One day , pho in San Diego did not exist . The next mean solar day , seemingly , it was omnipresent .
San Diego experienced an influx of Vietnamese immigrant from the mid ' 70 and onward , lead in the fifth - great Vietnamese population in the area today , behind three other urban center in Southern California and Houston , TX . Now , there ’s hardly a corner of town where you ca n’t get a bowl of pho , the extraordinary Vietnamese beef dome soup , though it ’s not always beef and barely always extraordinary . Truth be told , somewhere on the voyage from non - existent to ubiquitous , a set of San Diego phở wandered into the realm of commoditized homogeneity .
First, what is phoreally?
Pho , right spelled “ phở , " is pronounced “ fuh ” ( though many mispronounce it “ foe ” ) . As Tien Nguyen recently noted inLucky Peachmagazine ( in an intact take dedicate to the stuff ! ) , the word and the pronunciation lend itself to puns , and many a pho establishment has avail itself of that chance . Perhaps the most notable is Pho King*insert adolescent chortle here * . There ’s one in San Diego and middling much every other metropolis , but it often seems they ’re rarely the place to find the dependable arena in town .
There are in the main four main make a motion parts to a bowl of pho : the stock , the bonce , the marrow , and the garnish ( bean sprouts , basil , Chinese parsley , birdlime , and chili peppers are common ) . The broth and the meat for phở is in general beef , though depending on how strict you want to be in your definition of the term “ pho , ” there are versions postulate poulet , duck , pork , and various seafood , as well . Even the seafood - ground bowl often have a beef broth built by lovingly simmering bones , oxtail , and the undesirable parts of the moo-cow for many hours .
But pho stock is far more than a stock certificate , deep and long - simmered as it is . It owes its airy flavor visibility to charred peppiness and onion , on the one bridge player , and a bevy of redolent herbs and spice – particularly cinnamon , star anise , cardamon , black Madagascar pepper , and clove tree – on the other .
D.Somsup/Shutterstock
Most phở use flat Elmer Reizenstein noodles . ( Indeed , the countersign “ pho ” is likely a degeneracy of the Cantonese wordphaanmeaning “ savorless Timothy Miles Bindon Rice noodles . ” ) It ’s no stroke that the name of the dish is also the name of the noodles ( “ banh pho ” ) . While the choice of protein usually determines the name of a bowl of pho , at the end of the day , pho is a noodle knockout – not a meat one .
Photraces its originsback to Hanoi at the play of the late one C , the production of a bad-tempered - cultural collision between Vietnam ’s Gallic occupiers ( and their appreciation for kick ) , careful butcher , street vendors ready use of the non - glory cuts ( the 1 the French did n’t want ) , and customers ( and marketer ) from the neighboring provinces of China . It was rigorously a Northern Vietnamese dish until the partition of the state at the terminal of the French moving in in 1954 , when million fled south to Saigon , bringing their pho with them . The migration go along – and spread – as South Vietnamese headed across the Pacific to America watch over the end of the Vietnam War .
A San Diego pho style guide
The individual best bowl of pho in San Diego – the second is n’t tightlipped – is atPhở Hòa(4717 El Cajon Blvd , City Heights ) . Featuring a broth that is crystal - clear but with a grandness that speaks of beef pearl and oxtail , charred onions , roasted ginger , and Vietnamese spices , the principal of the pipe bowl is the bean . Rich and tender , they take on the essence of the stock , yet bring their own flavor to the company . Pho is the only thing on the menu at Phở Hòa . No spring roll , nothing else . The fact they ’ve rest in occupation – and very busy – for a very long time is the proof - of - construct for their business organisation strategy : do one matter really , really well .
Pho Gais beef pho ’s lighter , non - bovine cousin , ground in domestic fowl . The best in town is atBolsa Vietnamese Restaurant(9225 Mira Mesa Blvd , Suite 118 , Mira Mesa ) . Where beef pho pronounces the brawny , pho ga whispers of delicacy . Bolsa attain that , but does so with a stock that still grapple to taste like the liquid essence of chicken . It is a soothing and powerful Vietnamese “ answer ” to Jewish penicillin – aka chicken soup with matzo orb .
Most pho restaurants offer a peach that may not be immediately placeable as pho : bo kho– fundamentally squawk stew . The estimable home in town to try it isPho Point Loma & Grill Restaurant(2788 Midway Dr ) . It offers the lather either aspho bo khowith rice noodles orbanh mi bo khowith a Gallic baguette staring for sopping up the thick , viscous stock . Either way , the dish is a melding of Gallic influence with southeasterly Asiatic spices – lemongrass , ginger , star Pimpinella anisum ( as well as hints of curry and Chinese five - spice ) – that convey the dish to wise levels : a cross between pho and classic oxtailBourguignonne .
farbled/Shutterstock
These exceptional bowls of pho are , increasingly , just that : exception .
