Pho Hoa-Huong Restaurant, otherwise known as Pho Hoa Linda Vista, or just plain Pho Hoa, is known for two things in my book.
Pho Hoa has some of the darkest Pho broth I've seen in San Diego, and some of the fastest service I've encountered. It is possible to to get out of Pho Hoa in less than half an hour, if you keep up your side of the bargain...then again, it's almost as if they can't wait to get rid of you.
Pho Hoa, is slightly hidden, behind Yum Yum Donuts, and Le's Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese restaurant on Linda Vista avenue. But that hasn't stopped Pho Hoa from being very popular.
A typical lunch goes like this. I walk to the door, one of the Servers(all male, all looking like they've had severals cups of high octane) points to a table. As I arrive at the table, a menu is dropped, and one of the Servers is standing there looking at me, pencil at ready. And I haven't even picked up the menu yet...... Feeling the pressure, I open the menu and blurt out "number one", mainly because it's usually the Pho Dac Biet($5.20). As I do this one of the Servers walks double-time to the kitchen, while the Dude with the pad walks to the counter and drops off the order at the cash register.
In a blink my water arrives at the table. Within a few seconds my garnishes arrive, at light speed.
A bit on the stingy side, but with Ngo Gai(Saw leaf), one sprig of Basil, lime, bean sprouts, and some Jalapeno slices.
Within 2 minutes my Pho arrives.
Todays broth is merely a light brown, I've had it when the broth looked almost like Niu Rou Mein(Chinese Beef Noodle Soup) broth. The broth is usually on the very cloudy side, I've been told that a muddy broth is a no-no, but the broth at Pho Hoa has always been pretty good. Dark Pho broth does not necessitate a richer soup, as it's charred green onions, onions, and ginger that will impart much of the color to the Pho broth. Todays broth was mildly beefy, a bit too salty, and without any real distinctive anise or clove flavor. That's not to say the broth was bad, I usually find it satisfying, because the large amount of green onions and the basil impart alot of flavor to the broth.
The meat at Pho Hoa is usually pretty good, and today the rare beef and tripe were very good.
The tendon was a bit hard, and the brisket had nice flavor, but the fat was too tough. Still not bad, it's hard enough to get decent rare beef.
One other item I notice about Pho Hoa, since everything is put together so quickly, is that the noodles are really hard when the Pho arrives, but gets soggy very quickly. I'm not quite sure if anyone who has eaten there has noticed this.
Still, I'm quite sure that I got out of there in under 30 minutes.
Sooooo, recently, in need of some amusement, and in my own typical weird fashion, I decided to make my lunch at Pho Hoa a sporting event of sorts. I call it the "how fast can you have lunch at Pho Hoa" event. My objective, to have lunch at Pho Hoa in under 30 minutes from the time I enter the restaurant, to the time I leave, without causing myself any gastric or other related distress...and of course without making a mess of Myself.
I set my stopwatch as I stepped to the door front, and was waved in. I walked to my table as if flames were licking at my butt(9 seconds). The menu was placed on the table, but instead of taking time to actually open my menu and order, I just blurted a number out. I don't even remember what it was(10 seconds), and zip the Dude was gone. A minute later(actually 30 seconds) my water arrived, and 90 seconds later my hot tea. 3 minutes later I found out what I had ordered, Com Tam(broken rice) with Charbroiled Pork($5.20):
This is when I decided to slow down a bit, and try to enjoy my food. The portion size was quite good. The dish came with a bowl of very well flavored broth and Nuoc Mam Cham, the usual dipping sauce. On the good side, the Com Tam was steaming hot and sufficiently moist; too many times I've had hard and dry broken rice. The meat was also moist, and though very tender, it was still devoid of the tough inedible connective tissue we call "sugi" in Hawaii, named after nylon fishing line. I did find the meat to be rather bland, and though the Nuoc Mam did help, I still didn't think it had a whole lot of flavor. I think I'll stick with the Pho'.
As I stood and walked to counter to pay, the rather stoic Gentleman who I think is the Owner, looked at me and said; "aaah, you eat fast", and I felt like I had just won the Gold Medal at the Pho Hoa Games.......Total time 20 minutes, 35 seconds!
Seriously, the Pho at Pho Hoa will appeal to those who enjoy a darker, medium oil, balanced broth. The meat can be wildly inconsistent, but on this visit was good. The service is fast, but you may feel rushed. When in doubt, there's always number 1..........
Pho Hoa-Huong Restaurant
6921 Linda Vista Rd
San Diego, CA 92111
Open Daily 7am - 8pm
In and out in 20 minutes! I think you've got me beat by at least 5 minutes.
I like Pho Hoa for a more substantial broth. I also like their Bun Bo Hue for that reason too. The BBH broth is very dark, almost like Niu Rou Mein. And you're right, the tenderness of the meat can vary a lot.
Posted by: howie | Wednesday, 27 September 2006 at 09:40 PM
Dark broth? Is a no, no for sure either:
1.They didn't clean the bone well,
bones need to be pre-boil till the scum stop floating up. Scrub and rinse.
2. They left the ansie or clove in to long - side note I put cinnamon stick in my pho :-) and I like to roast my ansie, clove and cinnamon. Could explain why broth is dark
3. The uncook meat they place on top of the pho before they douse it with the hot soup is the source of the cloudy broth.
4. The bones has been cooked for so long that it actually falls apart.
5. Roasted ginger and onion could be another factor of dark broth.
but #1 is the worst offender.
Posted by: nhbilly | Wednesday, 27 September 2006 at 10:03 PM
Went there the first time this past Saturday...and our observations completely, from the pointing and telling us where to sit(owner was eating his lunch at the front table)and especially the noodles...it was kind of odd they way that happened...
