bo Hue, Pho, Phoenix/Scottsdale/Chandler/Central AZ, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Kirk needs a break and Cathy is reeeallly busy, so today ed (from yuma) is posting about some place not in Yuma or San Diego.

Knowing that we were going to be in the Phoenix area around Presidents' Day, Tina and I thought about some places to eat. Both of us, as it turns out, were hungry for Vietnamese. A little research on Chowhound turned up a list of Vietnamese restaurants.

The one closest to where we were going to be was Pho 43 Express on 43rd Ave in the Maryville district of Glendale. We figured we'd give it a try.

The restaurant is a stand-alone building with plenty of parking in a neighborhood of multiple ethnicities — so far, so good:

The large number of family members (no school on Presidents' Day) let us know that this was a family restaurant, not a pho factory like some of the assembly line SD pho restaurants. The folks were friendly.

Looking over the menu, we realized that this was primarily a noodle House, with bun, pho, hu, and mi dishes predominating. That made ordering easy. A large combination pho and bun bo hue.

The garnishes arrived first and were all on one plate. There were plenty of bean sprouts and shredded cabbage, abundant mint and basil, lemon wedges, and a few jalapeno slices:

Although a few leaves of basil were blackened at the edges, we had plenty.

The first soup to arrive was the bun bo hue:

I thought it was a pretty decent bowl of soup. The nearly spaghetti size noodles were nicely cooked. They still had some pull and were not all clumped together. There was enough chili spice and a slight taste of the sea underneath the meat flavors in the stock. Kirk, of course, would have deemed it insufficiently funky and reached for the shrimp paste. But he wouldn't have found any on the table:
The beef in the soup was good (though not memorable), but the meaty highlight of the dish where the pieces of pork leg. Look at this:
And here's another:

Loved all the tender pork meat and the abundant tendon.

Still, I think we liked the pho even more:

Again the noodles were extremely well prepared. Separate and not overcooked. The stock rich, slightly sweet, with a nice anise flavor. The jalapeno slices and basil contributed nicely.

Unlike the bun bo hue, this soup had very little tendon and not much brisket. On the other hand, it was full of crunchy tripe and had remarkably flavorful rare steak:

I was impressed by the slices of rare steak. Normally that is my least favorite, and to my palate, the least flavorful pho meat. Here, it was really good and steaky. Amazing.

We also had good homemade lemonade:

To be honest, I was pretty impressed with this little restaurant. Maybe we just got lucky, but the pho was better than most that I've had in San Diego. And I would order the bun bo hue again as well.

I have not included prices because I'm sure that the carry out menu that I carried out is out of date. That large bowlof dac biet pho must cost more than five dollars, and the bun bo hue has got to be more than $4.90. However, I'm sure they are still incredible values.

Pho 43 Express, 2844 43rd Ave, Phoenix AZ 85009, (602) 269-3383. Open 8 am – 8 or 9 pm every day but Tuesday.

More Noodling Around: Tajima Noodle House, Izakaya Masa, and Pho Cow Cali

February 21, 2011 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Pho, Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

Since it's still pretty darn cold (by our spoiled San Diego standards) and rainy here, I thought I'd get in another round of noodles…….

Tajima Noodle House:

Sadly, my last couple of visits to the original Tajima on Convoy have been the same. I've been underwhelmed by the broth, which wavers between too salty and bland. Still, I decided to drop by recently in the middle of one of our rainstorms…… I mean really, if it didn't hit the spot this time…..

Hedging my bets, I went with the Shoyu Kakuni Ramen…. the basic shoyu ramen with Buta Kakuni (braised pork belly) and Chashu in it. If I didn't care for this…….

And it didn't. On this day, the broth was seriously flat. The sweetness from the buta kakuni (which could have braised a bit longer) just emphasized the lack of richness. The Chashu was pretty dry, but not as bad as what I had at Gunco recently. The egg wasn't aesthetically perfect, but was nicely cooked.

I actually came back a few days later…. I didn't bother taking photos, and had the Shio Ramen, which was better, but not by much.

