This Vietnamese restaurant has now gladly and joyfully replaced Pho 88 on my foodie list. Pho 88 was just a poor and bipolar substitute for Miss Saigon anyway when it was so busy we could hardly get in the door.I luv Pho, which is a Vietnamese soup, has moved into the place once occupied by Phil's Cafe, a breakfast and lunch spot on Campbell. They have opened up the space and it looks much brighter with spare decorations and lots of tables and only a small counter in the back.
Phil's let me walk through their kitchen and storage area to use the bathroom but this time i had to walk around the block (they are only 3 or 4 stores from the corner) and then in the back to get into the bathroom.
The egg rolls were the best I've eaten since leaving Portland. Bill even ate a whole one and he's usually not that wild about them. Very crispy exteriors and loads of vegetables inside and the fish sauce had a nice spice to it and we got a decent sized bowl of the sauce too.
we also shared a Ban mi cha which is a Vietnamese sandwich. We have been searching for a restaurant that serves this since moving out of Portland (there's that word again!). It is served on a baguette; the freshest and most crunchy and interiorly soft roll you will ever eat. (this sandwich became part of their cuisine due to the French influence). and inside we had the pork and pickled vegetables filling. All the pork was thinly sliced with absolutely no gristle or 'unmentionables'.
The last dish we shared was a Bun which is a vermicelli dish with meat or fish or shrimp which is what we got and lots of lettuce, cilantro, bean sprouts, carrots, cucumber and grilled onions (most of the time there are peanuts too) and then a sauce which is served separately. The shrimp were delicious.
I was in 7th heaven over this meal. My search is over. I am content. I feel happy, joyous and free.
Oh and the prices were ridiculously low. Only $3.25 for the sandwich, $4 for the 4 egg rolls and $7.50 for the bun.
We ate here about a month ago, and still like Pho 88 better, but I want to give it another try. I ate take out last week and ordered the wrong thing (something that came with crispy noodles, which I don't like). The food seems really good, but the ambience I did not care for - perhaps it's merely my missing Phil's with it's homey ambience. But if Phil's had to end so you could be happy, joyous and free, then so be it!
ReplyDeleteYou can get Banh Mi at Saigon Pho off of University and at Dao's Tai Pan on Wilmot also! The best place was Asian Kitchen on Speedway near Campbell, but unfortunately they closed.
ReplyDelete