Pho – Page 6 – mmm-yoso

Shank & Bone

March 22, 2018 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chicken Wings, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

I was a bit intrigued when I first read about Shank & Bone opening in North Park. A Vietnamese place in North Park? Though this little phrase in that post caught my attention “traditional, authentic cuisine and flavors of Vietnam". Okay! You know what I think about using the term "authentic" when it comes to a cuisine. But "traditional", I can buy into that. Could it be? I decided to visit a few days after the place opened.

Traditional or not; the interior design of this shop is something to see. From the Shepard Fairey print to the bright colors and clean design.

In the category of "something to see", so are the prices on the menu; especially "that" bowl of pho…..more on that shortly.

I saw Beef Carpaccio ($12) on the menu. So I decided to start with that.

I also saw watercress; so thought the dish was perhaps a cross between Bo Xao Xa Lach Xoong and Bo Tai Chanh. Turns out it was closer to the former. I love watercress, so I enjoyed the veggies, the mint really helped; though the nuoc mam was weak on the fish sauce and too sweet for me. The beef was rolled up into balls, not the most visually appealing presentation. Upon unravelling the protein, I realized how large the four slices were. This was basically repurposing beef sliced for pho. It was a bit too thick for my taste.

Still, not a bad dish.

I also got the "Signature Pho" ($17). The bowl, sans soup was delivered to the table, and the broth poured from a pitcher tableside.

I noticed a couple of things right off. The basil and sprouts, the portion size of which was small, were starting to turn brown. The broth had a nice fat content and was dark brown, but gave off no fragrance. It was pretty weak; very mild beefiness, no anise tones, very little of anything. The noodles were too soft for my taste as well.

The two slices of top round were typical; on the dry side, though the flank and brisket were nicely done.

The biggest disappointments were the oxtail, which needed more cooking time as it was dry and tough, and the bone marrow, which sounds really good in theory, but quickly became a rather unsightly globule of fat in the bowl and for some reason had lost all its flavor.

Not my favorite bowl of pho by any means. And maybe "no MSG" might not be a good thing in this case? And I was left over thirty bucks lighter in the wallet as well.

The staff though, were a joy, very friendly, and just a nice group overall. Dishes did take a while, but I wrote that off to having just opened.

I was on my way back from Northgate Market the next day and decided to take a detour and try a couple of other dishes at S&B.

This time, I was seated at the bar. I looked over the beer, sake, and soju list. S&B does not have cocktail license, but I was intrigued at the "Old Pho-shioned" ($10). Which, while a bit on the lighter side…to be expected, was fairly decent. I enjoyed the anise-clove-burnt orange tones of the drink.

As for food; well, this time I went with the "Saigon Chicken Wings" ($10).

These were smaller sized wings; which I prefer for the skin/batter to meat ratio. The batter was a bit on the hard side and the glaze really, really sweet. The wings were also fried a bit too long as the meat was on the dry side. Not terrible.

I saw Banh Mi Bo Kho ($11) on the menu during my previous visit and was curious about that.

The beef stew, while on the thinner side had a nice amount of fat. The broth, while lacking a good amount of tanginess, had more than enough black pepper and beefy flavor. The beef was nicely done; not mushy and over-cooked, but unlike the oxtail not tough. I could have used more pungent onions and some anise tones in the broth, but this was fine. I also missed not having beef tendon. But this was, by far, the best item I had at Shank & Bone.

I was going to quit while I was ahead. But then I read Kirbie's post on Shank & Bone (please check it out) and there was a dish that caught my attention. So I decided to head on back.

The same great crew were present. I went ahead and ordered a "Plenty for All" and the Banh Xeo Tacos ($11).

This riff on banh xeo uses the "crepe" as the taco "shell". Very nice and creative. The filling is a combination of chopped pork, shrimp, bean sprouts (not enough), and jicama (not enough). It was on the mild side in terms of flavor. and the nuoc mam was low on the fish sauce and much too sweet. I liked the lettuce and mint, but missed the basil and tiet to (purple perilla) which adds a nice citrusy-anise flavor to banh xeo. Also, the crepe shells didn't hold up real well; but had a nice, light crunch while they did.

