What is Pho?

[yukichigai]

Pho? Just the best food ever!

It's great. A beefy, noodly soup. I get mine with everything, tendon and tripe included. It's really good when you dip the meat in some Hoisin/Plum Sauce before eating it.

Sigh... man I want some Pho now.

 

[GoodToGo]

Originally posted by: konichiwa

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: toant103
best Pho place is in Northern VA, Pho 75 off rt 50

There are several good places here in Atlanta as well. I had a Vietnamese buddy of mine point me to the best ones (in his opinion).

Care to share? Obviously I could just about take my pick of the litter on Buford Hwy but I never have any idea which are good. Guide me

I have tried Pho 69 and that was pretty good. I dont know many other places outside Buford Highway.

 

[memo]

pho hoa is the standard here in the midwest, so if you go some in atlanta id recommend them

 

[Chronoshock]

They had a Pho Hoa in boston for a while before Pho Lemongrass took it over. Good food there (only had the pho once or twice) they had a nice fish hotpot

 

[imported_Nail]

Originally posted by: LeadMagnet
useless fact - my last name (not provided) when pronounced sounds like a swear to people that speak tagalog

What is your name and the translation?

 

[TwoMix]

Pho is awesome but its even less filling than chinese food

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: GoodToGo

Originally posted by: konichiwa

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: toant103
best Pho place is in Northern VA, Pho 75 off rt 50

There are several good places here in Atlanta as well. I had a Vietnamese buddy of mine point me to the best ones (in his opinion).

Care to share? Obviously I could just about take my pick of the litter on Buford Hwy but I never have any idea which are good. Guide me

I have tried Pho 69 and that was pretty good. I dont know many other places outside Buford Highway.

Pho Bac is where I usually go.

4897 Buford Highway Northeast #105
30341

Look for a sign with a copper pyramid thingy on top of it.

 

[yukichigai]

Originally posted by: TwoMix
Pho is awesome but its even less filling than chinese food

What are you, high?

Get spring rolls with your order. You won't be able to walk for a while.

 

[weirdichi]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
Mmmm Pho goodness.

Pho shizzle!

 

[GagHalfrunt]

You have to be careful about where you order Pho. Get is from a good place and it's yummy. Get it from a bad place and it's just bad beef noodle soup.

For Pho rookies, make sure you order something like flank steak well done. "Real" Pho has tripe, tendons and very rare beef from some fairly disgusting cuts that Americans normally throw away. Some of the stuff that winds up in authentic Pho most of us would not even feed to our dogs. Start slow with normal cuts of meat and heavier on the well-known spices, then start to add the funkier stuff a little at a time if you go back for more. Personally, I think Pho is mostly overrated, it's become a trend because a bunch of dilletantes feel that it's ethnic and cool. It's freaking beef noodle soup with a lot of spices. You can get a pound of noodles, a cheapo cut of mostly gristle beef flank and some spices and make a whole gallon of the stuff at home for what a bowl of it costs at a restaurant. Once you hit upon the right combo of seasonings homemade stuff can be as good as or better than at least 95% of the stuff you get in restaurants.

 

[Modeps]

War! HUH! What is it good Pho? ABSOLUTLY NOTHING!

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
You have to be careful about where you order Pho. Get is from a good place and it's yummy. Get it from a bad place and it's just bad beef noodle soup.

For Pho rookies, make sure you order something like flank steak well done. "Real" Pho has tripe, tendons and very rare beef from some fairly disgusting cuts that Americans normally throw away. Some of the stuff that winds up in authentic Pho most of us would not even feed to our dogs. Start slow with normal cuts of meat and heavier on the well-known spices, then start to add the funkier stuff a little at a time if you go back for more. Personally, I think Pho is mostly overrated, it's become a trend because a bunch of dilletantes feel that it's ethnic and cool. It's freaking beef noodle soup with a lot of spices. You can get a pound of noodles, a cheapo cut of mostly gristle beef flank and some spices and make a whole gallon of the stuff at home for what a bowl of it costs at a restaurant. Once you hit upon the right combo of seasonings homemade stuff can be as good as or better than at least 95% of the stuff you get in restaurants.

I was actually informed to order the rare beef so you know it's actually somewhat fresh. True or no?

(I like the rare better anyway. The tendon and tripe I can live without.)

