Sunday, April 12, 2009

Pho is a Phull Meal

If you've ever had pho -- a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup that is one of my favorite foods in the whole world -- then odds are you either love it or hate it (very few people tend to have middling views on the stuff). And if you have never tried it, it is a treat that I recommend you try at least twice (assuming you aren't addicted to it after the first bowl).

About half the time I take someone out for their first bowl of pho, they completely blow me off when I tell them that it is a full meal. Even knowing that I tend to have a good appetite, they quite often assume that somehow it isn't going to be enough for them, and order a plate of spring rolls, a spicy beef salad, etc. I have never seen someone do that and then be able to eat both meals.

Pho is, in fact, very filling, and a large bowl -- which, typically at just 50 cents more than a small bowl, is the way to go -- is more than enough for just about anyone, most people being hard-pressed to finish even that.

My brother-in-law Dean Minnick and I are currently on the road and staying overnight in Austin, Texas, where we were lucky enough to discover Hai Ky, a little pho shop just down the street from our hotel. I enjoyed my large #1 bowl of pho very much, and I think Dean would have enjoyed his small #13, his first bowl of the stuff, if he had taken my advice and not also ordered that huge plate of vermicelli and roast pork! But, like I said, they don't always like to listen ...

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