It's kind of sad actually. You'd think that with Yakyudori up the street, that Tajima would step up. I will say this; on my two visits, I really enjoyed the pleasant service. First by a young lady whose name I believe was Yoshimi. On the second visit, it was a friendly young man named Tony. Both were excellent……

One thing I am sure of…… I'm sure that the ramen tastes better at 2am in the morning…. having it during lunch with unimpaired tastebuds, maybe not so much.

Tajima Japanese Restaurant
4681 Convoy St., #1
San Diego, CA 92111

Izakaya Masa:

Spurred on by Dennis of A Radiused Corner, I returned to Izakaya Masa for another shot at the ramen. Dennis had told me that Masa now serves a Shio ramen. I was also told to order my noodles "barikata", or extra firm.

The ramen prices here are good, $6.95 a bowl, though the portion size isn't huge. Here's my Shio Ramen:

As always, the Chashu here is tender, but not falling to pieces, if a bit mild in flavor. The noodles were much better when ordered extra-firm, though I still wish that being from Fukuoka, the folks here could serve some real Hakata style noodles. There used to be a shop in Honolulu, run by an older woman called Hakata Ramen……though her broth wasn't very good, I got my first taste of Hakata style noodles which she had brough in from Fukuoka. The broth was slightly rich, much better than what I had before, but the shio (the salt) used for the ramen left an unpleasant taste in my mouth. I think the ramen here is slowly getting better…… but like Tajima, this ramen is probably better after a couple of beers……

Still, I love how this tiny restaurant is put together……..

Izakaya Masa
928 Fort Stockton Dr
San Diego, CA 92103

Pho Cow Cali:

I've always thought that Pho Cow Cali (even when it was Pho HoaCali) was one of the most consistent Pho shops in San Diego.

So I don't know what happened on this day……..

The meat, as always was good, the beefy flavored brisket tender, but not crumbling, the flank had some chew, but wasn't tough, the tripe decent, and the tendon slightly chewy, but good. The broth and the garnishes on this day weren't very good. The soup was lukewarm and almost flavorless, and it seemed that I got the last handful of bean sprouts which were broken into pieces, the basil was turning black. As I mentioned elsewhere, the two things that PCC had over Lucky was consistency and the meat. I'm pretty much a soup guy, and if the soup ain't good…..

Hopefully, this was an off day……..

Pho Cow Cali
9170 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

So I came home today to find our living room a mess…… towels strewn about, stuffing from disembowled doggy toys everywhere……. and in the midst of it all was Sammy…. giving me his best pathetic "you know I'm innocent until proven guilty" look. (Do you notice that piece of stuffing material on his nose? Hmmm……)

Song Huong – Mira Mesa

December 28, 2010 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** This location of Song Huong has been replaced by Saigon Corner

I've been kinda hesitating "pulling the trigger" on this post. Based on comments and emails I've gotten, it seems that opinions of Song Huong are somewhat polarized……. But after a recent third visit to Song Huong I decided it was time for a post….. and I still waited and visted one more time….just to make sure….. When my good FOY (friend of yoso) "Yummy Yummy" told me that there was going to be a second Song Huong opening in Vinh Hung Market, I had mixed feelings. We've had a couple of decent meals at Song Huong on El Cajon Boulevard, but it just seems that the same dish was never the same twice…. perhaps some would find the somewhat whimsical preparations an interesting surprise. For us it was just plain maddening.

And then they opened….. and folks started emailing and commenting. On one side, "Yummy Yummy" and "Janfrederick" were thumbs down. On the other hand "Joe" (you can read his comments on this post) enjoyed it. "Melanie" (thanks for the emails!) was more on the positive side. By the time I finally visited I already had some recommendations……and some dishes to avoid as well!

If this doorway looks familiar, this is where Chibugan used to be (more on Chibugan at the end of the post).

Looking at my photos of Chibugan; it seems that the folks removed a good amount of the interior clutter and opened the place up a bit…… I never realized how high the ceilings here were!