Some might not considerBún bò Huếto be pho . I ’m not one of those the great unwashed . One of the best examples can be encounter atNhư Ý Restaurant(4712 El Cajon Blvd , Suite A , City Heights ) . Bun bo Hue is , essentially pho ’s naughty primal Vietnamese first cousin . Like pho , bun bo chromaticity is a beef noodle soup with different track of beef ( and , at Như Ý , cubes of blood patty and bits of pig ’s foot ) . Unlike pho , it use heavyset , debauchee vermicelli noodles . The smell profile is equilibrate between glum , piquant , and sweet notes with a risque component – rarified in most Vietnamese cooking – that is a feature of Central Vietnamese regional cuisine .
If you and your dining married person ca n’t decide on what version of pho you both want , Saigon Restaurant(4455 El Cajon Blvd , City Heights ) might be your good choice . In addition to the full panoply of beef cattle cut – rare steak , flank steak , brisket , tripe , tendon , beef cattle balls , in any combination you desire – there are also first-class chicken , vegetarian , shrimp , and seafood choice . cheat a footling deep into Saigon ’s carte du jour and you ’ll regain several version ofbánh canhsoup , sport a thicker , softer bean . The best of these isbánh canh tôm cua giá : a Vietnamese udon - style dome soup stewed in a shrimp stock with sweet crab meat ( caricature crab heart costs $ 1 less ) .
Phở Hòa|Michael A. Gardiner/Thrillist
But these exceptional bowls of pho are , more and more , just that : exceptions . The rule , it seems , is stock full of MSG . The outline of pho is there , but not the depth of tang you’re able to only prevail by long , obtuse simmering , each ingredient being summate at just the proper clip . you’re able to find the shortcut version just about anywhere : little store , big shops , in the affectionateness of Little Saigon , and all along the Convoy . It ’s notably evident at any of the eatery of the Pho Ca Dao chain .
The source of the homogeneity
What accounts for such consistent , widespread mediocrity ? The answer , I guess , might just hail in a box . Two of them really : instant pho cubes and spiciness packets containing an array of distinctive pho spice in a cheesecloth sachet .
These two products are designed specifically to make a serviceable pho achievable by any menage cook . Would a eatery – an actual Vietnamese eating house prominently serving pho – really do such a thing ?
My first idea wasno , they would n’t . It would be too easy to tell the deviation . I decided to ask An Minh Cao , the possessor of Pho Hoa , what he thought . “ I got here at 4 in the morning , ” he sound out . “ Not everyone ’s willing to do that . ” When I asked whether others were using pho cubes , his reply was a wry smile . “ I do n’t love what other citizenry do . ” He might as well have winked .
Pho Point Loma & Grill
It did seem queer that what amounted to a bouillon square block and a couple of easy acquire spices could passably mime the real matter such that a pocket-sized industriousness could be built around it . But what if they did just a slight more ? A all-important step in the making of real pho stock is the charring of real onion plant and tangible ginger ; what if you added that to the pho block and zest sachet ? There was only one way to find out .
" I got here at 4 in the dawn . Not everyone ’s willing to do that . "
And so I tried it . A trip toThuan Phatmarket in Linda Vista concede the onion , ginger , pho cube , spiciness sachet ( two unlike brands),banh phoflat rice noodles , thin - stinger beef , and garnish . I char the onion and gingerroot on top of my gas burners and meld that with the pho third power , spice sachet , and water . After bringing it to a boil , follow by a comparatively short simmer , the result was a pho broth that was strikingly similar to that on whirl at many – if not the straight-out majority – of pho joints in town . The resulting stadium of pho was not the good I ’ve ever love , not by a far view , but it also was far well than the worst . It was pretty much average . It was also this : promiscuous . I did n’t even have to start it at 4 am …
Bún bò Huế|Michael A. Gardiner/Thrillist
Which is to say : there are no crosscut to extraordinary pho . You do n’t get an amazing bowl of pho from a cube and a sachet , not even by charring your own onions and ginger . What you get is something easy , something relatively quick , something anyone can do : something pronto replicable .
To get an excellent bowl of this excellent dish takes sentence , commitment , and care . And on the route from non - actual to omnipresent , we in San Diego ended up with both the over-the-top and the commoditized .
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