I needed a companion to my "tacos" and because that was a pretty large fat globule of bone marrow in my pho on my first visit; I decided to try the Roasted Bone Marrow and Banh Mi Crostini's ($13).

This just wasn't a good value as there wasn't very much bone marrow in these rather "skinny" bones. It was all gone with one slice of banh mi. The "chimichurri" had way to much citrus making it too sour….not a great match for bone marrow.

So that's it for Shank & Bone for now. I wish them well, but there's just so many almost $40 dollar solo mediocre lunches and dinners I can take. Still, it's a nice atmosphere, the staff is friendly…..but it's all about the food with me.

Though if you want hipster Vietnamese, well….this just might be the place.

Shank & Bone
2930 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104
Hours:
Sun – Mon 11am – 9pm
Tues – Sat 11am – 10pm

Revisits – Green China Grill and Pho Duyen Mai

January 23, 2018 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

A couple more revisits before we moved offices late last year.

Green China Grill:

It had almost been a year since my last visit. So, on one of those cooler days, I decided to drop by.

The place was as green as ever. And the menu seems to keep expanding.

Looking over the menu I realized that I'd always had the Lamian (牛大碗 – hand pulled noodles) here. I decided to try the Dao Xiao Mian; knife cut noodles, with beef brisket.

While the flavor of the broth was still on the mild side; it didn't seem to be too heavy on the MSG side of things. It was also decently textured, a decent amount of fat/oil in the broth. The beef had a nice texture, not falling apart, but not too chewy. There was a nice soy sauce-anise-light sweetness to it that was pleasant. Man, this had a ton of noodles in it! The noodles were pretty uniform in terms of width and I prefer my Dao Xiao Mian a bit thicker. It seemed a bit too processed in texture; tearing easily, lacking tenderness and "pull".

All-in-all, not bad. Though not quite worth the $10.99 price tag for some rather routine noodle soup.

Green China Grill
4688 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Duyen Mai:

**** Pho Duyen Mai is under new ownership

Of course I had to have some of "Them Bones" again.

The pho broth here has hit a certain level of consistency; a bit too sweet and salty, but not terrible, light in beef flavor and anise tones. Still there's much worse to be found in the area. Noodle were perfect, proteins in the soup decent. And then there were the xí quách bò – the simmered beef ribs. I was kind of disappointed this time around as the meat was really tough. I had to use the knife to cut it off the bones. On previous visits, I could just scrape them right off the ribs with a spoon. The beefiness was there, but it was just too hard to fully enjoy.

And no talented pooch this time around either. Oh well, Duyen Mai is still better than other pho places in the area……for now.

Pho Duyen Mai
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123

Thanks for reading!

Pho Be Thui at Pho Saigon Alley

January 9, 2018 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho Saigon Alley has closed

Back at the end of October; I was making one of my now quite rare trips to City Heights when I noticed a "Grand Re-Opening Banner on the former location of Asmara Restaurant. Grand Re-Opening? When was the original opening When did Asmara close? Hmmm……I guess I'm getting a bit out of touch in my old age.

Anyway, I made a mental note of the place and like I tend to do so often these days promptly forgot about the place. In December, when we got back from our latest trip, something triggered a recollection. And I decided to stop by Pho Saigon Alley.

I went and parked in the rear of the building and this banner caught my attention.

Pho be thui? That's a new one for me. Man, I haven't had Be Thui on over ten years!

The rear entrance and back of the restaurant; the outdoor area, looks somewhat worn and unkept, not the most welcoming entrance. The interior looks fairly bright, but the floors seem scuffed and there's a bit of haphazardness to the place. Bar type seating, a stage….seems like they were doing karaoke here for a while?

The place was also totally empty when I arrived. But I pushed ahead and ordered the Pho Be Thui; noted as "Smoked Veal" on the menu.

I ordered a small ($9.25). I totally expected to get a plate with be thui along with a plain-Jane bowl of pho. So I was surprised when a good sized bowl of pho arrived with brisket, tripe, tendon, and flank.

