Beth:
Well, now don't I feel silly.
I went to the old Bev Mo today and noticed that the sign over the pho joint we reviewed most recently actually does read "Viet Cali."
So... Yeah. I have corrected our post to contain the correct name... But the 5 1/2 spoon rating still stands.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Viet Cali: ...Seriously? Just drive the extra 3.1 miles to Cow Cali
Pho Viet Cali
Location: 6755 Mira Mesa Blvd #113(near the Bev Mo...)
Location: 6755 Mira Mesa Blvd #113(near the Bev Mo...)
Hours: 10:30am to who cares
Beth:
Sometimes we weary in our great quest to review every pho place in "America's Finest City"- like this last month, in which all our attempts to try new and exciting pho establishments have turned out pretty lame. Not quite Hall of Laaame-worthy, but somehow, that makes it even sadder.
Well, it was about half an hour after they were supposed to open. The door was open, but no one seemed to be in there. And certainly there were no other diners. But we're used to that by now... If you don't go to one of the really good, popular places where a lot of Vietnamese people go to eat (like Pho Cow Cali, Pho Hoa, and Pho Ca Dao- which we will be reviewing soon), then you might not see other people in there for breakfast. Frankly, this should just be a hint to us that we may not be in for much of a treat.
So we walked in... The door was just open... And someone from the kitchen came out and graciously sat us, acknowledging that they were, in fact, open.
The menu had one of those great pages where you can choose you own combination of meats. We all ordered and received our pho quickly.
Katie:
Well, I decided take advantage of this make your own pho option, particularly because their combo included meatballs, not so much my favorite. I also took this opportunity to intentionally order the "crunchy" flank as opposed to "fatty flank" and "some other flank." Well, the waitress assured me that what I ordered was the same as the combo...I figured she would just punch that into her fancy computer with a few replacements, etc.
Now...when the pho came out, it was obvious my pho had meatballs in it. Not a big deal, last time I tried them was 8 years ago so I figured it was time. Not as off-putting as my first experience but certainly wouldn't order them again.
Photos: Courtesy of Hao and his fancy camera
Beth:
Sometimes we weary in our great quest to review every pho place in "America's Finest City"- like this last month, in which all our attempts to try new and exciting pho establishments have turned out pretty lame. Not quite Hall of Laaame-worthy, but somehow, that makes it even sadder.
Well, it was about half an hour after they were supposed to open. The door was open, but no one seemed to be in there. And certainly there were no other diners. But we're used to that by now... If you don't go to one of the really good, popular places where a lot of Vietnamese people go to eat (like Pho Cow Cali, Pho Hoa, and Pho Ca Dao- which we will be reviewing soon), then you might not see other people in there for breakfast. Frankly, this should just be a hint to us that we may not be in for much of a treat.
So we walked in... The door was just open... And someone from the kitchen came out and graciously sat us, acknowledging that they were, in fact, open.
The menu had one of those great pages where you can choose you own combination of meats. We all ordered and received our pho quickly.
Katie:
Well, I decided take advantage of this make your own pho option, particularly because their combo included meatballs, not so much my favorite. I also took this opportunity to intentionally order the "crunchy" flank as opposed to "fatty flank" and "some other flank." Well, the waitress assured me that what I ordered was the same as the combo...I figured she would just punch that into her fancy computer with a few replacements, etc.
Now...when the pho came out, it was obvious my pho had meatballs in it. Not a big deal, last time I tried them was 8 years ago so I figured it was time. Not as off-putting as my first experience but certainly wouldn't order them again.
Beth:
Yes, even though we had "created our own" combinations, the guy just brought the bowls out and said numbers, like the numbered combinations on the menu. So we had no idea whose pho was whose. Awk-waaaard....
Yes, even though we had "created our own" combinations, the guy just brought the bowls out and said numbers, like the numbered combinations on the menu. So we had no idea whose pho was whose. Awk-waaaard....
Katie:
I did manage to order my steak on the side and the sate sauce was good, but thats about it. Oh that and, we got 20% or 25% off cause it was happy hour all day saturday. But considering Beth and I only ate 50% of our pho, not a great deal.
I did manage to order my steak on the side and the sate sauce was good, but thats about it. Oh that and, we got 20% or 25% off cause it was happy hour all day saturday. But considering Beth and I only ate 50% of our pho, not a great deal.
Most common comment was "Interesting." Meatballs were "interesting," said Hao. Broth is "interesting" says Katie.
Anyways, Beth says it best:
PREPARE YOURSELF FOR--
MORE MEDIOCRE PHO! WAH HA HA HA!!
the pho crew: "Nooooooooo!!! Haven't we suffered enough??"
