Pho-raging Along Clairemont Mesa - Pho Duyen Mai, Pho Fusion and PT Eatery

I was recently told that Pho Duyen Mai has changed ownership. From my understanding, one of the partners of Cross Street is the new owner. I wanted to check what was going on, but it was just too hot to think about a bowl of pho. Of course, the weather has suddenly changed course over the last couple of weeks.....I guess fall is now here? Anyway, I decided to see what was up.

Pho Duyen Mai:

I decided to visit right at opening time, which is 10 am.

And I'm glad I did. Even though I was the second party thru the doorway, the place filled up quickly.

I took a look around and quickly noticed a couple of things; I didn't recognize anyone working and the rib bones (Xí Quách Suon Bò) were no longer offered. I also noticed that there were quite a few more folks working then I recalled as well.

I went with the #28, the Rare Steak, Flank, Brisket, Tendon, and Tripe - small ($12). It was interesting to watch. By the time I placed my order, seven more tables were occupied! While the woman went around delivering menus and then taking orders, the young man who tended the register made a loop around the dining room dropping off water. After all the orders were taken, the woman taking the orders made a loop around the dining room delivering utensils and napkins. An older, smiling gentleman delivered my bowl of pho to the table.

    I quickly noticed that some of the basil had gone south already and the portion of sprouts was even smaller than on my last visit.

Also of interest was the dearth of proteins. There were two thin slices of rare beef, which was rolled up, one slice of flank, one of brisket, one decent slice of beef tendon and the tripe was MIA. Everything but the tendon was sliced super thin.

The noodles were in the typical clump, but was decently cooked and still had a nice pull to them.

As for the broth......well, it was very thin and light, almost lacking in color, super salty, with that "San Diego sweet" tone, with just a hint of anise flavor. I had to make use of the slice of lime to help cut the saltiness. Needless to say, I was quite thirsty after this.

Wow, this was quite disappointing. And I used to think that Duyen Mai was the best pho in the area.....but with a change of ownership...shades of Pho Lucky.

Pho Duyen Mai
5375 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego, CA 92123

This visit had me thinking about the other Pho shops along Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. So over the next couple of days I decided to do some revisits, MS (heebie) G(bies) be damned.

Next up was down the street.

Pho Fusion:

It had been a while since I'd been to Pho Fusion, so I was interested to see how things were.

As is my M.O. I arrived right at the 10am opening.

It was pretty quiet during my entire visit as only two parties arrived. The older gentleman was nice but seemed a bit distracted. I ordered the regular #14, Brisket, Flank, Tendon, and Tripe ($10.95). My bowl arrived very quickly.

 I'm used to Pho Fusion being a bit miserly with the sprouts and basil and they lived up to that reputation; though at least it was of decent quality.

The soup was quite dark, though clear, overly salty with that "sweet" note, and lacking beef and enough anise tones.

There was a good amount of protein....though perhaps I was measuring this against what I'd previously had at Duyen Mai? This time around, the tripe and a nice crunch, and the flank, while being chewy had a nice amount of beefiness, which was missing in the broth.

    The noodles were in the typical clump, but were not over-cooked. As mediocre as this bowl was, it was still better than what I'd had at Duyen Mai. Kinda sad....

Pho Fusion
8038 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111 

Which left me with one last option on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard.....

PT Eatery:

In all honesty, I was not fond of the "Pho not to Offend" from PT Eatery. But that was in the days "BC" (Before Covid) when they had first opened at the end of 2019, beginning of 2020. A revisit was well overdue.

I had put PT into the category of "Fusion Phuong Trang lite". Though the fact that I consider Phuong Trang to be MOR pho...well, you can kind of figure out my expectations here.

I do like the decor and on my previous visits the folks working have always been friendly and professional. I was glad to see that things were still the same in this category.

I ordered the Small Combo ($12.95). Which arrived with a fork?????

I didn't know I was giving off those "silverware vibes"? Needless to say, I used the napkins, but the fork stayed in the basket.

At least the basil and sprouts were super fresh. This was also the largest portion of the three places I visited.

    Whoa, this was by far the largest "small bowl" of the three places as well. The soup had a good amount of cilantro and onions.

Of the proteins, the best items were the flank, which was beefy and surprisingly tender and the tripe which had a nice crunch. The rare steak was a bit over cooked by the time the bowl hit the table and while there were several pieces of tendon provided it was a bit too hard for my taste.

Unlike on my previous visit, while the noodles were in a huge clump at the bottom of the bowl, it was decently cooked and not mushy.

When I tried the broth a strange flavor hit me. Was it actually? Well yes, there was a light beefiness that could actually be made out. It felt so foreign since this is what was sorely lacking in the previous two bowls. While still on the "sweeter" side for my taste, this wasn't too salty. The amount of onions and cilantro actually contributed a hint pungent-citrusy flavors to the soup as well.

Well gee wiz....who would have thunk? I preferred PT Eatery to Duyen Mai? Maybe I need to revisit Phuong Trang since it's been a good number of years? Well, let's not get too excited. It's more likely that I'll head to Linda Vista the next time I'm craving some pho.

PT Eatery
7351 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Comments

[Sandy]

Thanks for the recap of Clairemont Mesa pho. I was at PT Eatery last fall (holy cow, that was 10 months ago!), and my friend's pho looked decent.

[Kirk]

My goodness you are an early bird, Sandy! I was kind of surprised at how long it had been since I'd visited these places as well.

[Matthew]

Kirk, I just very recently was able to order dem bones from Duyen Mai over the phone! They were as hefty and tasty as ever, although I’m curious as to what you’d think given the change in ownership and what not. I did notice that they weren’t on the online menu (or the physical menu for that matter, when I had eaten in last a couple months ago). All that said, it looks like I need to try our PT Eatery!

[Kirk]

That's interesting Matthew! I actually asked and they said it wasn't on the menu...so perhaps next time? Let me know what you think of PT Eatery.

[Junichi]

Bummer. I liked the pho at Duyen Mai.

[Kirk]

It was my favorite in the area Junichi!

[Elle]

Sad about Pho Duyen Mai. I remember not being impressed with PT Eatery's food, but it's been a while so maybe I'll try again.

I noticed there's a Birria sign on top of Nha Hang Quoc Te (International Restaurant) in City Heights, so I'm wondering if they have new owners now.

[Kirk]

I wasn't very impressed during my first couple of visits to PT Eater too Elle. But in comparison to the other two bowls..... Thanks for the heads-up on Quoc Te. I've been kinda avoiding the area because of the road work, but will check it out.

[kat]

bummer

[Kirk]

It was quite disappointing Kat!