The place does end up being on the cold side, and things tend to echo.

Like the ECB location; this place seels all manner of shakes and drinks, one thing which the Missus always enjoys at the ECB shop.

I pretty much knew what I wanted to order…… Melanie and Joe recommended the Banh Cuon. So I went with the Banh Cuon Dac Biet ($6.50):

As things go; this was decent by San Diego standards. The rolls used Banh Cuon Uot, and the pork was fairly bland and dry. The Nem Chua was pretty good, I like mine a bit more sour, and there was only one slice of it.

The Banh Cuon were a bit drier than I enjoy as well. The Nuoc Mam Cham also tasted watered down. The Cha Lua – lean defatted pork sausage were decent. Overall, I thought this was better than the version at Tan Ky Mi Gia, but not even close to say, Banh Cuon Tay Ho. Of course nothing beats having it made fresh in the morning. To be honest, I returned at a later date and had this again, this time it was much better(though they gotta bump up that Nuoc Mam Cham)……. so I guess YMMV??

I sitll wasn't quite sure about this place, so I returned and got the very thing I was told NOT TO get….. the Pho. "Joe" did mentioned that the place had changed Pho cooks, so perhaps my bowl of Pho Tai, Chin, Nam, Gau, Gan, Sach….. heck just call it #6 ($5.75) would be ok.

I swear, this could be the twin of the bowl I had at Vietnamese Cuisine on Miramar Road. It was cloudy and lacked any distinctive character…. it was far from terrible, but maybe a "C-". The garnishes were fairly scarce. The noodles however, were prepared perfectly.

Where this bowl fell really short was in the protein department…..

For some reason all the cuts of meat were very dry, none more than the flank which was tough as well. The worse was the tripe which had that unpleasant soapiness to it.

Still, I returned…… And when I ordered my Banh Cuon the second time, I was starving so I decided to try the Thit Nuong Cuon (grilled pork spring rolls – $3.75):

Aside from being a bit too wet, and the bun being on the mushy side this was ok. I also thought these were on the skimpy side, and would have appreciated more herbs to cut the saltiness (in a good way) of the thin slices of the pork.

Being on the wetter side, these started falling apart pretty quickly.

I guess I'm a glutton for punishment because I returned to Song Huong one more time…… this time for the Bun Bo Hue ($5.50):

All thoughts that this was going to be a "bland bowl" went away as the bowl arrived, and the funky fragrance of Mam Tom, fermented shrimp paste hit me before the bowl arrived. For me, the over-riding smell sends mixed signals, as what passes for Bun Bo Hue in most Pho shops is a basic clear broth with Mam Tom and chilies, something which totally misses the mark. And unfortunately this was, well, that. I liken it to having a trio play something designed for a quintet…… all the music is there, but certain parts aren't played. The plate of finely shredded cabbage and bean sprouts, though on the small side did fine. I could have used a bit more mint to add a herbaceous flavor to the bowl. The lime came to good use…. it helped me cut through the strong shrimp paste flavor.

There was a tiny speck of meat on the pork hock, and the thick slices of beef were tough and dry…. and to think folks complain about the meat at Mien Trung, which along with Hoai Hue is in a total different league.

On the good side; the broth was scorching hot; as must for this type of soup, and the noodles were cooked properly.

In the end, the food here is not terrible; but when it comes to everything other than the Banh Cuon, in my opinion there are other much better options in the area. I do really like the young lady who I believe runs the place…. she is quiet, but very nice…..they've never charged me for tea, and "round down " my check. As to whether I'll return? Maybe after a fairly long break….

Song Huong
10550 Camino Ruiz
San Diego, CA 92126

Postscript:

So what happened to Chibugan? Well, they moved over to a smaller space one door over:

One thing I've always liked about Chibugan is that they serve vertically challenged folks like me! Hah, just kidding…. but that's the first thing that went through my mind when I read "We make short orders!!!" Got a crispy pata for shorty over here?

