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Archive for Pho

Quick Eats – Valley Pho

Aug18

Restaurant: Pho So 1

Location: 22902 Vanowen St, West Hills, CA 91307. (818) 884-8356

Date: July 2, 2018

Cuisine: Vietnamese Pho

Rating: Solid Pho

A trip to the valley necessitated a quick lunch, which ended up being this randomly (google) selected Pho place.

Just in a Woodland Hills strip mall.

Probably was something else before it was a Vietnamese restaurant form the look of it. There was a nearby Olive Garden and Red Lobster!

The menu is mostly pho and variants.

Soft typical Vietnamese spring rolls.

The pile of “condiments” that you can throw in your Pho.

Brisket and well done flank Pho.

Brisket, flank, and meat ball Pho. The broth is the main thing at Pho and this one was pretty solid. Light in body, but with a lot of flavor and some tanginess.

Overall, not bad for a $10-12 quick noodle soup lunch spot — and the deep valley. Only come if you want Pho though as the menu is basically just variants.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Pho, Vietnamese cuisine, woodland hills

Quick Eats – Pho Cafe

Mar28

Restaurant: Pho Cafe

Location:2841 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

Date: February 2, 2018

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Excellent Pho

After our bike ride (and Bicycle Cafe stop) Sebastian and I went to Silverlake for some Pho.

Unassuming entrance right next to Silverlake Ramen.

Minimal interior.

The menu.

Gotta have these.

Banh Xeo. Vietnamese crepe with shrimp, charbroiled lemongrass steak, mushroom, bean sprouts, side of fresh herbs, rice paper wrap.

Comes with the sauce and the usual fresh herbs.

The the rice paper wraps.

You soften up those things and wrap up the “crepe” (which is more like an omelet) and have some delicious stuff.

Herbs for the pho.

Pho Tai Gan Bo Vien. Beef rice noodle soup with slices of filet mignon steak, tendon, meat balls, and a side of fresh herbs. A very nice Pho, almost as good as the typical in Vietnam level. Lots of soup and hard to eat as Pho always is.

Pho Chay. Vegetable rice noodle soup with tofu, mushrooms, bok choy, and a side of fresh herbs.

Some solid Pho and lots of other good home style stuff.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Pho, Pho Cafe, Silverlake, Vietnamese cuisine

Quick Eats – Le Saigon

Oct14

Restaurant: Le Saigon

Location: 11611 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025. Phone number (310) 312-2929

Date: August 27, 2017

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Decent Pho

Westside Vietnamese. Hmmm.

Conveniently located on Santa Monica blvd.

Nothing to write home about inside but fine.

Fresh drip Vietnamese coffee. You let it drip into the sweetened condensed milk and then pour in ice and mix.

The final drink is yummy.

Classic Spring Rolls. Not bad but not great either. Sauce wasn’t that exciting and they didn’t fully have that interesting herbal blend you find in Vietnam.

Table sauces.

Two beef (rare and cooked) pho. This wasn’t bad, particularly with hoisin (which I love). There are the usual noodles buried down there.

Condiments.

The menu isn’t huge, mostly pho and a few classics, but I’d come back again if I’m in the neighborhood and want some pho. It was fine, but certainly not the amazing stuff you occasionally get at a very good pho place.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Le Saigon, Pho, Vietnamese cuisine

Quick Eats – Pho 2000

Mar25

Restaurant: Pho 2000

Location: 215 N Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90004. (323) 461-5845

Date: March 18 & July 5, 2016

Cuisine: Vietnamese Pho

Rating: A lot like Vietnam

I was in Korea Town and looking for a quick lunch.

And I drove by this, so figured I’d give it a try.

This is a super quick eat, so I just photoed what I ordered from the large selection of Pho and fried rice. Menu is in Korean too. lol.

They have all the condiments.

And bring you the fresh ones, like onions.

And the lime and cilantro and basil.
House Special. Meat Ball, rare steak, Brisket, tendon, tripe, onion, cilantro, green onion. Good broth. It pretty much tasted like straight Pho I had in Vietnam. I liked all the meat except the tripe and maybe the tendon. I find that dipping the noodles in the hoisin is delicious too. I’m all about hoisin.

Pho Seafood Combo. Pretty much the combined meat and seafood works. Doesn’t look so different does it?

People say Pho 2000 isn’t very authentic. I’m no serious judge, and I ordered only one thing. It was pretty tasty though.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or to check out some “real” Vietnamese dining (in Vietnam), my “Eating Vietnam” report.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Pho, Pho 2000, Vietnamese cuisine

Pho Time – Nong La

Nov27

Restaurant: Nong La

Location: 2055 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. (310) 268-1881

Date: November 13, 2015

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Tasty

Nong La is a Vietnamese cafe located right next to Tsujita Artisan Ramen, home of the porkiest ramen around.

It’s always busy, so I figured I’d give it a try.

The inside is “cute” (aka small).

The lunch menu.

Goi Cuon Spring Rolls. Rice paper rolls with pork, shrimp, rice vermicelli, lettuce and fresh herbs. Served with peanut sauce.

Very herby from those greens. Moderately filling too.
Bun Bo Hue. Fragrant lemongrass spicy beef soup with vermicelli noodles, pork patty and beef shank, topped with white onions, green onions and cilantro.

What was not obvious about this soup was how much kick it had. The broth had a great flavor, and I love heat, but until I got the chili distributed evenly it burned right down my windpipe.

It came with the usual Vietnamese side of herbs.

And various sauces. In case it didn’t have enough kick to start, you could spice it up. Or go the other way as I did with the dark plum sauce. I love this stuff. Love it with Peking duck. Love it here. I particularly like getting globs of it in the spoon with broth and the meat.

One quick meal at Nong La isn’t enough to really get a good sense of it, and I’m certainly going to try a Banh Mi sometime soon. The soup was definitely tasty. I did get a big of an MSG/salt hangover for the rest of the day. Not sure if it was the soup itself or the third of a bottle of the plum sauce I consumed!

For more LA dining reviews click here.