So Pho-king Good!

Those who know me will attest to my unconditional love for pho and what good what my blog page be without at least one pho entry? But first, here's a tribute to the other reference of the play on words used above:

Now, back to business. Being from Seattle where pho has experienced a tremendous boom in the past five years or so, I found it difficult to match my Than Brothers veggie pho anywhere in New York and still can't say I've found anything like it. There is one place however, that I can rely on for consistenly good pho (minus one or two times out of the probably-over-50) and that place is Pho Grand in Chinatown (Grand between Eldridge and Forsyth).

This has become Ryan and I's go-to rendez-vous for a quick dinner together if we're too time-crunched (or budget-crunched) for anything else. Here is a shot of the steaming hot bowls of deliciousness we met for the other night:

For $4.75, you'll get a nice "regular" sized bowl of pho with brisket and eye round sprinkled with cilantro and chopped green onions, and strings of white onion floating about within an approximate wait time of five minutes. There are plenty of varieties for the same price as well. For $5.75, you can get a large, which is more than enough for a very hungry man (or a very very hungry Amy although I think it - dare I say - is too much for me to digest). We splurged and ordered summer rolls, also in the photo above, but they weren't the best I've had - a little chewier than most with a bit of a rubbery texture. Still, summer rolls are a great healthy alternative to spring rolls, which are fried.

Pho also serves as a great casual meeting suggestion to catch up with busy friends, or a great place to eat alone (my addiction to it has lured me in solo many a time). Whenever I eat pho alone, people ask, "did you bring a book?" Pho is not a constructive meal to sit down and read a book to. One must use both hands to fully enjoy the glory of pho. Plus, your reading material will mostly-likely end up smelling of pho with splatter marks scattered across the pages...that is, if you can even keep the book open with no hands.

Speaking of splattering, Ryan, though he is a great boyfriend, cannot eat one meal without wearing at least little bit of it (well, to his credit, somtimes he can). Thus, I have kindly suggested bibs. I should have gotten him a real one for Christmas that says, "I love pho!"

Pho fills me with warmth on the coldest of winter nights and satiates my cravings on the hottest of summer days. Its convenience - which includes speedy service, great locations and the crazy value factor - have kept me a devout and faithful pho foodie for many, many years. I could eat pho 24-7. The only thing that would stop me is a) I run out of funds and b) my insides drown in the broth that yes, I'm usually sure to drink all of...and I guess we can't discount the possibility I might, just might, get sick of it...but keep in mind that when I say this, we are talking 24-7 here. Below, you'll find an image very familiar to most all of you who know me well - me sitting across the table from you with a spoon in my left hand, chopsticks in right and bowl of pho in front.