More Pho Bang for your buck

What better remedy on a cold rainy night heralding in the onslaught of a long winter than the solace of a steaming hot bowl of Pho. Together with my Danish Pho posse, Michala, Rasmus, and Anna, we braved the chill damp to meet at Pho Bang for a Vietnamese dinner orgy. On the menu tonight, Pho, what else...?

Pho Bang has been around for a long time, the 157 Mott street location appears to be the flagship and this mini-chain also has another restaurant in Elmhurst. My favorite Pho Bang was a crooked little joint on Pike street that shut its doors around 5 years ago. It was staffed by loving Chinese auntie types and had a door that never shut properly. One could always count on burning off some excess calories getting up several times over the course of a meal to close the door on a cold winter day. I miss that Pho Bang and the loving attention they poured on me and on their Pho, but the big brother on Mott St. has always been a dependable stand-in. According to Wikipedia, Pho Bang is a famous street in the NE Vietnamese town of Dong Van, but that probably has little to do with he name of this restaurant and the scores of other non-affiliated  Pho Bangs scattered across the country. "Bang" translated to "state" when I looked it up, perhaps one of my thousands of Vietnamese readers would care to comment on the true meaning of "Pho Bang". Once I have the answer to this burning question, I feel like I'll finally be able to turn a page in my life...so hurry up!

We began the meal with an order of eight Cha Gio, fried spring rolls that are stuffed with pork that you roll in lettuce and dip in fish sauce. These were tasty but awfully greasy this time, and I had to pat them down with a napkin before we could dig in. We also ordered a summer roll each, good any time of year really but not very exceptional at Pho Bang. 

Spring Rolls and Summer rolls

We eat Pho all the time but we paid special attention to the flavors on this trip because next Sunday we are going to attempt to make a Pho at Michala's loft in Brooklyn, so watch the blog! As usual, I order a big bowl of the Pho Tai, which comes with raw roast beef that cooks in the soup and flavors the already fragrant broth. Michala added some flank to hers, which is fatty and good at Pho Bang.

Pho Tai at Pho Bang

Pho with Phixins'

I always love a bowl of Pho, even a slightly inferior bowl of Pho, as this one was. The broth was over-concentrated and over-seasoned with what tasted like the wrong type of flavors, namely salt. I didn't detect any of the slightly gamey beefy flavor you find in great Pho broth. Also missing were any striking notes of star anise and even a hint of Cinnamon. What we had was a salty, beefy, broth, not bad mind you, but it wasn't going to win any contests either. I've had better Pho here in the past, and I'm afraid to say Pho Bang is slipping off of its game a bit. I liked the beef and the noodles, which were cooked perfectly, but still I was distracted by what they were floating in.

Step it up Pho Bang!

Or else...

Anna will attack you with lettuce!

One very bright spot for me at Pho Bang are the waiters. This all male ensemble have all been working here for years. As a first time visitor you may experience somewhat gruff handling by the waitstaff, but once you get to know them, these guys are the salt of the earth and quick to boot.

Dinner was still pleasant although not a stellar experience and with tip it was a whopping $14 each, cash only. Still, when Pho is the namesake of your restaurant, you are making a bold statement. You are making a commitment to me and all the other Pho lovers of the world. You are saying, we are very serious about our Pho. Sadly, in that respect, Pho Bang is breaking my heart, and I'm going to have to rebound elsewhere.