Viet Cali: "NO, NOW YOU MUST EAT MORE PHO THAT IS NOT PARTICULARLY GOOD!!!"
the pho crew: "May god have mercy on our souls!!"
PREPARE YOURSELF FOR--
MORE MEDIOCRE PHO! WAH HA HA HA!!
the pho crew: "Nooooooooo!!! Haven't we suffered enough??"
Viet Cali: "NO, NOW YOU MUST EAT MORE PHO THAT IS NOT PARTICULARLY GOOD!!!"
the pho crew: "May god have mercy on our souls!!"
Back to Katie:
Verdict: 5 spoons and an imaginary half. At any rate, not good enough for Beth and I to eat more than half a bowl of pho, espechially with the knowledge that some amazing buy-2-get-1-free banh mi from Lucky awaited us (See pic below)
Pho Hoa: First post from the El Cajon Pho Jungle
Location: 4717 El Cajon Blvd
Phone: 619 - 283-6431
Hours: 7am to 10pm
Website: Yelp it.
Phone: 619 - 283-6431
Hours: 7am to 10pm
Website: Yelp it.
The meat was abundant, tender and flavorful, really flavorful. At bad pho places, the meat just provides variation in texture, at good pho places, the brisket and flank will be savorily delicious and the steak- meh. In my bowl at pho Hoa, the flank, brisket and steak made me feel like happy little cows were dancing on my tongue. And according to my liking, the steak was sticking out of the broth when they served it, so it was still a bit pink allowing you to let it cook as much or as little as you like. All of these things are standard from a top of the line pho place but what was truly remarkable about Pho Hoa was the tripe. Normally, I end up with tripe in my bowl because I don't particularly mind it and it always seems to follow tendon into every pho bowl, but I really enjoyed this tripe. It too was tender and flavorful.
Other Pho Hoa Facts & opinions:
Their service is shit. Throwing the menu on the table and mumbling at customers shit.
Their sate sauce was very yummy. On par with Pho Cow Cali.
Their food options are pho, pho or pho, which costs $5.75
Their 3-color-drink was super yummy but maybe that's because I hadn't had one in forever.
They are never bad, but neither are they consistently amazing.
They officially open at 7am!! Once I even called at 6:45 and they said they were already open.
Hao:
Not that impressed but only because he was turned off by the noodles coming in one big clump. ( hmm.. I didn't notice but its sort of instinct for me to stick my chopsticks in and pull the noodle apart right after adding the basil)
Not that impressed but only because he was turned off by the noodles coming in one big clump. ( hmm.. I didn't notice but its sort of instinct for me to stick my chopsticks in and pull the noodle apart right after adding the basil)
Matus:
AWESOME!!!! (But, this was Matus' 2nd pho experience ever)
Beth:
Sadly, I cannot say at this moment that I shared Katie's enthusiasm for Pho Hoa. I mean, it was good- the broth was well-balanced and flavorful, but I ordered the crunchy flank and steak and my meat was generally unimpressive (that's what she said...?). There was a LOT of fat on it.
But everything else was pretty good. So I guess I have to say that I, overall, give the place 7 1/2 spoons. But maybe another visit will change my mind.
Back to Katie:
Based on my one bowl of pho alone, I would give this place 9 spoons but taking into account Hao's and Beth's comments and their lack of consistency, they get downgraded to 8. Will definitely check this place out again.
Based on my one bowl of pho alone, I would give this place 9 spoons but taking into account Hao's and Beth's comments and their lack of consistency, they get downgraded to 8. Will definitely check this place out again.
Anh Hong Pho Pasteur
Location: 7612 Linda Vista Rd, Suite 117- Clairemont (near K Sandwiches)
Phone: (858)-569-7515
Hours: do you really care that much? If you still want to go there after reading this review, you could call.
Website: their Yelp page
Beth:
This is going to be a quick one, because there isn't much worth talking about here. We went back in December, and the details are a little fuzzy. But trust me, you won't be missing much.
We were initially hopeful when we entered Anh Hong Pho Pasteur... We were in a new, uncharted pho neighborhood, and we were so close to K Sandwiches. People who like Banh Mi don't put up with sub-par pho, right?
So we went in... The decor was pretty wild. One wall had neon beer signs on it, there was some ridiculous plastic gate with golden dragons dividing the dining area, one wall had murals of life in rural Vietnam... Also, a very dirty tank of crustaceans. A little tacky, but nothing particularly alarming to people who have been all over the pho scene in this town.