 

[yukichigai]

Originally posted by: Fausto
I was actually informed to order the rare beef so you know it's actually somewhat fresh. True or no?

(I like the rare better anyway. The tendon and tripe I can live without.)

Depends on the place. Around here it really isn't an issue, since there's a large ranching community.

A good Pho restaurant will cut the meat thin, raw (save for a few of the types) and put it in the hot soup, letting the soup cook the meat. Gives you the best flavor.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: Fausto

I was actually informed to order the rare beef so you know it's actually somewhat fresh. True or no?

(I like the rare better anyway. The tendon and tripe I can live without.)

Dunno, it would make sense in one way as it's harder to pass off old beef if it's uncooked. But it's also counterproductive as if the beef is marginal, it's better to have it well done. There's a paradox in there somewhere. If you worry about a place serving you beef than had turned you probably should be eating elsewhere rather than eating it rare. Just one more argument to make Pho at home. I might not be able to whip up a batch of Hot & Sour Soup, General Tso's Chicken or Pad Thai that matches a good restaurant, but Pho is easy.

 

[MiniDoom]

Originally posted by: toant103
best Pho place is in Northern VA, Pho 75 off rt 50

There is a Pho 75 in Herndon also, very good place.

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: yukichigai

Originally posted by: Fausto
I was actually informed to order the rare beef so you know it's actually somewhat fresh. True or no?

(I like the rare better anyway. The tendon and tripe I can live without.)

Depends on the place. Around here it really isn't an issue, since there's a large ranching community.

A good Pho restaurant will cut the meat thin, raw (save for a few of the types) and put it in the hot soup, letting the soup cook the meat. Gives you the best flavor.

That's what Pho Bac does. Meat comes out nice and bloody and then cooks as you poke it around in the broth.

 

[ColdFusion718]

Originally posted by: GoodToGo

Originally posted by: konichiwa

Originally posted by: Fausto

Originally posted by: toant103
best Pho place is in Northern VA, Pho 75 off rt 50

There are several good places here in Atlanta as well. I had a Vietnamese buddy of mine point me to the best ones (in his opinion).

Care to share? Obviously I could just about take my pick of the litter on Buford Hwy but I never have any idea which are good. Guide me

I have tried Pho 69 and that was pretty good. I dont know many other places outside Buford Highway.

Pho 69, eh?

Is this place where you go to have some good Pho as well as a happy ending? Man that's an untapped market. Quick, someone capitalize on that. :beer:

J/K

The only Pho I eat is when my mom makes it. She uses the authentic receipe that this old Vietnamese lady gave her over 15 years ago. You're not supposed to add fish sauce to your soup unless it's to remedy a lack of flavor. If it's done right the first time, then you just add Hoisin sauce (optional), or just use it to dip your meat in.

Btw, perhaps some people eat the rare beer raw? Most people I know put that under the soup for about 2 minutes. The reason they put raw beef on top of the soup is so that you cook it a minute before you start eating it, allowing the beef to stay as tender as possible.

My family is 100% Chinese, but my mom sure knows how to cook Vietnamese food. Perhaps she lived in Vietnam for most of her life before coming to the US?

 

[halik]

pho shizzle?

 

[axelfox]

sweets, pho and burritos.

 

[Shelly21]

The best pho in Richmond is Pho So 1 off broad stree.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: toant103
best Pho place is in Northern VA, Pho 75 off rt 50

fellow dc metro area i see.

i say the best Pho is what my mom makes Pho75 is next.. altho.. along w/ every other one, the broth is always too damn salty. that and the beef never looks... good. i dunno why.

 

[yukichigai]

Best Pho in Reno is Pho 777 on Second Street, 1 block East of Harrah's. But if you're up after 10:00pm your only bet for Pho is All-Nite Pho (not the real name) directly across Second Street from Harrah's. Open 'till 3:30am!

It's odd that (I think) half the Pho eateries in Reno are within a block of each other.

 

[Modeps]

I had Pho today, it was decent but nothing spectacular like everyone makes it out to be. It's noodles and beef people.

 

[MiniDoom]

Originally posted by: Modeps
I had Pho today, it was decent but nothing spectacular like everyone makes it out to be. It's noodles and beef people.

carefull, thats what I said about coke the first time. just wait.

 

[Shelly21]

It's pho-king good. :laugh: