Pho Ca Dao

Location: 8373 Mira Mesa Blvd (between New Salem St & Reagan Rd)
Phone: (858) 564-0917
Hours: Mon-Thu 8 AM to 9 PM, Fri-Sat 8 AM- 9:30 PM, Sunday 8AM- 9 PM
Website: http://www.phocadao.net/ Apparently, this is just a placeholder website until they get a real one up, so it's not very helpful. You could go to their Yelp page, but Yelp ratings are generally bullshit. Yeah, I said it. I am especially convinced of this now because of the generally positive reviews of Pho Superbowl.

Beth:

Katie, Hao, and I are no strangers to Pho Ca Dao (I think this was Matus's maiden voyage there, though). In the past, Ca Dao was a favorite for some time. We thought the pho was really good. I was a little turned off by the service, myself. They remembered me and kind of poked fun at me whenever I came in. I get that it was friendly and all that, but sometimes it was just frustrating. For example, they don't give you a sauce dish here unless you ask for one. Katie and I had always used extra spoons for our sauces. Several times I had a waiter pop up from behind me (literally, we were in a booth and he popped up from the seat behind me) and point at the spoon and laugh at me before going to get me a sauce dish.

This got a little awkward after a while, and when a friend introduced me to Pho Cow Cali, I was elated that I had found a new place. Not only did I think the pho was better there, there were sauce dishes at the table and I seemed to receive less harassment.

However, in our quest to review every pho place in San Diego, Katie and I decided it was time to go back and give Pho Ca Dao another try. As we recalled, the pho was solid overall: we thought the broth was better than Cow Cali, the meat was not as good as Cow Cali, and there were often too many noodles (a gentle collective of criticisms considering the source).

We went there with the usual suspects (Hao and Matus) and found that the place had gone through some changes in the intervening time. They have totally re-done their logo, gotten a new fleet of waiters (which was a relief to yours truly), gotten a big TV, and totally re-done their menu. Their menu, as part of what seems like an increasingly popular trend, now has a section where you can choose all the components and "create-your-own-pho." Although we were skeptical about how this might turn out given our experience with this at Viet Cali, we decided it was worth a shot. I ordered the rare steak and well-done flank, my usual these days (despite a foray into tendon at Lucky Pho 2 weeks ago that I was very happy about).

We also ordered some eggrolls, which came out quickly and were crispy and delicious.



Our pho came out almost as fast as the eggrolls.

The pho was... shall we say... both better and worse than we remembered. Some things were better, and some were worse. Has Ca Dao changed over the last year? Did we come by on an off-day? Or are we so jaded and snooty about our pho now that it takes some seriously good soup to impress us? I'm guessing it's some combination of all of those things.



Katie and I generally agree that:

- the meat is better now that it was before- tender and not as fatty. But the flavor of it was just OK
- the broth was kind of bland. There wasn't enough spice flavor or beef flavor. I mean, there is something to be said for subtlety, but ...meh
-the sate sauce was good
-there were, in Katie's succinct words, "too many fucking noodles"

The vegetables that came out with the soup were good and fresh, and they don't skimp on quantity. Also, they serve culantro, and that made me happy.

We did, however, miss the elevator music that used to be played there. Elevator Beatles, elevator Simon and Garfunkel, elevator Christmas music, and I seem to recall some Kenny G...

Service was also very fast, and the place was clean and such, if you worry about that kind of thing. They have a nifty little garden that you can see in the window inside.

So... bottom line: A solid choice, but not the best. With other really excellent choices so nearby (Cow Cali, Lucky) why bother? Go a little further down Mira Mesa boulevard (or... don't go as far, depending on which direction you're coming from).

Six (and an imaginary half) spoons out of 10.