Pho T Cali

*** An updated post on Pho T Cali can be found here.

*** Pho T Cali has closed

One thing I really enjoy about doing this food blog are the emails, most of the emails I receive are very nice, kind, fun, interesting, and sometimes quite entertaining. Of course I get my share of Spam, Shills, and other unsavory Emails; but I'd say 90% of them are at least fun. A recent email surely belonged in the "entertaining" category. Someone named "Pho-grrrl" sent me an email, that was really a single run-on sentence...."Hey, you have to eat at Pho T Cali, it's the best! Pho T Cali rocks!!! They make the best Pho, SO YOU HAVE TO GO THERE SOON! Pho T Cali ROCKS, woo-hoo!" For some reason, I started laughing, I was feeling a bit under the weather, but this email still cracked me up. I knew right away that this wasn't a "shill" message. I mean, I've only seen 1 Woman working at Pho T Cali, who I really wouldn't think of being a Grrrl, nor could I imagine Her using the term "rocks", nor ending a sentence with "woo-hoo".

But, since Pho-grrrl brightened my day, and since I was feeling a bit under the weather, and a bowl of Pho would be a nice tonic, I drove over to Pho T Cali.

Pho T Cali was formerly known as Pho Hoa Cali, and as far as I could tell the menu and staff are basically the same. The food had changed slightly, and the prices had gone up a bit since the change. I've always found the food at Pho T Cali to be quite middle of the road, in fact, I had considered doing Pho T Cali instead of Phuong Trang for my retrospective, as the example of MOR(Middle of the Road) Pho. Being MOR has it's benefits, Pho T Cali is very popular with a wide range of people.

Today I chose the Pho Dac Biet Xe Lua(Special - Extra Large bowl - $5.50). The garnishes are the basic basil-bean sprouts-jalapeno-lime quartet.

The very large bowl of Pho arrived soon after:

In keeping with the MOR theme, the broth was on the lighter side, with a very mild beef flavor, though a tad on the salty side. There was no outstanding flavor element, and the oil level was low. That is not to say it was bland, the green onions, onions, and all of the garnishes(including the jalapenos) gave the broth life. The portion of thinly sliced rare beef was pretty good, not tough at all, but a bit on the dry side. The brisket and flank were very tasty, though a bit on the fatty side. In keeping with safe theme, the portion of tripe was really small, and tendon was nearly non-existent.

There was a humongous clump of noodles at the bottom of the bowl.

The noodles weren't cooked enough and were tough, but they are usually fine. Overall, the Pho was as expected.

Don't get me wrong, Pho T Cali has the formula down, decent food, good prices, and is fairly consistent. When people ask me about trying Pho for the first time, I sometimes recommend Pho T Cali. The service is efficient, and the "appetizer sin", where the Pho, or other main course arrives before the Cha Gio or Goi Cuon has never happened to me here. Most of the dishes(except for the Bun Bo Hue, which is lousy), are done fairly well. Here's to you Pho-grrrl. Woo-Hoo! Or maybe Hoo-Woo.......

Pho T Cali
7351 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Hours - Sun-Thurs 830am-9pm
Fri-Sat   830am-930pm

Comments

[Aileen]

Hi Kirk -

Funny - I had pho today as well. Pho T Cali is alright. My husband and I found a place in Mission Valley that is our new favorite. It's called Pho Cali. I think its the only Pho place I know of here in SD that serves with saw leaf.. yum! I have the address in my car. I'll share soon..

-Aileen

[Reid]

Hi Kirk,

I just had pho a couple of days ago too and I normally like mine with lots of tripe and tendons. Mmmm!

[Rachel]

Hey that goes double for me, Kirk and Reid ! I love tripe and tendon :P~ too bad the pho wasn't the medicine you were looking for. Maybe get some korean ginseng chicken soup instead ! Hope you are feeling better soon.
P/S For a tripe and tendon hit, to me, there is no place like a good dim sum place for that tasty yummy chewy, melt in the mouth treat.

