Man, the cold has hit me like a ton of bricks........ I've even mentioning adopting another pup to the Missus since we've definitely had a couple of three dog nights and we're one mutt short! I'm usually not so wimpy. I'm not sure if I became used to the 80 degree plus weather on Oahu over ten short days, but walking out of the airport to temps in the high forties stopped me dead. Geeez, what a wimp......
So of course I've been craving soup, and Pho' obviously comes to mind.
Pho Lucky:
I was quite surprised when the Missus, being not much of a Pho-natic requested a bowl of Pho. We headed up to Pho Lucky.
I ordered a bowl with just tendon, brisket, and flank. The broth was on the dark side but very soothing and not too salty. Nice mild anise and onion tones. Noodles could have used less cooking time but I wasn't complaining. To my surprise (and to the really funny Server's) the Missus ordered a large Dac Biet (Special) and plowed through most of it (left the rare steak).
Timing as they say, is everything.
Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Pho Hiep and Grill - Linda Vista:
Deciding that a Pho double dip might be just the thing, the next day I headed to Pho Hiep and Grill.
I grabbed a large bowl of Flank-Brisket-Tendon-Tripe. The protein items were pretty good, especially the usually tough flank cuts. The broth left something to be desired; the anise flavor was much too strong and it was salty as heck.
Can't win 'em all I guess.
Pho Hiep & Grill
6947 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111
So what have you been consuming to stay warm?
"You can raise your arm, you can wiggle your hand
And you can wave goodbye to the frozen man"
The Frozen Man - James Taylor
Yes, it's been cold here, but I can understand the shock when you come back from Hawaii! We went to DC in November one year; when we left SD, it was in the 80s and DC was in the 30s! When we got back to SD, the warm sun felt soooo good, even though it was probably only in the mid 60s.
I was thinking of having pho for dinner, but we ended up at Tan Ky Mi Ga.
Posted by: Sandy | Thursday, 08 December 2011 at 07:42 AM
I'm gonna have to find something soupy for lunch today...it is fahreezing :)
Posted by: kat | Thursday, 08 December 2011 at 02:50 PM
When it gets cold here, one of my favorites is the nabeyaki udon at Shizuoka.
Posted by: Adam | Thursday, 08 December 2011 at 03:53 PM
Last night I was freezing so me and my son went to....Pho Lucky!
Posted by: Jack | Thursday, 08 December 2011 at 04:34 PM
we've been having soup that i made with turkey sausage, vegetablers and kale. but pho sounds much better!
Posted by: caninecologne | Thursday, 08 December 2011 at 04:38 PM
I agree about the cold, I prefer the warm much more! I guess that adage is true: "you can take the Kirk out of Hawaii, but you can't take the Hawaii and Hawaii lovin' out of Kirk!"
Posted by: Passionate Eater | Thursday, 08 December 2011 at 07:06 PM
Oden!
We tried it at yu me ya in Encinitas. Was OK, not as good as wa dining okan. Couldn't believe they ran out of draft Kirin on Saturday when they just opened for dinner!
Maybe we will go have some hot pot -- only to eat it too fast and have molten tofu burn my stomach.
Posted by: liver | Thursday, 08 December 2011 at 07:44 PM
Hi Sandy - That's it exactly.......
Hi Kat - I can only imagine....it's much colder in your neck of the woods!
Hi Adam - Nabeyaki Udon is great......I usually make my own though. 2 parts soy sauce (both dark and light) to 1 part dashi, 4 to one ratio of mirin and sugar to dashi to start. The hardest part is finding good noodles.
That's too funny Jack! Cathy told me they also hit up Pho Lucky as well.
Hi CC - Any soup with great, comforting flavors would do, and yours sounds great.
LOL PE! I guess you can take the boy out of the islands, but you can never take the island out of the boy.... I hope all is well!
Hi Liver - Man Huo Guo.......now that would fix you right up!
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 08 December 2011 at 08:22 PM
I made tuna casserole but now I'm hungry for some poke.
Posted by: grey | Friday, 09 December 2011 at 01:40 AM
I've been eating a lot of packaged ramen with extra gojijang in the broth. Pho right now would be heavenly!
Posted by: Carol | Friday, 09 December 2011 at 07:25 AM
I know what you mean about the cold: these nights, I'm found wrapped in a blanket on the couch, too cold to move. It's definitely pho season!
Posted by: Alyssa | Saturday, 10 December 2011 at 10:30 AM
LOL Grey!
Hi Carol - Actually, I'm now thinking of some nice rich Tonkotsu ramen!
Hi Alyssa - You're right...it's soup time without a doubt.
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 10 December 2011 at 08:01 PM
Yeah, the chilly weather's been getting to me too, Kirk. I've been working my way through the soups at Hoai Hue. Their bun bo Hue and banh canh tom cua warmed me right up!
Posted by: mizducky | Tuesday, 13 December 2011 at 01:15 AM
Hey Mizducky - You shuld give Danang across the street a shot too....they used to make their own Cha Lua.
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 13 December 2011 at 07:02 PM