rev:text
| - I had to add my review here after reading some of the previous ones.
Maybe this is an establishment that started off a little rocky, but figured out their groove and fixed some of the complaints, because I visit no less than a dozen or so pho places in town, mostly in Chinatown, and this place impressed me and my colleague today.
Firstly, I think the negative comments on the service are laughable. What pho place in town gives red carpet service anyway? I'm pretty confident that any regulars' expectations are to be seated and served a glass of ice water, order your food and drink together, have it dropped off, and pay at the counter. The staff at Sammy far exceeded that expected service level if you ask me. Two of the staff checked in on us 3 times during our 30 minute lunch visit. Impressive for a pho restaurant! In addition, the waiter brought us our check, and acted as cashier. Again, exceeding standards. This is not PF Chang's folks...c'mon.
Regarding the food, the spring rolls were okay. That I agree with. I guess you could really mess them up if you tried, but noodles, cooked shrimp, and herbs is pretty straight forward. The pho was awesome though! The broth was extremely rich and flavorful. Way more so than many of the perceived "awesome" spots in Chinatown, which I feel serve a watered down version of what I hope pho broth to be. My "rare steak" was in fact rare, as described on the menu. It did cook just fine in the broth, and the "well done flank" was, well....done. See what I did there? :)
So, my review is my opinion for whatever it's worth. Coming from the Caucasian who loves Asian food, and is particularly fond of Vietnamese fare, and speaking on behalf of my Filipino colleague who loves him some pho, I say this place is definitely on my list of regular lunch places.
Hats off to Sammy Pho!
|