[Jean]

Hi Kirk! Went to visit our local Vietnamese restaurant here in Sactown a couple of days ago and was about to order pho but was compelled to order Bun Cha Gio. I had to taste what your wife orders and I have to tell you I am hooked! IT ROCKS!

Btw, glad you're feeling better. :)

[elmomonster]

Aw, after that lead in, I thought you were going to like Pho T Cali. Oh well, at least the e-mail you got cheered you up.

Glad you're back in the game!

[Kathy]

LOL, Kirk! I wish I got such enthusiastic emails!

[Kirk]

Hi Aileen - Welcome and thanks for commenting. I really didn't care for Pho Cali much, I thought it was over priced, and one limp piece of Ngo Gai - which tasted had a "soapy" flavor couldn't save it. There are many places that serve Ngo Ngai with Pho:

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2006/05/before_i_phoget.html

None of them are in the Clairemont/Kearny Mesa area.

Hi Reid - Lot's of tripe and tendon...delici-yoso!!!

Hi Rachel - Well, at least it was hot! Still almost nothing cures your ills better than a good bowl of Pho'.

Hi Jean - I'll make to tell the Missus She has a convert! LOL!

Hi Elmo - Well I could've lied and embelished....but that's not me. Still that email cracked me up for some reason. Woo-Hoo???

Hi Kathy - But you got us, right???;o)

[Rey]

As someone who frequents Pho T Cali, I can certainly see that email coming from some of the clientele that I've seen dining there. I'm not sure if it's psychological but I don't enjoy Pho T Cali as much as I did when it was Pho Hoa Cali. Maybe it's the 25-30% price increase since the name change that bugs me, or perhaps it's the subtle difference in the quality of the food. I've had a few inedible pieces of tough connective tissue clinging to some slices of meat that after minutes of chewing I still couldn't break down and had to spit out into a napkin. At times I'll also get a spring roll with dry, stale edges on the wrapper. I never had that problem before the name change. Was there an ownership change that accompanied that name change? The servers still look like the same folk that were there when it was Pho Hoa Cali. I'm afraid Pho T Cali has gone downhill. The main reason I still go there is that it is convenient and easily accessible. Any suggestions for someone seeking a change?

[howie]

I think MOR sums it up, Kirk. I'll go to Pho T Cali sometimes since the parking is so easy and it gives me an excuse to go to Tea Station afterwards. I always remember the meat being pretty tough there. Could just be bad luck though.

I'm not sure if I can tell the difference between when it was Pho Hoa Cali and Pho T Cali though.

[Kirk]

Hi Rey - You know, I really only have noticed a slight change in the food - for example the Pho broth seems to be much more salty than I remember. I'll try and see what happened, but I'm pretty sure it's an Ownership change.

Hi Howie - Pho T Cali has a pretty convenient location - on a main street, and lot's of parking. I rarely eat there anymore.

[Jack]

You know, I did not notice that the name of the restaurant changed! How long has it been? I've gone there for, as you aptly coined it MOR pho to appeal to the big work lunch crowd.

[Kirk]

Hi Jack - The name/Ownership change occurred before I started blogging - so it's been a while.

[Beach]

Kirk,
A friend of mine was in SD last week with his kids for sea world. I look at your blog and suggested it to him. He thinks this restaurant is terrible and not worth the second look. Just thought you should know. He could be very picky.

[Kirk]

Hi Beach - I think the key word would be "beginners Pho". It is not nearly as good as other places in San Diego. Did he read this post?

http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2006/05/before_i_phoget.html

[Beach]

No he did not read any post. He call me from his cell phone asking for a place to eat in SD. I jumped on your blog and read the first thing that I see. Since your comments sounded OK. I told him to try it. He does not know the area very coming from San Jose. C'est la vie.

[Kirk]

Hi Beach - Bummer! Feel free to email me if you have any questions.