The be thui here was thinly sliced like tai; there was no rice powder dusted on the slices of meat like proper be thui; the sauce was super salty nothing like the traditional fermented bean sauce (tuong cu da) or the really clean, refreshing, ginger based sauces I've had with be thui. It was of course, quite lean, pretty darn chewy, and since the broth for this bowl of pho wasn't very hot; it never got beyond basically raw. The broth was very mild, defatted, with just a hint of beefiness and a touch of anise flavors. At least it wasn't too salty.

The noodles were nicely done and were actually hotter than the broth!

The tendon and tripe were very well prepared; just a hint of chew for the tendon and no "off flavors" for the crunchy tripe. The flank was a bit too fatty and tough, but the brisket had a nice beefy flavor. As you can see by the top photo; the basil was starting to discolor.

So, while this was not very good in terms of be thui (also, there wasn't any "smoke" flavor – I'm thinking they mean torched), it wasn't terrible by any means. There are bowls worse than this to be found. I needed to get something for the Missus at Northgate Market a few days later; so I decided to drop by again.

On this visit, there were three other tables occupied. By an older crowd. This time I noticed a grease board on a music stand occupying the "stage" area. It had a bunch of dishes listed. I was tempted to go for the bun bo hue. But after my recent not-so-good bowl of BBH, I decided to just go ahead and ordered the Bo Luc Lac.

This was fairly mediocre; not bad, just nothing special. Like versions of bo luc lac I've had recently; this was on the salty side and lacking in any sweet-sour or deeply savory tones. The meat was a bit overcooked, but still reasonably tender. The veggies were under cooked, though the rice was nice and fragrant. the portion size was fairly small; but reasonable for $8.25. Not much more to say.

The service is typical old-school pho shop……which I thought kinda nice since we now have all these modern, slick, sort of hipsterish Vietnamese places I've been to recently. The clientele on my visits were all older folks.

I may drop by Pho Saigon Alley again in the future…maybe take my chances with the Bun Bo Hue. Or maybe not……..

Pho Saigon Alley
4155 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Open Daily 10am – 9pm

Ginger Pho & Grill

December 27, 2017 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Ginger Pho & Grill has closed

A few months ago I received an email from "SomTommy". He asked me if I could check out a place on Plaza in National City that supposedly made a good Bun Bo Hue. I really hadn't heard of a place in National City making at good BBH; but heck, I did get a fairly passable bowl of pho in the area recently so why not? Turns out the place is actually in the very busy mall that houses Seafood City on Plaza.

I did notice that there's been a bit of turnover in the mall since my last visit. Manila Resto is gone, there's a new, what looks like the ubiquitous Crawfish place, and a few places I don't recall seeing before. Though the veteran restaurants like Golden Chopsticks, Bread Deluxe, and Goldilocks is still doing good business. As was Porky's Lechon.

As for Ginger Pho & Grill, well, there were a couple of tables occupied; all getting pho, but I went with the Bun Bo Hue. This actually took a while to get to me; which had me a bit concerned as I saw everything else just rolling out of the kitchen in minutes.

Eventually, it did arrive. First thing I noticed was the strong orange color of the broth; orange, not red, and how cloudy it was.

The plate of herbs and veggies were very fresh; though mostly lettuce and purple cabbage with a sprig of mint thrown in.

The broth was quite spicy, an in your face blast of chili heat. There was a mild richness-fattiness to the soup. The rest of the broth seemed so plain in comparison; very little lemon grass flavor, no beef or pork notes, no sour or savory (shrimp paste) tones; it was basically just spicy.

The meat was well prepared; the rustic cuts were think enough, but not hard, there were two pork hocks in soup; one was wrapped in a nice, toothsome piece of skin; the other tasted slightly off, so I passed on that. The two pieces of tendon was well prepared and pretty tender.

The bun was cooked well, slippery, with a decent stretchiness to them.

If the broth had a bit more than spiciness going for it; this might have been a pretty good bowl.

Recently, I had to drop by Seafood City, so I decided to try the pho at Ginger.

I went with good 'ol #4; the well done steak, brisket, flank, tendon and tripe. I went with the small size priced at $6.99.

