SDPB Special Boston Edition: Just don't drive there

Location: 7 Beach St (between Washington St & Knapp St), Boston, MA
Hours: 10:30am - 10pm daily
Phone: (617) 422-0501
Website: Their Yelp page

Hao:

I think this place may be run by a non-Vietnamese family. Why? It opens late (pho is traditionally a breakfast food, or so Katie tells me), and they have decent service. Also, it's in the middle of chinatown.



Garnishes were standard, if lacking in the culantro (not too surprising, as it is rare) and jalapeños (?!). Still, since neither of those things are essential for MY pho experience, I wasn't too bothered.



The meat was on the bad side of mediocre, as you can tell from the image. Interestingly enough, the tripe was quite good with a tender texture. The same could not be said of the tendon, which came in large chewy chunks (rather than soft melty slices).

The broth started off overly sweet, but I quickly adapted and began to enjoy it. The noodles did not come in a clump, as is usual, but were otherwise standard fare.

Overall, not a bad bowl of pho, but I can't give it a nice rating given that it cost $7 (not including Boston parking). I'm not sure if that's the standard rate in Boston, or if it's unique to this one place. (and I'm too lazy to google it.)

I give Xinh Xinh 6 spoons, but I don't have the spoon pictures, so they're all imaginary. :)

Get on your Fancy Shoes: Pho Fifth Avenue

Location: 3807 5th Ave (between Robinson Ave & University Ave)
Hours: Mon-Thu, Sun 10 am - 10 pm, Fri-Sat 10 am - 11 pm
Phone: not listed
Website: http://phofifthavenue.com/


Hello Pho Lovers! It's been a while, we know. We still love you. Katie and I just spent the summer preoccupied by other things. But now we're back and ready to roll!

I spent the summer in Peru, a place where I don't think you can get any pho (maybe in Lima? I never checked). Certainly not in the town where I was staying, which I affectionately refer to as "the Fargo of Peru." So when I returned, food was pretty much the first thing on my mind- specifically sushi and pho.

My first pho experience post-South America was a rather mediocre experience at Convoy Noodle House (something we may re-visit later... trust me, it was that mediocre). Not too long after this, however, our friend and occasional contributor Adam took me out to Pho on Fifth, a new joint that opened up in Hillcrest after I left.

It's a nice little place, right around other cute shops and restaurants in Hillcrest. The shop is clean and nicely decorated-it has a much more "standard slightly upscale Asian place" feel than most of the other pho places we go to.

The staff was very friendly and prompt, and a standard bowl of pho will run you about $8. No sauce dishes, but at least no one made fun of me for using a spoon to hold my sauce.

The first visit I got something pretty standard, some rare steak and tendon. It was not super impressive- the broth was a good balance of spice and beefiness, the vegetable selection was good (no culantro, though), but I found the meat kind of unremarkable and the steak kind of overcooked.

The second time we went was much better. We got some spring rolls, which I think were the best non-homemade spring rolls I've ever had. Good meat, and lots of mint, which I love. The peanut sauce was PERFECT- just the right balance of peanut and hoisin. As you all may have noticed, I find most restaurants' peanut sauce to be too hoisin-y.

I went all out and ordered their Filet Mignon Pho, which they call their signature dish. This was one of the best decisions I have ever made IN MY LIFE. Everything else was as before, good broth, good veggies. But the meat was amazing. It was still red in the middle when the soup came out, and was very tender and flavorful. It was a little pricey at $10, but well worth it.

Overall, because the first visit was only OK, I have Pho Fifth Avenue 8 out of 10 spoons.



I swear to god we will post more often...