NVM Review

By Warren Rojas

Warm your belly with a cauldron of the Saigon pho ($6.75), a sublime soup custom tailored with your favorite proteins—brisket, tripe, fatty brisket, ribeye or traditional meatball—fresh limes, herbs and as much srichacha hot sauce as you can handle. Complete your beef-laden adventure with a Vietnamese stir-fry ($9.95) of marinated steak surrounded by jumbo peppers, onions and rice.

By Warren Rojas

Looking to break out of the typical soup stand mold, the sophisticated Pho Bistro aims to be the next step in the evolution of the Vietnamese beef noodle genre. The sleek establishments combine art deco designs with fast friendly service, elevating the pho dining experience to almost elegant heights.

Most of the house soups remain under $8, and the menu has pictures of the different selections to help newcomers to the Vietnamese soup fold feel more at ease.

The star attraction remains the humongous bowls of homemade beef noodle soup which can be tailored to your individual tastes with a host of meats—traditional choices include the popular round eye steak, a fatty brisket, fresh tripe, flank steak, sirloin and the traditional Vietnamese spicy meatball—vegetables and condiments. Standard soups also include rice noodles, fresh bean sprouts, sliced jalapenos (always appreciated), scallions, as well as herbs like basil and cilantro. Pho Bistro also offers a build-your-own pho option where patrons can pile on whatever ingredients they like from the list of available meats, vegetables, grains and sauces, a nice feature for those who like to mix-and-match their flavors or experiment with new taste combinations.

Unlike many other specialty soup houses, Pho Bistro has also elected to branch out with some alternative dining options. Noteworthy selections include grilled pork chops served with fish sauce (a substantial plate), as well as the tempting Vietnamese steak cubes tossed with mixed green and red peppers (reminiscent of stir fried beef, but better).