This was an interesting bowl. First off, the broth was really mild and severely defatted. It was also barely over lukewarm. The basil had brown spots, but there was a generous portion of bean sprouts. To illustrate how warm the broth was; I placed half of the bean sprouts in the broth and they never softened.

I like my noodles "al dente", but this was too hard for my liking. I'm thinking the broth wasn't hot enough to finish cooking the noodles and what I got was on the too hard and chewy side.

The best part of this pho was the proteins; other than the tripe which was MIA. All the meats were fairly tender, especially the brisket and tendon.

There was a generous amount of noodles and meat in this $6.99 bowl of pho. I think this illustrates what the folks at Ginger believes folks are looking for here; large portion sizes and more meat.

Service was typical; perfunctory without being rude; efficiency rules. The restaurant is nice and clean, prices are reasonable. For me; there is better pho…and Bun Bo Hue out there.

Ginger Pho & Grill
1420 East Plaza Blvd
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Open 9am – 9pm Daily

Unlucky at Pho Lucky?

November 12, 2017 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

My revisit to Pho Mignon back in September had me wondering about Pho Lucky, which has been a regular stop for me over the years. Recently though I'd noticed that the pho here has seemed to go downhill a bit, which had me sticking to the Banh Mi Bo Kho.

So, a few days after my visit; I dropped by Pho Lucky. It had been awhile; in fact, I don't recall seeing the "No Fried Fish Welcome Sign" on the door before.

I wonder what event triggered that?

I went ahead and ordered my usual; the #4, flank, tripe, tendon, and brisket.

Things looked fine and that tendon was really good as were the noodles, just prepped perfectly.

The problem was the broth……

It was a lot more defatted than I recalled; gone was the nice anise tones I enjoyed, and worse of all, it was strangely "sweet". Egad! Was Pho Lucky joining the ranks of "Sweet broth brigade"?

The main reasons I enjoyed the pho here was for the flavor of the broth and the tendon. This just didn't cut it.

I intended to return fairly quickly to see if this visit was a fluke, but then we entered into that cycle of records temperatures. And then, when things cooled down; the amount of work heated up. My life right now include weekend morning conference calls. But, unlike regular work days; there's a short window of time before my call and I decided to drop by Pho Lucky to see if my last visit was just an off day.

I ordered the #4; went to wash my hands and this is what I got.

What the pho? I didn't order rare steak? Had they changed the numbering on the menu? I had just a short window of time before I needed to be in the office, so I just went ahead and had my bowl.

The rare steak was actually not bad; much more tender than I recalled; though I missed the usual amount of tendon and tripe. The broth was better; a bit richer, but more importantly, not overly sweet not too salty. I do think the days of nice anise and onions tones in the broth are gone though. Sad. The noodles were nicely prepared; the portion of sprouts was smaller than I recalled.

I rechecked the menu while waiting to cash out.

Hmmmm……#4 looks the same to me?

Maybe the Server didn't get enough of a caffeine fix before taking my order? I saw him chugging this down whenever he had a chance.

Well…whatever…it seems to be slim pickins' with regards to decent pho in San Diego these days. I guess I'm back to the Bo Kho here.

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Revisits – Mignon Pho + Grill and Red Moon Noodle House

September 27, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

So, our office was set to move after years in the Serra/Kearny Mesa area. We'd be heading a bit North. Thus, I decided to revisit a couple of places before we left.

Mignon Pho + Grill:

Or as Calvin's wife calls it; "pho for folks who don't like pho". I dunno, it had been a couple of years, so I decided to check them out again.

I went with the "Trolley Bowl" ($10).

The noodles were decent, though in clump, and the herbs and such were sparse though fresh. Still not sure why they serve ngo om (aka rice paddy herb), with its distinct flavor with the pho here.

The soup always seems to have kind of a bitter – tinny flavor to me. It's also quite weak and overly defatted. The proteins were tough and lacked flavor.

But, this place still seems to do good business. Perhaps it's the service which has always been friendly. Or perhaps it's the Lemongrass Fries, which is the best (only decent) thing I've had here.

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

Red Moon Noodle House:

**** Red Moon has closed

Another place that I haven't been to in a while and haven't had great luck with. Though one of the folks that I used to work with really enjoyed the Singapore Noodle at Red Moon. So why not?

