Po & Pho -Next to H Mart in Mira Mesa (part 1: pho)

Po and Pho has closed.  There won't be a part 2.

Hi.  The page you are reading is mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are busy with Thanksgiving planning.  Cathy appears to be organized for Thanksgiving, so she is blogging today.

The highly anticipated Korean Grocer, H-Mart, will have a Grand Opening on the 17th (in the old Ralphs location on Mira Mesa Boulevard near the 15). The Mister and I were thinking there might be a 'soft' opening a few days sooner and drove there the other day, but the store was still getting organized.  Since we were already in that parking lot and it was close to lunch time, we decided to try the newest restaurant of the six in that parking lot.

There- all the way on the left of the above photo- the small storefront "Po and Pho".  Seven tables inside and one table out front, seating for  about 20, this clean shop serves a combination of New Orleans-Po Boy sandwiches, gumbo and Vietnamese-pho, noodles and rice plates.  There is also a small breakfast menu, extensive beverage menu and the menu includes catering items that are not offered on the regular menu.

The take out business was bustling when we were here, but when we sat down to read the take out menu, a nice Young Lady walked over to take our eat-in order. I'm not sure if we were supposed to order and pay and sit down or not...

In any case, since it was a chilly morning and the sun still had not peeked through the clouds, I ordered a bowl of  chicken pho (one size only $6.25).

This was a very good, very large bowl of pho.  The broth was clear, not too oily and had good flavor on its own.  The noodles were mostly loose, barely in a clump. The chicken was plentiful, included the liver and was accompanied by the fresh dipping sauce (nuoc cham) made of lime juice, fish sauce, garlic and sugar.  The onions and cilantro and ground pepper toppings, when mixed part way through my meal, along with the (very fresh) add-ins transformed the the bowl into even more fresh flavors.
The Mister was torn about what he wanted to order- there are 13 sandwich offerings in addition to three types of Po'Boy offered (shrimp or chicken or fish).  We saw a *very* large sandwich being shared at another table and the bread was not close to bahn mi in size and decided we could share one at another meal. At the bottom of the "Noodles and Soups" section of the menu Seafood Gumbo ($5) was listed.  That also sounded good on this cold day. The bowl is smaller than my bowl of pho, but it should be. The rich sauce, filled with crawfish, shrimp, crab and smoked sausage covers a good amount of broken rice and fresh okra.  This was one of the best gumbos I've tasted in a long time. 

We'll be stopping here again, for a Po'Boy, ideally avoiding crowds.

Po & Pho 9430 Mira Mesa Boulevard, Suite 5C San Diego 92126 (858) 271-8988 Website 

 
  

 

Comments

[Sandy]

We tried the predecessor (Green Bowl?) but were not impressed at all. So I've been a little wary of trying this new place. When H Mart opens, they'll probably get a lot more foot traffic, but that parking lot will be crazy.

[Cathy]

Judging by the 'regulars' we saw eating in and getting take out (especially since there are other established restaurants in this mall), as well as our order, the food here is very good and consistent. When we went earlier this week, the parking was tight and the store was filled with workers-I'm hoping they will be parking in back once HMart opens.

[Carol]

We drove by on Saturday (on our way to Popeye's) and saw all the people outside, balloons, jammed parking lot. I might stop by today if I get some time to check some things out. I'm running low on a few things anyway.

[Cathy]

Heh...I understand on the way to Popeye's, as well as just driving by. Try to avoid the crowds until things settle down, Carol.