The menu made us (myself, Katie, Matus) very hopeful- they had a 7-color drink in addition to the usual 3-color! Maybe something fun and unique was going on here. Maybe we were about to have a great pho experience!
...
Not so much.
So, not as bad as Bolsa, but not really worth the time. Nothing was particularly bad, or gross. But it just didn't leave us with a very good impression. The broth was particularly mediocre- a bit bland.
Katie finished her bowl, but I didn't... After all, we were about to go get some sweet, sweet Banh Mi.
Bottom line... We didn't find it remarkable enough to post about it right away, and the fact that we don't remember much about it now should tell you that you may not want to waste your time. Just go get some Banh Mi. Or drive to Mira Mesa or PB.
Phone: (858)-569-7515
Hours: do you really care that much? If you still want to go there after reading this review, you could call.
Website: their Yelp page
Beth:
This is going to be a quick one, because there isn't much worth talking about here. We went back in December, and the details are a little fuzzy. But trust me, you won't be missing much.
We were initially hopeful when we entered Anh Hong Pho Pasteur... We were in a new, uncharted pho neighborhood, and we were so close to K Sandwiches. People who like Banh Mi don't put up with sub-par pho, right?
So we went in... The decor was pretty wild. One wall had neon beer signs on it, there was some ridiculous plastic gate with golden dragons dividing the dining area, one wall had murals of life in rural Vietnam... Also, a very dirty tank of crustaceans. A little tacky, but nothing particularly alarming to people who have been all over the pho scene in this town.
The menu made us (myself, Katie, Matus) very hopeful- they had a 7-color drink in addition to the usual 3-color! Maybe something fun and unique was going on here. Maybe we were about to have a great pho experience!
...
Not so much.
So, not as bad as Bolsa, but not really worth the time. Nothing was particularly bad, or gross. But it just didn't leave us with a very good impression. The broth was particularly mediocre- a bit bland.
Katie finished her bowl, but I didn't... After all, we were about to go get some sweet, sweet Banh Mi.
Bottom line... We didn't find it remarkable enough to post about it right away, and the fact that we don't remember much about it now should tell you that you may not want to waste your time. Just go get some Banh Mi. Or drive to Mira Mesa or PB.
6 spoons out of 10.
Monday, January 11, 2010
It's Pho Time Again: A Follow-Up
Beth:
I thought you might all like to know that, after our glowing review of our first time visit to Pho Time, I can say that it seems to be a consistently good restaurant.
Our occasional guest reviewer Adam and I went to Pho Time for a late lunch last week, and the pho was once again spectacular. Although I found the noodles to be somewhat overcooked, the meat was tender and flavorful and the broth was heavenly. Adam ordered his usual, shrimp pho, and from the small taste I had of it, it also seemed to be very good.
So, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT GET PHO AT PHO SAO BIEN. If in PB, drive a few blocks down and go to Pho Time. Unless you want spring rolls or banh mi, which Pho Sao Bien does very well.
I thought you might all like to know that, after our glowing review of our first time visit to Pho Time, I can say that it seems to be a consistently good restaurant.
Our occasional guest reviewer Adam and I went to Pho Time for a late lunch last week, and the pho was once again spectacular. Although I found the noodles to be somewhat overcooked, the meat was tender and flavorful and the broth was heavenly. Adam ordered his usual, shrimp pho, and from the small taste I had of it, it also seemed to be very good.
So, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT GET PHO AT PHO SAO BIEN. If in PB, drive a few blocks down and go to Pho Time. Unless you want spring rolls or banh mi, which Pho Sao Bien does very well.
Friday, January 1, 2010
SDPB Special Winnipeg Edition! Com Tam Thuan Kieu
Location: 661 Ellice Ave, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Insert crazy Canadian zipcode here)
Phone: (204)949-9081
Website: A Review from the Winnipeg Free Press
Beth:
Happy 2010 Pho Lovers! I rang in the new decade in the fair city of Winnipeg, Manitoba this year. A long way from San Diego, and quite a change in climate. But there's nothing like a delicious bowl of hot pho to warm up a cold winter day.
(O, Canada)
My special man-friend and I took the time to visit a relatively new Vietnamese restaurant in Winnipeg (there are several, FYI, if you ever make the jaunt up to Manitoba- just look it up on Yelp) called Com Tam Thuan Kieu. Apparently there are several other Vietnamese places with the same name in other places.
The restaurant is fairly subtle in terms of decor- there are some Asian elements. The menu has an amazing variety of dishes- they go way beyond pho. I would love to try the other dishes sometime.
Service was good, but our waitress was very quiet. She just kind of put her order pad down and looked at us until we figured she wanted us to order. The food also took a little longer to come than I'm used to. But it was worth the wait.