The really nice guy working brought me a fork to start? I had to ask for chopsticks? The dish, when it arrived, piping hot, looked quite impressive as it was topped with fried eggs.

Once you got past that though, it was a disappointment. The pork in this was really tough, almost hard.

There was way too much curry powder….it was definitely powder because it left a grainy, bitter residue on my tough. This was actually rather unpleasant to eat.

The noodles were too hard as well.

I took most of this home and had the Missus taste this……big mistake.

Folks have mentioned a "secret menu" (I've had the XLB, it's definitely bought frozen from somewhere else), but I've never received recommendations. So guess what? Singapore noodles….maybe that fork should have been a clue?

Really nice folks here too though….

Red Moon Noodle House
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

I really liked the folks working at both places; but man, the food really didn't and hasn't been my thing here.

Pho 7 Cow

September 26, 2017 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

Guess I really don't get around that much anymore. I didn't see this shop until I dropped by Royal Mandarin to pick up some salt-and-pepper chicken wings for a pot luck.

It was close enough to lunch time like 10:15 or so and I was feeling a bit hungry.

In spite of the rather "old school" name and logo, this place is really nicely put together. Well spaced tables, none of which are sticky, brightly lit, clean….Servers smile and wave you to your tables.

The menu has all the usual suspects. And while I'd usually go for a bowl of pho during any maiden voyage, it was still really hot and unusually sticky. And I saw someone having the Bo Kho as I walked to my table, so I went with the Banh Mi Bo Kho.

This was not bad at all. While not quite as rich as I prefer; there was a hint of beefiness to the broth. Anise and black pepper tones were more pronounced. Likewise, more of a soup than a "stew". I'm thinking things were done to not offend as there was only one piece of tendon to be had, but it was decently tender. Lots of beef, some with rather chewy connective tissue, but still rather tender, moist, no off flavors.

The bread was standard issue, but prepared well, crusty, nicely hot and toasted.

So it comes down to the "little things"; the two pieces of carrot were basically raw; I could have used more onion, and the broth was a bit too thin. But overall, this was pretty good, better than most I'd say.

I made a note to return…well, because you know how I am, right? Though I waited until things cooled down.

And I went with good 'ol number 1……while I'm usually not a big fan of the rare steak served at most pho places in San Diego (even my favorites), I usually order this just to get a view of how all the various proteins are handled.

I was rather surprised when I noticed there was Ngo Gai along with the usual basil, spouts, jalapeno, and lime. It was also very fresh, crisp, and fragrant.

The broth was on the thin and light side, though it wasn't as sweet as many versions I've had recently. Very faint beefiness and like the bo kho, nice anise tones. No MS-heebie-geebies for me.

A decent, passable, albeit overly defatted broth.

As for the proteins; the rare steak was passable, not overly dry, but still without much flavor. The flank and brisket were good, nice beefy tones, not overly tough. The meatball was the standard issue squeaky orb.

There was but one piece of tendon, which was nicely prepared, adequately tender.

The tripe had that somewhat soapy flavor that I'm not very fond of. And like the tendon, there was but one (thankfully) strand of it in the bowl.

Catering to their customer base I guess.

The noodles were done perfectly; decent chew, not mushy, and not in a tight clump at the bottom of the bowl. Some folks don't understand, that yes, it does matter to me. And yes, I will write 200 words to describe that bowl of pho I just had….. Because it does matter to me.

And, I was pleasantly surprised. As this was a totally decent bowl of pho. Man, it does seem like pho in these parts is getting better.

Nice service, there quite a bit of staff to customers, so things seem to get done quickly. The folks are pleasant. They seem to cater to kids and families. There was a play area at the back of the restaurant.

I'd certainly come here every so often if I lived in the area.

Pho 7 Cow
1025 Highland Ave
National City, CA 91950
Hours:
Open Daily 10am – 9pm

Pho SaiGon Bliss

August 15, 2017 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Saigon Bliss has closed

Yes, the name of this place is Saigon Bliss, go figure. A couple of friends who live in Serra Mesa really like this place, so I decided to give it a try. If I recall, this used to be Kinkos….I think. This strip mall sure has changed over the years…..