Pho Santee. Yes.

December 17, 2010 Cathy Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the blog you are reading and enjoying vicariously. Today, Cathy is blogging because Kirk is waaay busy and ed(from Yuma) is busier than Kirk.

It is going to be a cold, rainy weekend. Some sort of soup is going to be craved. East County. Santee. I live here. We have Costco, Lowes and Home Depot, Target and WalMart, many chain restaurants, a steak house and now have two Thai restaurants, three places which serve sushi, eight Italian eateries (but more than half of those are pretty much pizza places) , seven taco shops and now, two Vietnamese restaurants. Yes. In Santee. The American home of Comedian Dat Phan. This post is about the unimaginatively named Vietnamese restaurant.

Pho Santee is in an nondescript shopping mall, just across from the Santee Sheriff Station. It used to be Royal Szecheuan/Sushi, neither of which was done very well. The menu at Pho Santee is Vietnamese -and Chinese- both are done quite well. Good enough that I come here for lunch when I have a craving instead of driving the 15-20 minutes to Convoy Street or 20 minutes Mira Mesa Boulevard. The interior here is clean and shiny (also a contrast to the old place). Two televisions, but usually only one is on.
With a little Christmas decor at this time of year…

Table settings are standard.

Pho Santee serves pho and other standard Vietnamese items (bun, broken rice, steamed rice) and some more or less Chinese items (fried rice, stir fried noodles, stir fried vegetables). .
No sawtooth. Pretty basic add ins.
Pho Ga-large ($6.65). We asked for added shrimp ($3) to go with the chicken broth (The Mister was starting to have a cough/cold/crud). The (hot!) broth was not greasy and had a good chicken stock. The noodles were not mushy and only slightly clumpy. The shrimp were quite large, as was the portion of chicken for this bowl.
BunThit Nuong-grilled pork ($6.95). Only lettuce, no fancy greens under the chilled rice noodles. The grilled pork was not crispy. It was nicely flavored and not fatty. The add in sauce was just the right amount of fishy vinaigarette (no fish sauce on the table condiments).

I like that you can order Cha Gio (fried egg rolls) either 3 ($3.99) or 6 ($5.99)…these were nicely fried, filled with ground pork and shrimp, egg, fungus and cellophane noodles. Served with lettuce and mint.

The Goi Cuon (spring rolls, we chose tofu as the filling- [all fillings (chicken, shrimp, pork or tofu) are the same price: two for $3.99-these are cut in half] filled with vermicelli noodles, mint and lettuce, these were very fresh and good. The spicy peanut sauce for dipping was very good.

Dac Biet (small)($5.85) was filled with meat, various onions, the same good and almost not clumped noodles. The broth was rich, not greasy and not overly flavored (other than beef…not much anise).
In fact, if you just want meat and noodles, this is the place. The pieces of tendon, brisket, tripe and rare beef were plentiful.
The lunch special chicken chow mein ($6)[most expensive lunch combination is $7] comes with..um.. egg flower soup (tasted beefy), egg roll (the same Cha Gio but without lettuce, mint or dipping sauce) and fried rice. The chow mein…well..excellent flavored chicken, water chestnuts and pea/carrot mix. No MSG overload and very fresh.

Pho Santee is maybe not as authentic as some of the places in San Diego. It is good, not pretentious and very good to have in East County. The people who work here are very friendly and all of them help you. We have had at least four different individuals assist with refills, questions, etc. at our table each visit.

Pho Santee 8790 Cuyamaca, Suite K Santee 92071 (619)562-5151. Sun-Th 9-9, Fri/Sat 9-10

Pho Xpress – Mission Gorge Road

December 15, 2010 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple of months back, the Missus sent me on a mission…. of course it was mission She wanted no part of. You see, the Missus claimed that a certain feature wasn't working on Her camera, and had bugged me about since we had gotten back from China. Of course the Missus wasn't about to take the camera in, or even accompany me… since, good lord, "it's technical, and god forbid, you might have to change batteries and stuff…." So I arrive at the camera shop, and walk to the counter and explain that my wife claims the camera isn't working properly. The guy kinda smirks, and then tells me, "this model doesn't come with that feature…." He then calls to the guy in the back, asking him to confirm. Of course the guy in the back is cracking up….. I'm glad I made their day. As I slunk off out the door I swore I heard the sound of laughter in the background……. When I told the Missus that the camera does not come with the so called "feature", She laughed and said, "oh really, how funny….." Yeah….. how funny.