We also had ordered some of the cha gio and it really was the first time at any Pho restaurant they came out with the rest of the food and not after...
They did let us read the menu, though, probably since we were the only blonde people in there....or maybe because we looked and said we weren't ready to order yet...
The broth is excellent, I agree... I didn't set a stopwatch or we could have a contest....
Posted by: Cathy | Wednesday, 27 September 2006 at 10:18 PM
Lol, Kirk! The "how fast can you have lunch at Pho Hoa" was an awesome idea. Applause, applause! I can just imagine you dashing in, polishing off the com tam and out - zip, just like that! Did you at least get a chance to pause outside after leaving to congratulate yourself? :) Man, only food bloggers would think up these type of games!
Posted by: Kathy | Thursday, 28 September 2006 at 12:28 AM
i love going here. I like the fact that they give ALOT of meat and ALOT of noodles. its one of the rare pho places where i'm actually full afterwards.
brisket and rare steak with meat on the side for the win!!
Posted by: clayfu | Thursday, 28 September 2006 at 01:01 AM
My mom would have a field day if she read this post! "Eat slowly, chew, and remember that eating is a time to celebrate your body!" But, if my mom read your blog, she'd also make you into her adopted son! (I think the food pictures would do her in.) I love the innovative blog topic and the "race against time" though Kirk!
Posted by: Passionate Eater | Thursday, 28 September 2006 at 01:12 AM
Hi, I'm Australian, I don't know if you've ever been here but you can find the best Pho anywhere right here in Melbourne. I've had American friends claim the same and having tasted American Pho, I was completely underwhelmed. IF u ever take a trip down under, due to our relatively large asian community you get some of the best asian cuisine anywhere.
Posted by: TC | Thursday, 28 September 2006 at 04:20 AM
Thanks for a good story, made me laugh thinking about them putting a gold medal around your neck.
Posted by: mina | Thursday, 28 September 2006 at 05:31 AM
Kirk,
Have you noticed that we all tend to trend off of one another when we food blog? It's kinda cool. Vietnamese cuisine seems to be in right now, which is good since I'm in the middle of exploring Little Saigon. Don't think I've ever been served food quite that quickly, but it has indeed been zippy.
- CP
Posted by: Chubbypanda | Thursday, 28 September 2006 at 11:25 AM
Dude!
You brought a stopwatch to lunch!?!?!
Your starting to scare me.
Posted by: Jim | Thursday, 28 September 2006 at 05:14 PM
by chance, are they affiliated with the "Zippy's" chain of restaurants in Hawaii?
Posted by: RONW | Thursday, 28 September 2006 at 07:27 PM
Hi Howie - I swear, sometimes that broth is so very dark!
Hi Nhbilly - The Dark and Cloudy appearance doesn't really seem to affect the flavor, but it does look quite different.
Hi Cathy - So you noticed the noodles too? It is quite strange how quickly they go downhill.....
Hi Kathy - I just need to keep myself amused.....kind of silly I know.
Hi Clayfu - Alot of people I know really like Pho Hoa.
Hi PE - Yes, chew your food well, so you don't get indigestion. I know that one really well!
Hi TC - Welcome, and thanks for commenting. Hopefully one day I'll be able to check it out for Myself.
Hi Mina - I'm glad I could provide a little humor. I sometimes do silly things to keep myself amused.
Hi CP - I call those Blogger-Rhythms. I always find that Elmo, Jeni, Pam, and several others seem to be tuned in to almost the same "vibe", and often end up eating the same type of food at the same time......
Hi Jim - No silly! I used the stopwatch feature on my cheapie digital watch. Now wouldn't it have been funny, if I actually came in with a towel around my neck, and stopwatch in hand!
Hi RONW - LOL! Always with the puns.....
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 28 September 2006 at 09:54 PM
Hi Kirk ... I think we should try submitting it as an olympic event!
LOL I love how you glowed when the restaurant owner praised your efforts, matched only with the skill of his hard trained waitstaff. It sounds like he deems you a diner worthy of his restaurant. ;) but that said, it is truly an amazing record. I have a record on the opposite end at the town i used to work at. The lunches were nice but you had to be able to wait an hour or more for them!
Posted by: Rachel | Friday, 29 September 2006 at 06:32 AM
I echo CP's comment. The moment I saw this, I went, "Whoa, there's the blogger brain-wave sync-up again"...but then, seeing as how you post almost every other day, it's statistically inevitable that something I post will jive with the three or four that you post during the same period.
Posted by: elmomonster | Friday, 29 September 2006 at 09:37 AM
The bestest pho I ate in Laos had really dark broth...is this really a nono?
Anyway, I just so love heartfelt arguments about what is the true pho, tartiflette, lakse, clam chowder, couscous, or pot au feu...more please!
Posted by: Emily | Saturday, 30 September 2006 at 01:08 PM
Hi Rachel - Yes, the Pho-lympics....how many cases of indigestion?
Hi Elmo - Those Blogger-rhythms run very strong.
Hi Emily - Well, that's what I've been told...main thing is that it's good, no?
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 30 September 2006 at 03:36 PM
So punny! *groan*
Posted by: Rachel | Saturday, 30 September 2006 at 11:43 PM
Hi Rachel - You know how hard it is for me to resist!
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 01 October 2006 at 08:38 AM
Have you tried Le's Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese Restaurant? So far, I've read good reviews (from the ones that I can find) but I'm still curious.
Posted by: Donna | Wednesday, 05 September 2007 at 03:54 PM
Hi Donna - I haven't been there in several years...so perhaps a post is in order.
Posted by: Kirk | Wednesday, 05 September 2007 at 04:40 PM