I mentioned in my post on Pho Hoa that I needed to start doing my "pho-raging rounds" again. And the recent rather chilly weather seemed like a reminder that I needed to keep my word. So, I managed two revisits last week. My impressions were rather interesting.
Pho Cow Cali Express (Mira Mesa):
Man, has it been nearly seven years since my last visit to "Da Cow"? Man, does time fly! The main catalyst for my revisit to Cow Cali were the huge lines I saw during my two visits to Mom Kitchen. Sheesh! Keeping that in mind, I timed my weekday visit for an early lunch at 10am.
And there was no line. The host stand with the "please wait to be seated" sign is something that wasn't there before. I'm guessing it's probably due to the crazy lines?
Even though I could see that the restaurant was fairly empty, I decided to wait. Then two young guys walked up and basically brushed me aside and just walked into the restaurant….. Sigh…you gotta love manners these days, right? Anyway, the gentleman saw me waiting and waved me in before the two rude dudes. One of them gave me the finger and I just smiled…..
Like on my previous visits; I just stuck with a small #4. I was shocked when my order came out in less than four minutes!!! Do we have a new contender for the "fastest pho in the west"? Perhaps this is why they added the "Express" to the name?
First thing I noticed was how "clear" the broth was. Second thing was how the basil was starting to brown. Well, at least there was some ngo gai, a rarity these days it seems. I enjoy the more intense the peppery-cilantro-ish-slightly bitter flavor it provides. Even this leaf was starting to go south as well; I could use most of it.
As for the broth…can you say MSG water? With a dose of that sweetness that has been pervading pho in San Diego over the last decade or so. The soup was quite thirst inducing; or perhaps I'm just more sensitive to the stuff as I get older?
Which led me to wonder why the lines during certain times of the day? I think it's because of the proteins. I enjoyed the crunchy tripe. The tendon was not cooked to the soft, almost creaminess I enjoy, but was still good. The flank was nice and beefy, along with being fairly tender.
There was a good amount of meat in this "small bowl". So perhaps that's the calling card?
The noodles were in the typical clump at the bottom of the bowl; but the portion was plentiful, and it was perfectly prepared, not hard nor overly mushy.
This gave me a more clear understanding of my preferences when it comes to pho. I guess for me, the soup is the most important.
The service was much better than I recall it being before.
Pho Cow Cali Express
9170 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
Pho Hiep and Grill (Linda Vista):
During my meal at Pho Hoa, wondered how Pho Hiep and Grill, which is in the same strip mall was doing. It had been over six years since my last visit and even longer since I last had a bowl of pho here. So, I decided to drop by, again for an early lunch.
I was surprised to see how busy the parking lot was at 930 on a weekday!
The restaurant itself was pretty sedate at least compared to Pho Hoa which I drove past in the parking lot.
I ordered the #4 here as well. And within a few minutes the herbs and veggies arrived. I was pleasantly surprised with how fresh and plentiful everything was. And yes there was ngo gai here as well….heck, Pho Hoa had none on my last visit!
And soon later the soup arrived.
The soup, while being a bit overly defatted had some beefiness, mild anise-oniony tones, while it still had that "San Diego" sweet flavor. It wasn't overly salty. This was better than I recall having on previous visits.
The noodles were in the typical clump at the bottom of the bowl and a bit under cooked.
The proteins, while not as well prepared as "da cow" were fine, though there was no tendon to be found! The flank and brisket were cut a bit on thicker side, but the beefiness came through. The tripe was a bit more "hard" than crunchy.
Still, in contrast to my expectations, I preferred this bowl to what I'd had at Cow Cali and might have even enjoyed it more than Pho Hoa! What the pho???? Again, perhaps I put too much emphasis on the broth.
Pho Hiep & Grill
6947 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111
I actually enjoyed this comparison, though the results were not quite what I thought they'd be. It could be that I had chosen the "right day" for one and a "bad day" for the other?
What do you think?
The soup was lip meltingly hot, with mild anise-beefy tones, but it had that attribute of a lot of the pho in San Diego; the "mild sweetness". It was msg heaven cause I was chugging water like crazy when I got back home.
First thing I noticed was how dark the broth was. Second thing was what was slightly submerged. Good lord, it was a huge slice of brisket! Unfortunately, it was too thick, and ended up being very chewy.
I had to kind of take my time since that broth was super hot, so I'm not sure if it contributed to the noodles, being delivered in the typical clump on the bottom of the bowl, being on the mushy side.
Soon enough the steaming bowl of pho arrived. It was chock full of cilantro and scallion. Hot but not overly so. I had a taste of the broth; which had been decently defatted, looking perhaps too clear. It had hints of anise and beefiness, though it did go in the direction of being "San Diego sweet" in flavor. Still, it was not bad.
Best of all, the noodles weren't overcooked, something that I've been running into recently.
Loved how the broth had a nice, even fat content, but it was too salty and had me chugging water for the rest of the day.
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 
Geez who'd have thought we would see prices at 2 bucks per chicken wings all those year ago! The wings were nicely battered, more crunchy than crisp, the texture was not bad at all. There was a sticky glaze, which was more toward the sweet than savory, though you could make out the fish sauce. The wings were on the larger side and was decently cared for with a minimum of bitter black portions around the bones. This was not bad at all and had me wishing I had ordered the salt and pepper version.
I was able to try the rib bone. The meat was on the chewier side but came off the bone nicely and was actually the beefiest cut provided. Because the broth was super hot, the rare steak was over cooked by the time of consumption. The rest of meats were bland and tasteless as well. 
But at least I didn't have to worry about my rare steak being overcooked. Based on my last visit, I decided to time how long it took before I could safely partake of my pho. Cautiously taking sips things timed out at twelve minutes and seventeen seconds. As you can see; the soup was very clear, though it wasn't as sweet-salty this time around. It did have a nice beefy "nose" with hints of star anise. 
I quickly noticed that some of the basil had gone south already and the portion of sprouts was even smaller than on 
I'm used to Pho Fusion being a bit miserly with the sprouts and basil and they lived up to that reputation; though at least it was of decent quality.
The noodles were in the typical clump, but were not over-cooked. As mediocre as this bowl was, it was still better than what I'd had at Duyen Mai. Kinda sad….
Whoa, this was by far the largest "small bowl" of the three places as well. The soup had a good amount of cilantro and onions.
The broth looked very light, yet cloudy, and had what I call the "San Diego sweet" pho broth flavor. At least it wasn't overly salty, but it also lacked beefiness.
There were two strips with nicely done tripe and some very thinly sliced tendon which also wasn't bad. And of course there was that beef rib. The meat on the rib was quite tough and as you can see trying to get it off the bone resulted in the meat peeling off in one large piece. It did have a decent flavor, but was quite chewy. It definitely wasn't like 
There were no herbs and veggies on a plate; what little there was had already been dumped in the soup; which had a weird tinge that was almost grey. The broth tasted like salt water with some beef bouillon dumped in it. The slices of beef were tough and tasteless. The banh pho were of the thicker variety and were just a tad overcooked. Man, this was even worse than the 
The best item were the "nems", which we call Cha Gio, it was light and crisp and the filling while on the chewier side had a nice porky flavor. The bun was overcooked. The bun cha dry, tough, and bland. The nuoc mam cham suffered a from a serious shortage of fish sauce. I'm just going to stop here…..
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