On the way home, I decided to soothe my bruised ego in a bowl of Pho. I'd passed Pho Xpress a couple of times, and decided that this was the perfect time for a bowl of Pho.

Like many Pho shops that have sprouted up over the years….. the set-up looked like a conversion from a steam table fast-foot joint. Or perhaps it was built that way. There's a small dining area to the left of the counter and steam table and I had a seat.

This pace was a typical "A-B" (All Business) Pho shop, at least on this morning it was, I was pointed to a seat without a word, a menu placed in front of me, and water arrived soon after.

I requested a small "combination" minus the rare steak ($5.99). Based on the herbs and bean sprouts placed before me, I mentally set the bar very low…..

But taking one look at the broth when my bowl arrived changed all of that.

The fragrance of the broth was nice and comforting and the soup clear . The flavor, while straightforward, was quite good, perhaps lacking the anise-clove tones, but nicely beefy, and fairly rich as well.

The various cuts of beef were prepared well, nothing spectacular, but better than average. The amount of meat provided was a bit on the stingy side; but it's the broth that makes the Pho for me, and tis was good. The noodles were a bit on the soft side, but passable.

If this is the norm for Pho Xpress, I'd put this in my top 5-6 bowls with regards to Pho broth in San Diego. I'll need to return soon. My good FOY "YY" told me that the Pho Xpress in the Gaslamp is also pretty good; not as rich and the broth a bit lighter, so I'll need to check them out soon.

Like I mentioned before, service here was all business. I'm not sure that anyone spoke more than a single word to me the entire time. If you're expecting a Pho meat-fest go elsewhere. Still, the soup was hot, it tasted good, and was the perfect salve for a bruised ego on this day……

Pho Xpress
6533 Mission Gorge Rd
San Diego, CA 92120

Open Daily from 9 – 9

Sunday Stuffs – Convoy Noodle House, Homestyle Hawaiian, and more…..

December 5, 2010 mmm-yoso Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Loco Mocos, Pho, Plate Lunch, Sushi and Sashimi, Vietnamese Restaurants

In case you’ve been wondering what’s been going on here…….. I’ve been having some problems with Internet access and such over the last couple of days. Luckily, as always, Cathy has been able to help me out. Because of the spotty access, it’s hard for me to do a “real” in depth post, since I usually just sit down and start typing things out. This one actually took three days off and on, fits and starts, blah, blah, blah……. It started thinking I could get things done on Friday for Saturday…then Saturday….and finally it’s Sunday. I hope to have everything back on course tomorrow…… So here goes, just a couple of real short items for this Sunday……

Even after all the new Pho shops have opened in the Clairemont/Kearney Mesa area, Convoy Noodle House still stands as my favorite overall in the area especially when it comes to the the broth, which has a more robust anise-clove-beef flavor.

After years of thinking I’d get some decent rare steak (even on the side), I’ve learned that the “tao of dry top round” is almost universal in San Diego, and stick with a brisket-tendon-flank combination.

I was a bit disappointed to that they told me they were out of Ngo Gai……. Still, in terms of flavor, this was as good as I’ve gotten in the area in a while.

