Back in the beginning of April, "FOY" Dereck sent me an email regarding a pho shop that had recently opened in Rancho Penasquitos. The part of the email which really caught my attention read:
"I don't want to make any promises, but it was the best pho I have had in a while. The broth was beefy and not defatted. I didn't taste much sweet if any, not much anise, and a little salty, but still it was great."
Hmmm, pho broth not "San Diego sweet"? Ok, sold! I decided to go ahead and make the 20+ mile drive to check the place out; located in the corner of the busy Rancho Penasquitos Towne Center.
The place is very well lit and clean. The young folks working were welcoming and friendly.
I went ahead and just ordered a "medium" G-Beef Special ($15.50).
I was not impressed with the sprouts and basil.
It was a fairly small portion and some of the basil had turned color and were getting slimy.
And soon my bowl arrived.
I quickly noticed that the soup was quite dark and seriously defatted. It did lack the richness; but like Dereck had mentioned, while short on anise tones, though you could actually taste the cilantro, it did not have that pervasive "sweetness" that most of the pho in San Diego has. It was also fairly beefy in flavor. Taking a closer look at the soup, I noticed quite a preponderance of small pieces of beef in it. It also wasn't overly salty. This was pretty good.
I then started checking out the proteins, when I noticed something….no tripe, lots of beefy brisket, but no flank; the "Rare steak"….well, there was overcooked thinly sliced beef. As for the "tendon", there seem to be shreds of chewy, what seemed to be neck tendon. Perhaps there was some mix-up? I was the only customer in the place….. Since I'd had the soup, put the sprouts in, tasted the noodles, I just decided to go with the flow here.
The noodles were decently prepped and had a good "stretch" to them.
Overall, a nicely flavored broth, not sure what happened with the proteins, kinda lacking in QC with the blackening basil. I'm thinking that I'll need to return in a couple of months….even though it's a bit of a drive, to see how things are.
Dereck, this place definitely seems to have some potential! Thanks for the recommendation!
Pho G Beef
13297 Black Mountain Rd. Suite 6
San Diego, CA 92129
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 1030am – 830pm
Fri – Sat 1030am – 9pm
I've always enjoyed the bread from 
The broth was super salty and "San Diego sweet". It was really defatted, thin, and lacking in richness. There was an abundance of scallion which was nice, but not enough cilantro to overcome the overly salty-sweet soup.
I liked the amount of cilantro and scallion in the broth, it added a nice fragrance and flavor. The meat was tender, though it seemed to not be as beefy as I would have desired. Still, if you're a major carnivore, you might enjoy this. Personally, I like a variety of cuts, texture, and flavors.
This was quite the bowl! There was shimeji mushroom, quail eggs, fish balls (not my favorite thing), some ground pork, a couple of slices of char siu-ish pork, fairly tender shrimp (not deveined), and two, really tasty fried crab.
The skin hadn't been fried crisp and were rubbery. The "tomyum" was a a packaged powder that was overly salty. The wings were moist and tender, but the drumettes really dry and tough.
I like the folks working here, there is quite a variety of dishes on the menu so I will definitely return. They have some Com Tom dishes so I'll probably drag the Missus along. They have outdoor tables, so maybe JJ might join us. I know my friend "CY" said we'll grab lunch here in a couple of weeks. With Saigon Corner and 
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?
There was a good amount of meat in this "small bowl". So perhaps that's the calling card?
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 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.
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.
But, any doubts were soon dispelled when I started mixing things and eating. The shrimp was decently plump with no off flavors. There was more ground pork than on my previous visit. Of course the sliced pork is chewy and quite rustic, but it flavor. There was still only a single lonely fishball in the bowl.
The pork hock has gotten smaller over the years, but the meat on this one was more tender than on my previous visit and the soup, while still heavy on the msg, had a bit more flavor and a dose of white pepper.
But a quick bite of the "fatty" intestine assuaged my doubts. It was tender and full of "bungy" goodness. Don't stare at the intestines too long; you might start seeing things…. Nice mild funky-savory tones.
