Pho Cali
9107 S Tryon St
Charlotte, NC 28273
Wednesday September 13, 2017 1pm
Where do I start... let's just say the sign out front is true, they are hiring. It's basically a one man show once you come inside.
When we entered it was the lunch rush and all of the empty tables were dirty with dishes. The server/hostess/busboy tried to seat us at a table he had cleared but was connected to another table that was dirty. I told him no rush and that we would wait for him to empty/clean the other table.
I ordered the #10 Pho Tai Bo Vien (rare beef and meatball) and my mom ordered the #7 Pho Tai, Nam (rare and flank steak). My mother also has to try the chicken wings at every Asian restaurant so she ordered the appetizer chicken wings. The server told us the only difference between the spicy and the Cajun wings were the Cajun wings are saltier and the spicy wings have cayenne pepper sprinkled on them. We opted for the spicy wings. When they arrived it wasn't what we were expecting. We got 5 crispy fried wings and a side of ketchup. They were just a bit spicy when you got a taste of the cayenne pepper.
Next was our pho. We both chose the XL bowl because we wanted to share with my niece and nephew. The server brought out the veggies that you add to your Pho, normally lemons, jalapeƱos, bean sprouts and basil. Our plate was missing the basil. I looked around and some of the dirty tables still had basil sprigs lingering around so I thought it was just a mistake and our server forgot. When I asked for the basil I was informed that they had run out! Yikes!!! To tell the truth and not to seem like a pho snob but I was very disappointed when I found out there was no basil! It makes the pho so much tastier!!!
The flank steak in my mom's soup was very good! I would much rather have that than the rare beef.
Even after sharing our bowls we both still had a large amount to take home with us.
As we were paying I overheard another customer asked for the Korean BBQ and he was told they were out. Not sure what the deal is with them running out of things isn't cool.
All in all this was my second visit here and I'm not so sure if I'm coming back anytime soon. If I do it will be to have the FLANK STEAK in my pho!!!