**** Convoy Noodle House has closed

Convoy Noodle House
4647 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Recently, I dropped by Homestyle Hawaiian…. and Mo told me to try one of the new “specials”….. the Roast Pork Loco Moco. ($8.95)

I’m not quite sure what to say other than…… this was an immense amount of food…. four large slices of roast pork, was enough for maybe three or four people in my opinion. The pork was moist, but I wished for more of the nicely flavored edges. This was too much of a good thing. I asked Mo if anyone had ever finished this, and he told me, “all the time!” You gotta remember that this has the equivalent of three scoops of rice (rice is hidden under the pork and gravy), and a scoop of Mac Salad. The gravy makes this version of the loco moco work, and it’s a very decent version….. still, I want to know who has actually finished this dish. Mo told me that he’s working on a loco moco “challenge”….. I can only imagine…..

Homestyle Hawaiian Island Style Food
7524 Mesa College Drive
San Diego, CA 92111

Thanks so much for your patience……I’m hoping to have everything resolved soon….and I do realize that I need to finish up my China posts….after all I can’t let photos like this:

or even these…..

Go to waste, right?

Pho Cali & Grill

November 30, 2010 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho Cali & Grill

Man was it cold enough for you last night? Geez, I almost wish we had another mutt, because it surely was a Three Dog Night if I ever felt one…. I know us West Coasters are wimps…….

Way back in June, I noticed one of those coming soon signs in the same strip mall that houses Golden City. As the months past, there never seemed to be any progress as the place seemed frozen in time. In fact, Mignon Pho + Grill started up in August and opened at the end of October. So it was a bit of surprise to see that the place had finally opened.

As I entered, I noticed a certain "look" to the place…..then it clicked, and when I asked the gentleman serving me confirmed that this was owned by the same folks who own Pho Cali in Mission Valley. You know that you've been in too many of these places when you recognize differences in generic decor, sigh…. I always try to reserve judgement, but I couldn't help being a bit disappointed as I really didn't think much of the Pho there.

So I just went ahead and ordered the Dac Biet (Special – $6.59) to just cut my losses, eat and get back to work. The portion size of the garnishes is the same rather skimpy sized portion as the Mission Valley counterpart….. though I can tell you, that after recent experiences, I was rather happy to see some Ngo Gai (rather one leaf) on the plate.

My bowl of Pho arrived……

And I was rather surprised; the broth was fairly clear, the fragrance mildly beefy, little droplets of oil floating on top…. this looked pretty good. The flavor really didn't deliver; it was really salty….. way too salty. The noodles were of course, in the ever present clump on the bottom, but weren't still cold in the center as I've experienced twice at the Mission Valley location.

The rare steak was just as bad as everywhere else….though I've had even worse since (coming up in a future post). The brisket, though perhaps a little too close to disintegrating, was probably the best item.

The tendon is a touch too hard for my tastes, but is still better then many places I've been. Overall, this wasn't too bad…. in fact, I need to revisit the Mission Valley location, just to see, you know…..

This past weekend, FOY (Friend of Yoso) Fred, sent me an email (it's always great to hear from you…. and best wishes to the Missus). Part of the last sentence of his email cracked me up, " it doesn't seem especially different than any other Pho place." I can see where one can think that. I do believe that this place is better than Pho T Cali, though, and the service, set-up, and much of everything else does fit that generic Pho shop look. I think folks will like that the place is new, and thus looks pretty clean.

Pho Cali and Grill
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123

Mignon Pho + Grill

November 1, 2010 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I thought I'd better hurry and do this post before temperatures hit the high eighties and low ninties that the weather folks said is coming up this week. Over time, I've stopped ordering Pho Tai…. rare steak, simply because everyone in San Diego uses a very low grade cut, and it really doesn't matter if you get the beef on the side, in the soup, or on top of your head for that matter, it all ends up being tough and tasteless. Filet Mignon Pho is a whole different story, and I've been waiting for a good long while for what I had at Pho Thanh Lich to make it's way to San Diego. So I was quite happy to see the sign for Mignon Pho go up at the end of August. And yet, there was that little seed of doubt that the name of the place was just a tease….. so of course I had to find out.

Mignon Pho + Grill's grand opening was this past weekend. There was a week long soft opening while I was away……..