Much like Pho Kitchen and other shops, the décor is what I call "modern pho"…..bright colors, clean, and a few enlarged photos of Vietnam and pretty girls to create a sort of nostalgic connection.

The young man who runs the front of house is really, really, nice….though he really doesn't need to call me "sir" every time he speaks to me.

The folks who recommended this place to me told me I "needed" to try the Nem Nuong Cuon. So I did and it was obvious they've never been to Brodard, or even Duyen Mai for that matter.

The ratios were off in the spring roll, the pork sausage wasn't grilled enough and while I admire the place giving you a hefty slice, it made the texture lean to the rubbery side. There was a single sliver of fried egg roll wrapper in this, not enough to make much of a difference. The sauce was really thin, too sweet, and lacking in that subtle savory flavor that makes so many folks enjoy Brodards.

I also got some pho; just the regular "combination" ($8.50).

The basil was starting to brown on the edges and there was hardly any sprouts, so I asked for a bit more. Of course the nice young man immediately got it for me!

Over the years, I've notice the typical "San Diego pho" broth has changed. It used to be pretty heavy on the msg……now it's typical to have the broth severely defatted, taking away the richness, with a flavor that's noticeably on the sweet side. This fits that bill.

The tripe was the best protein, nice crunch, no off flavors, not much tendon in this, the rare steak was on the dry side, and I'm not a big fan of overly squeaky beef balls. And the amount was on the scarce side.

The noodles were adequately prepared; though it was clump city all the way.

Still, the folks here seemed to be trying hard. And so…..I returned of course. But I really wasn't sure what to order. The young man told me that the Bo Kho was his grandmother's recipe.

This was actually half way decent. Though the stew was way too thin and defatted for my taste and could have used more acid to bring out the tanginess, it was fairly beefy.

Sadly, there was no tendon to be found; but the chunks of beef were tender and there were no off flavors.

The bread was light, warm, and standard issue stuff.

If you don't like a rich bowl of bo kho and hate beef tendon, you might like this. Sort of bo kho not to offend. Not terrible though and the best thing I've had here.

With this under my belt….no pun intended; I decided that perhaps a third time might be a charm and the young man had told me to try the Bo Luc Lac ($13.95).

Man, look at all those onions! I mean, I understand they need to stretch the dish and such, but golly. The beef was on the tough side and too salty for my taste. The sauce provided was sort of Muoi Tieu Chanh, but it tasted strange….perhaps using bottled lemon juice. The butter rice, colored with what seems to be annatto was moist, tender, and the flavor not too bad. I think it was the best thing about the dish as the bo luc lac seemed like something one would throw together at home, it lacked finesse.

Still, the service here is really nice. I heard that they really take care of military and veterans here. It's a decent neighborhood pho shop and I actually think it's better than some of the places around Convoy and Kearny Mesa. So I hope they do well.

Pho SaiGon Bliss
3755 Murphy Canyon Rd
San Diego, CA 92123
Hours:
Mon – Sat 10am – 9pm
Sunday 1030am – 8pm

This strip mall right off Aero Drive has always been a bit of an "odd duck" to me. It still holds a Sizzler and I think the taco shop might be the only business that's been around for a while. I remember back in the early 2000's the cook at the Chinese Restaurant in the mall was from Hawaii and on weekends they'd serve stuff like loco mocos and other stuff. Man, that seems like so long ago now.

Pho 87 Noodle House

July 6, 2017 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Pho 87 has closed

I mentioned this revolving door of a location back in March. It had been Van Hoa for over a decade and Cathy and I had done mulitple posts on the place. And then overnight, they were gone; first replaced by Pho & Banh Cuon Ha Long Restaurant, which was gone in a few months, to be replaced by "Pho Huong Viet"….I saw a sign go up, but don't think the place actually opened. And now, it's Pho 87.

The name sounded familiar. After doing a quick search, I found there's a Pho 87 in LA Chinatown and Las Vegas. So perhaps?

