My Phirst Pho: Musings

A couple nights ago, I had my very first bowl of pho.  And I haven't stopped punning about it yet.  Anywhere I could insert a "ph" in place of an "f", I have.  I promise to stop after this last one.

Pho those of you who don't know about pho, it's basically Vietnamese comfort food: broth, noodles, herbs, and meat.  Pretty straight-phoward, right? (I'm really done with the puns now).

I first heard of pho while watching chef Anthony Bourdain eat his way around the world, and have seen it pop up quite often as a topic on the HowChow blog, my go-to site for all things foodie in HoCo.  Living Social put out a deal last week for Pho Saigon in Catonsville; Sous Chef and I used our coupon within two days.  We've been meaning to expand our culinary horizons, and luckily HoCo provides us with myriad opportunities to do just that.

Definitely don't go to Pho Saigon if you're looking for fancy.  An experience, yes.  Fancy, no.  This place is about the food, not frills.  Bare tables, each anchored with a tray holding a big bottle of Sriracha and self-serve spoons and chopsticks.  A big-screen TV showing, of all things, a channel devoted to amateur parkour videos.  Wait staff in jeans and "Man vs. Pho" t-shirts.  A simple, one-page laminated menu.

As much as I love my hoity-toity restaurants, I really love places like this, too.

Considering the reasonable pricing and the Living Social deal we had in hand, Sous Chef and I ordered a veritable pheast.  (See how easy the puns are?)

We started with the four seasons roll sampler - four different versions of spring rolls.  All of them were great, and they were served with a yummy peanut sauce and a vinegar-based sauce we couldn't figure out.

For our entrees, we each ordered a small bowl of pho (I got the chicken, Sous Chef ordered steak and brisket).  We still had enough of our coupon left over to order yet another entree - we chose the pork chop and pulled pork platter with a fried egg on the side.

Going here, I figured out how I would survive in a foreign country - observation.  Before partaking in my goodies, I took note of how the other, clearly more experienced pho-ers were eating their meals.  This usually consisted of a spoon in one hand, chopsticks in the other.  Biting, not slurping the noodles.    Leaning over the bowl, with your face up close and personal with the food, like giving yourself a broth facial.

Oh, the broth.

I stink at identifying ingredients in things.  I can put it together, but I can't take it apart.  I couldn't for the life of me determine what was in this broth.  I thought I tasted cinnamon, or something similarly earthy-spicy.  Whatever was in it, it was great.  Smoky, yet sweet.  Briny, yet balanced.  Yum.

Go get some pho.

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