The interior of Mignon is very clean and modern. High ceilings, wood panelings, and of course, two large plasma televisions complete things. I like the decor, but the high ceilings tend to make things echo, and the hardwood paneling reflect sound, making it a pretty loud dining area.

Pho prices here are on the high side, starting at $6.50 for a regular bowl with two proteins. A bowl of Filet Mignon Pho goes for $8 for a regular size and $9 for a large sized bowl. I went for something called a "trolley bowl", which would probably be called Dac Biet in other places….. a combination of meats. The regular bowl went for $7.95. When my bean sprouts and herbs arrived, I quickly noticed that this place goes for the modern "big plate" approach. Everything is served on, or in large plates and bowls. I will say that the herbs were extremely fresh, especially the Ngo Gai (Culantro/Saw Leaf Herb).

And of course I went for a side order of Filet Mignon on the side, which cost $1.75 more, for three slices of Filet.

The meat was super fresh, and cut to just the right thickness.

Soon enough, my bowl arrived.

I loved the look of the broth, medium dark and clear. The really nice young lady who served me said it was simmered for sixteen hours. I think a bit more oil/fat would make for a richer broth. In spite of the looks I found the broth to be very mild, and lacking in character. And even though I knew that this broth wouldn't have strong anise or clove accents based on a sniff of the soup, it was also a bit mild in the beef department as well. On the good side, I could tell instantly that this broth wasn't MSG laden. The one aspect that I thought could have instantly improved this was the temperature of the broth. The Filet Mignon is cut a bit thicker than the usual Rare Beef Eye of Round. It should be eaten just barely "colored", letting the beef sit in the broth will just cause it to seize and get more chewy than it should be. Warm broth makes you leave the meat in the broth too long causing it to cloud the soup and get tough. This was probably one of the smallest portions of noodles I've ever had, and it was a bit over-cooked edging on mushy.

The meats were pretty good, especially the tendon which was very soft and buttery. Unfortunately, there was much too little of it in the bowl.

The beef meatballs, usually not my favorite were also pretty good.

This bowl of Pho went over the ten dollar mark with tax….. on the high side for a fairly small bowl. I'll probably have this again, but I'm going for the brisket and tendon with a side filet.

One thing about this restaurant; all the young folks working on this day were very cheerful, polite, and just plain nice. In fact, the young lady who served me took some time to chat with me. She was very proud of the quality of the ingredients as well as how the food was prepared. I was told that I should come back and try the Com Tam, which she preferred over the Pho. And just based on her enthusiasm and attitude, I returned a day later for lunch and went with Broken Rice with Shredded Pork (Bi), Egg Meat Loaf (Cha) and Pork Chop ($7.50):

The rice was cooked perfectly, fairly soft and moist. Even though I think it could have been more fragrant, it's still the best I've had in San Diego.

The best item on the plate was the steamed egg, perhaps a bit on the dry side, but full of savory flavors. I was disappointed that it was only the size of a petit four. Notice the scale of the Cha and the spoon next to it.

The pork chop was fairly tender, and better then most versions in San Diego, though not quite on the level of Pho King. It wasn't very salty, and was perhaps a bit too mildly flavored. The Bi was too dry, and lacked the usual nutty-savory-porkiness that good versions have.

On this day, the service was again very friendly….. that may just bring me back again.

On both visits, I noticed quite a few older folks eating here…. I think they were just like me; curious to see how Mignon was going to be. It would be interesting to see if they return. Mignon Pho + Grill seems to be going for a bit higher quality food, served in a modern environment. Personally I don't think Mignon Pho has delivered food prepared at the level I expected, but they've just opened so hopefully things will improve over time.

Mignon Pho + Grill
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho-raging on Miramar Road: Vietnamese Cuisine and Seafood Island

October 22, 2010 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

*** Both of these restaurants have closed

There's an unwritten "law of Pho" that I've heard more than a few times, "one should never have said bowl of beef noodle soup, in a restaurant without Pho in it's name." It's an edict that I've kinda bought into, but still there's that small grain of doubt, that perhaps the saying isn't true, and I could be missing out on a great bowl of Pho…. in a restaurant without Pho in it's name. Really now, I've had terrible bowls in restaurants with Pho clearly written in it's name and flashing in neon lights….