As for this location, they've moved some things around and the place looks even more odd than before. Big gaps between tables and front register with one table on each side….at least you can't complain about things being crowded together, right?

I'm not sure what it is, but I really didn't feel comfortable eating here….and I've eaten in some pretty strange places over the years!

The menu is very straight forward; spring rolls, egg rolls, rice, hieu tieu, bun….and pho of course. Just about all the combinations had rare steak, no combination featuring both tendon and tripe, though I'm sure I could have asked….but why be a pain in a place I'd never been to before?

So, I went with the combination; in these days, $6.50 for a small bowl of pho is cheap these days. Soon enough, my basil, sprouts, and lime arrived.

At first glance, this looked fairly sparse and the sprouts were starting to brown. Then I noticed something and turned the basil over.

This was definitely not going to be used.

My bowl arrived soon after.

The broth looked low in fat; which it was, and had quite a bit of onions. And in fact, the broth had a strong, rather pungent onion flavor…not overly sweet as many bowls seem to be these days; but somewhat on the bitter side. It was scalding hot though. As for the meats; well, the tendon was decent, a bit on the hard side but not bad. The rare steak was far from "rare" by the time the bowl hit the table and it looked like beef that had scum on it that congeals when cooked; not the most appetizing looking thing. I hesitated in trying it; but as is not the norm, it was pretty tender and not dried out. It did have a bit of a metallic taste to it though.

The noodles were in a giant clump in the bottom and terribly overcooked and mushy. The worst I've had in a while.

The young man serving me was very nice as was the young lady…..but I really didn't think I'd be back or even do a post on this place.

However, a few weeks later, I went to check out a new restaurant in the area, but it was closed. After pondering my options, I recalled seeing an interesting fried rice dish as I left Pho 87. I asked the young man what it was. He told me Bo Luc Lac Fried Rice. So, I decided to give it another go.

And got the Com Chien Bo Luc Lac; a bargain at $8.95.

That's a good portion of beef for the price. The beef was surprisingly tender, though very salty and lacking in any sweet or even sour tones….very one dimensional as a whole. The stir fried vegetables looked nice, but were too raw, and not stir-fried properly. The fried rice was somewhat old school; the rice nicely separated. I didn't expect much and got just that, with the peas and carrots from the frozen food isle. The fried rice was also quite salty and I ended up chugging a good amount of water after I got home.

So what to say about Pho 87? Well, it's very inexpensive. Do you get what you pay for? Perhaps. The folks here are on the quite side but nice enough. Me, well, I think I need to move on.

Pho 87 Noodle House
4016 54th St
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Mon – Sat 8am – 8pm

COMC – Menya Ultra Ramen, Tribute Pizza, China Max, and ‘Dem Bones (again) at Pho Duyen Mai

May 18, 2017 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Gastropub, Japanese Restaurants, Pho, Ramen

It's time to C(lear) O(ut) the M(emory) C(ard). Here are a bunch of photos…and not many words.

Menya Ultra Ramen:

Perfect noodles, excellent ajitama……broth still not quite as good as when they first opened.

Still the best ramen in San Diego in my opinion.

Menya Ultra Ramen
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Tribute Pizza:

Happy Hour on Tuesday to Friday from 4-6pm.

Sea Salt Foccacia with 'Nduja (of course). The Missus really enjoyed the wood fired veggies on the charcuterie board; which comes with its own "Foccacia of the Day". This time it was an "Everything Bagel" version. Our favorite so far was the Cheddar with Chives…..

Tribute Pizza
3077 N Park Way
San Diego, CA 92104

China Max:

In search of more quiet time. I did miss the Missus though.

She usually has most of the seafood. All I really wanted were the noodles.

China Max
4698 Convoy Street #C101
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Duyen Mai:

**** Pho Duyen Mai is under new ownership

Yes it's "Them Bones" again. I actually got busy too quickly and forgot to take a photo until I'd scraped all the meat off the beef ribs.

Though the actual star of the show was this little guy. Who waited patiently, leash in mouth while his mommy finished lunch. What an awesome pooch! Amazing! I couldn't help but tell his owner how impressed I was with his focus.

Pho Duyen Mai
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123

Hope you're having a great week!