Man, talk about some rain! Hope everyone made it home or to their destinations safely this week!
Here are a couple of revisits for you.
Pho Lucky:
Well, even though the Bo Kho was good on my last visit; I was still wondering about the last couple of bowls of pho I had there. One bowl was terrible; the other barely ok. Our recent chilly and then wet weather made for a nice opportunity to revisit what was once my favorite place for pho in San Diego.
I ordered my usual; the #4; well done flank, brisket, tendon, and tripe....or perhaps as they spell in on the menu "stripe". Soon enough the herbs and spouts arrived, the ngo gai and everything else was sparkling fresh. Then the bowl arrived...and.....
It was seriously defatted, extremely dark, and while it had a mild beefiness and light anise tones, it was much too sweet. Sigh......what a bummer.
The noodles were nicely done and not in a clump; "hallelujah".
The flank was too tough, though the brisket quite nice, beefy and tender, the tripe was passable, but the tendon, once a strong point here was too hard.
Oh how the mighty have fallen. I need to start searching for a go-to pho place..... Because other than the bo kho...well, the pho doesn't seem to cut it any longer.
Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
Pho King:
About every six months or so; I just want the Hu Tieu Mi Kho from Pho King.
Over the years; this bowl of textures, the slightly crunchy egg noodles (mi), and the stretchy, starchy, tapioca noodles (hu tieu). Also, the bowl here has changed over the years as it no longer has any "krab" in it....which to me is no loss. Also, the amount of sprouts and Chinese celery has gone down a bit as well. Still, when the clear broth is not too salty or sweet, it makes for a satisfying meal for me.
On this visit; I noticed the pork and soy sauce broth, didn't have as much pork in it as usual. The clear broth was nice....not too salty nor artificially "sweet". The shrimp was cooked nicely, the squid....well, as usual, "meh". As I mentioned in a previous post I take my time with this dish (you can read about how I eat it as well). It was nice; nothing spectacular....but that's not what I was looking for on this day.
There used to be a really friendly, rather short guy working here....I believe he's the owner's son. I last saw him maybe 5-6 years ago. As a bonus, he was here on this day...apparently he'd been in Vietnam for the last couple of years. It was nice seeing him!
Maybe one day I'll try the Hieu Tieu My Tho again. But for now, I just wanted my "fix"
Pho King Restaurant
4658 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115
Agree on Pho Lucky...It's a shadow of it's former self since reopening...sad sigh.....RIP. I have been going to Pho Duyen Mai as it's closer to me, but the sweetness factor with the broth is sometimes a bit annoying (a splash of fish sauce adds a little help for me but....). At least they have decent Bun Bo Hue when I don't feel like Mien Trung.
Posted by: Alan in Clairemont | Friday, 15 February 2019 at 08:21 AM
Pho Lucky was my go to years ago when I used to frequent that area. Haven't been in a while. Bummer the pho has gone downhill.
Posted by: Junichi | Friday, 15 February 2019 at 10:46 AM
That's so sad Alan....I really used to like that place.
It was a bummer Junichi.
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 15 February 2019 at 11:12 AM
:( for Lucky
Posted by: Caninecologne | Friday, 15 February 2019 at 01:36 PM
I really disappointed CC!
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 15 February 2019 at 01:58 PM
:(
Posted by: kat | Friday, 15 February 2019 at 03:31 PM
Kirk....You now have something maybe you haven't had in a while.....a mission. It's time to find the new standard holders for pho in San Diego!
Posted by: Alan in Clairemont | Friday, 15 February 2019 at 11:36 PM
Pho Lucky was a disappointment Kat!
Lol Alan....looking on the bright side. Of course; to quote Roger Murtaugh (Lethal Weapon), "I'm getting too old for this..." ;o)
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 16 February 2019 at 09:15 AM