Well, this Urban, or perhaps un-urbane legend was put to the test over the last couple of weeks as I had had a couple of bowls at two shops without Pho in their name. Coincidentally, both shops were on the same street…. Miramar Road.

First, it's Vietnamese Cuisine:

Yes, really, that's the name of the place Vietnamese Cuisine.

For a place with a name that covers a lot of territory, Vietnam is 127,244 square miles, the menu, not surprisingly consists of the usual suspects; Pho, Bun, Spring Rolls… the rice dishes include the basic grilled pork, grilled chicken, etc, etc….

If anything, the interior is even more generic…. I'm sure this was some kind of steam table fast food joint in it's past.

As I walked up to the counter to order, the young lady sitting there was engrossed in that task which separates us from those like Sammy and Frankie, who have no thumbs…. she was busy texting. I managed to get her attention, and placed my order.

Which ended up being the Pho Dac Biet ($6.25).

The woman who brought out the very fresh bean sprouts and basil was very nice. I rarely order rare steak, mainly for the reason I didn't like it here. Tough, and basically dry. The other cuts of meat were pretty scarce as well. The noodles were in the standard issue clump, but weren't overcooked. The broth was pretty weak and cloudy…. no scent of anise, cloves, or even beef in this one.

In the end, I was glad I didn't order a large bowl.

Vietnamese Cuisine
6780 Miramar Rd #104
San Diego, CA 92121

Then it's Seafood Island:

Which I've posted on before. Recently though, a food FOY (Friend of Yoso) who shall go unnamed, said he really enjoyed the Pho at SI, and said I should try it. Which is how I ended up at the restaurant staring at the colorful "Lunch Specials "menu.

In my meals at Seafood Island after my post, I've just kinda decided that SI pretty much specializes in serving cheap food to the masses. And boy was I looking at some pretty low prices on this menu. Even though the young lady kept pushing the rare beef, I ended up with flank and brisket…. they didn't have tendon on this day.

The lunch special comes with two Cha Gio, egg rolls, which arrived very quickly.

The lettuce and other veggies were quite good, but the inside of the Cha Gio were barely room temperature.

This had been cooked up earlier and been lying around for a while.

Soon enough my bowl of Pho arrived, which gave me pause…..

It was darker than the Bun Mam I'd had recently! It was also very scummy, and quite cloudy. And there was an even larger problem…..

Notice my bowl sitting solo…….. is something(s) missing?

Did you figure it out? Well first, there was no plate with herbs, bean spouts, and lime. Second, where's my soup spoon? I felt like I was back in Hangzhou where they expected you to drink your soup from the bowl! The funny thing was, I thought that those items were going to arrive soon….. but I waited… and waited. Which gave me time to check out the flank, which had some really tough looking fat and gristle.

I gave it ten minutes, at which time I went into the kitchen looking for the young lady whom I could hear talking to the cooks, but was nowhere to be found on the floor. This is something I could understand if the place was totally smashed, but that wasn't quite the situation here.

When I asked for a spoon and my plate of herbs and veggies, the young lady gave me a look like I was asking for the moon which was very strange because everyone here has always been very nice.

Eventually my spoon and garnishes made it to the table.

In all honesty, I should have just cut my losses, paid my six bucks, and left…….

This is a case in where photos don't lie.

I really don't know where to start….. the noodles might have been perfect at one point; but having to sit while I mistakenly thought my spoon and garnishes would arrive at any time probably killed that. The broth was scummy and unpleasant…….

The fact is, I feel guilty about leaving food uneaten; and I've never left this much Pho before….

Just as I did with that bowl of soup, I'll step away from this post, and leave it as is…..

Seafood Island Restaurant
7580 Miramar Road
San Diego, CA 92126

I still don't truly believe in that "law of Pho", but this sure does support that argument, doesn't it?