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| - I simply don't understand these favorable reviews. Perhaps they are written by folks who've never eaten good Vietnamese food. My wife is Vietnamese and is an excellent cook for all native dishes. She hates going out to eat much because her kitchen is pristine and many restaurants are not. And she can almost always make a better version of a Vietnamese dish in a restaurant. Well, today I hauled her out, kicking and screaming, because it was too hot to cook. We went in just before 3PM so the empty parking lot didn't scare us much, because of the off hour. So, when we walk in, my wife is already navigating toward a booth, expecting to be served a glass of water and for someone to take our order. I then pointed out to her the colorful ordering board, not unlike the two thousand Mexican fast food joints in and about. So we ordered pho, and I was asked if we wanted to buy water or a smoothie, and declined. Then I noticed that you even have to pick up your own napkins and utensils at the counter. We did so, then sat down in a booth. The table was sticky with the residue of the last diners...nothing that a hot soapy kitchen towel might have fixed...but wasn't. My wife ordered me the steak pho and she ordered the beef combo bowl. At the first spoonful you could tell the sodium content was overwhelming. Blanketed on the sodium was just loads of MSG. The broth was nearly clear. (The way you make a good Pho broth is to simmer beef bones for 24 hours, let it cool, then skim off the tallow, then heat up again for a rich broth.) Alas, despite the effort to add flavor with sugar, MSG, and loads of salt, the poor quality of the beef was obvious. The brisket was very old and inedible. The thin slices of the sirloin was okay, nothing to write home about. I can't see this restaurant making it. The Vietnamese gentleman was friendly but his business model stinks. The lack of table service, the lack of menus, the garish menu board behind the order counter, and the requirement to pick your own utensils is cheesy. Not cheesy was the filthy tables and sticky condiment bottles...that's a health hazard. Finally, I thought it rather amusing that, on the credit card receipt, they provide a line for you to enter a tip. For what? $20 dollars for two bowls of substandard (and unhealthy) Pho. Nope.
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