The spring rolls were very good- I think the lettuce may have been something other than leaf lettuce, as it was pretty crunchy. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The pork also seems to have had some kind of spice rub on the outsides of the slices. I thought the spice was a nice touch, but purists may not agree. The peanut sauce was great- just slightly too much hoisin, but hey, I can let that go. The cionsistency was just right- not too runny, not too thick.
The garnishes included most of the standards- basil, bean sprouts, lime- no jalapenos or culantro, though. Culantro seems to be somewhat uncommon to begin with, and I didn't mind the lack of jalapenos, since I usually use sriracha for the heat in my soup. Everything was fresh and flavorful.
The broth had pronounced spice flavors- there were notable but not overwhelming flavors of anise and cinnamon. At first it didn't have much of a beefy flavor and was slightly sweet, but the beef flavor came out more as time went on. By the time I got to the bottom of the bowl, the broth was amazing. I was full, but it was hard to stop eating.
There were a lot of noodles in the soup- I like the noodles, so I didn't mind. They were slightly more cooked than I like them.
The meat was the only thing that was slightly lacking- I got flank and rare steak in my soup. I expected there to be fat on the flank, but even the steak slices had a significant amount of fat. The meat was tender (but not the most tender I've had) and flavorful, but I really didn't need that fat on the steak.
The restaurant has Banh Mi, but I didn't get a chance to try them. But hey, I'm here for 3 more days, so there's still time.
The price of a regular-sized pho at Thuan Kieu is $ 6.95 Canadian (that's $6.62 US), so it was a little steep compared to San Diego, but it was totally worth it.
I highly recommend the Pho at Thuan Kieu- so if you ever find yourself in Winnipeg, make sure you check it out!
8.5 spoons out of 10, eh! (sorry, couldn't resist)
Phone: (204)949-9081
Website: A Review from the Winnipeg Free Press
Beth:
Happy 2010 Pho Lovers! I rang in the new decade in the fair city of Winnipeg, Manitoba this year. A long way from San Diego, and quite a change in climate. But there's nothing like a delicious bowl of hot pho to warm up a cold winter day.
(O, Canada)
My special man-friend and I took the time to visit a relatively new Vietnamese restaurant in Winnipeg (there are several, FYI, if you ever make the jaunt up to Manitoba- just look it up on Yelp) called Com Tam Thuan Kieu. Apparently there are several other Vietnamese places with the same name in other places.
The restaurant is fairly subtle in terms of decor- there are some Asian elements. The menu has an amazing variety of dishes- they go way beyond pho. I would love to try the other dishes sometime.
Service was good, but our waitress was very quiet. She just kind of put her order pad down and looked at us until we figured she wanted us to order. The food also took a little longer to come than I'm used to. But it was worth the wait.
The spring rolls were very good- I think the lettuce may have been something other than leaf lettuce, as it was pretty crunchy. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The pork also seems to have had some kind of spice rub on the outsides of the slices. I thought the spice was a nice touch, but purists may not agree. The peanut sauce was great- just slightly too much hoisin, but hey, I can let that go. The cionsistency was just right- not too runny, not too thick.
The garnishes included most of the standards- basil, bean sprouts, lime- no jalapenos or culantro, though. Culantro seems to be somewhat uncommon to begin with, and I didn't mind the lack of jalapenos, since I usually use sriracha for the heat in my soup. Everything was fresh and flavorful.
The broth had pronounced spice flavors- there were notable but not overwhelming flavors of anise and cinnamon. At first it didn't have much of a beefy flavor and was slightly sweet, but the beef flavor came out more as time went on. By the time I got to the bottom of the bowl, the broth was amazing. I was full, but it was hard to stop eating.
There were a lot of noodles in the soup- I like the noodles, so I didn't mind. They were slightly more cooked than I like them.
The meat was the only thing that was slightly lacking- I got flank and rare steak in my soup. I expected there to be fat on the flank, but even the steak slices had a significant amount of fat. The meat was tender (but not the most tender I've had) and flavorful, but I really didn't need that fat on the steak.
The restaurant has Banh Mi, but I didn't get a chance to try them. But hey, I'm here for 3 more days, so there's still time.
The price of a regular-sized pho at Thuan Kieu is $ 6.95 Canadian (that's $6.62 US), so it was a little steep compared to San Diego, but it was totally worth it.
I highly recommend the Pho at Thuan Kieu- so if you ever find yourself in Winnipeg, make sure you check it out!
8.5 spoons out of 10, eh! (sorry, couldn't resist)
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