As many of you know by now, I've had a life long obsession with pho and if I could, I would probably eat it every day of my life (if done right). I have constantly been on the hunt for a good place in the city but have never really found my go to place. While I still think the place at home is still the best, Pho Vietnam 87 is a pretty good substitute and definitely filled my craving for pho that day.
Van and I went on a random Thursday night and it was fairly empty but we noticed that there were a few people speaking Vietnamese in the restaurant, which is always a good sign. While I had been on a Americanize/fusion Vietnamese kick lately, there's no good substitute for a supremely authentic divey, mom and pop place that's located usually in Chinatown. This place is the stuff of what I'm talking about - no fusion bs, it's straight up pure ethnic eats. Van and I were totally overwhelmed with what to get but I had to get a pho (although the bahn mi looked good and it was only $4.25!!). I opted for the #1 ($7.25) which was the large pho that had pretty much a little bit of everything, we split the banh cuon ($6.95) to start and Van got a pork rice plate ($6.50). Another thing I love about eating at places like this is that the prices are crazy cheap. It was music to my ears. I also got a Vietnamese coffee and was so happy that it was served with the stainless steel single serving coffee maker and not pre-mixed. We started off with the banh cuon which is a steamed rice rolls/crepe dish stuffed with ground pork and mushroom in it. It's been a really long time since I've had this dish before but it was great. Our only complaint was that the rice crepe was a bit thick for both of us but it didn't stop us from eating the entire dish. Next came my pho and it was a huge bowl of yumminess. It smelled great and was definitely very full of everything - broth, meat, and noodles. The broth was tasty, flavorful and not too oily. My only complaint would be that it might have had a bit too much star anise or clove for my liking but it wasn't so overwhelming that I didn't like the dish. The meat was thinly sliced and rate and like I said early, plentiful. The noodles were the right consistency - soft and delicious. Usually when I have pho, I clean house and can finish the whole thing but this one was just too much to handle and I had to call it quits about 3/4 of the way through. I had a small bite of Van's dish and it was also quite well done and delicious.
All in all, it was a great experience and it brought me back to my first love of eating which is cheap local ethnic eats. While I still doesn't match the Pho 75 back home, it was a very filling and affordable addition and Van and I are already making plans to go back and try out the other half of the menu (although we really just barely scratched the surface!). Total bill with tax and tip: $16/pp
Photo Credit: Yelp
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