Revisits: Pho Cow Cali and Pho Hiep and Grill (Linda Vista)

It seems like our trip was sort of bookended by pho.

Pho Cow Cali:

My director always kids me about my habit of getting a haircut the week before any trip. "I see you're ready for your vacation now......" As I noted in my previous post on the place, the guy who cuts my hair is close by in Mira Mesa, so why not stop in for breakfast before my pre-trip ritual?

I was surprised how busy the place was at 8am on Sunday.

I went with the usual.

Pretty much the same bowl as previous visits. Well flavored proteins. A couple of things did get my attention; while the broth was a bit more rich than before, with some mild beef flavor, it was also several steps below hot. Also, they're really starting to get stingy with the herbs and sprouts here.

Service was as before. All business.

Overall, still better than almost everything else in San Diego.

Pho Cow Cali
9170 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126 

Pho Hiep and Grill (Linda Vista):

It had been ages since I'd had pho at Pho Hiep, though I visited two years ago to check out the Bun Mang Vit and Bun Bo Hue. A bit under the weather, I hadn't been able to eat in over two days, so I thought grabbing a bowl of pho when I started getting hungry might set me straight. Nothing too far away. Since my last visit to Pho Paradise was a bust, I'm back to the "there's no decent pho to be had in Kearny Mesa" stance.

It had been ages since my last pho visit here, so I decided on trying the rare beef.......which was cut too thick, was overdone by the time it hit the table, and was tough. I ordered the #2, which I thought should have had tendon and tripe, but both were MIA. The flank was really bad, tasteless rubber, though the brisket was tender and had a decent beefiness. There was quite a bit of nicely prepped noodles; considering this was a small bowl. The broth was interesting, too sweet and too much msg for my taste. The broth was a bit more cloudy than I prefer as well. There was quite a generous portion of herbs and sprouts, something I hadn't seen in a while.

Barely passable pho. It also shut me back down for another day or so........

Pho Hiep & Grill
6947 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Comments

[kat]

:(

[Junichi]

Bummer about Pho Hiep. I always go to Pho Hoa.

[Kirk]

Hi Kat - Well at least Pho Cow Cali was not bad.

Hi Junichi - Pho Hiep used to make a decent; lighter Pho, but things seemed to have changed over the years.