I would venture that the Pho in austin and houston is probably better than in New York given the large viet population in TX. In manhattan it's tough, there's a lot of faker restaurants out there (sushi bars run by malaysian chinese, vietnamese run by indonesians...etc.). That doesn't make them bad, but def. not as authentic.
Okay, speaking of vietnamese food. Who has the best vietnamese sandwiches? I've only been to a couple of places near mid-town (little vietnam?). Best pho in that area? There's a decent pho place in Austin on N. Burnett, before you get to IBM, in the same parking lot as Jack in the Box. Stay away from Fortune Pho on Lamar. That place is crawling with gnats.
When I am hungry, I am a 185lbs and 6' eating machine. My intake is totally disproportionate to my physique. When I was younger, my eating ability was legendary in my college. I once wowed the entire line of our football team by finishing up four trays of food in our cafeteria. I am serious, I was totally fearless and really felt I had unlimted storage room of food in my younger years. Oh, talking about pho. Even though I am older now, Eeverytime I go to a pho restaurant, I always finish up two large bowls of pho without leaving a single drop of soup. I key is pouring in a large amount of that red spicy sauce into the soup. Again, if I an eat nothing but pho for the rest of my life, I would be happy.
I never had Pho. I want to try it, but can't for religious purposes (from what I am told, the stock is flavored with pork bones).
Man... don't even compare Austin Pho to Houston Pho. NO COMPARISON. Houston wins hands down. Best Houston Pho places (SW): Pho Binh (wilcrest and beechnut). Pho Nguyen (wilcrest and Beechnut on the other side). Best Houston Banh Mi Places (SW): Banh Mi Don (Bellaire between beltway8 and gessner). Banh Mi Hoang (same location).
Yeah we were both inspired by this thread, I just finished a Pho Bo from L'Annam on 3rd Ave. Not bad but could use a little more chili. If my eyes aren't watering and my face isn't burning - it's not the same.
Actually the Pho Binh in the trailer on Fuqua is the best, but you're close. Pho Da Lat on Tidwell near 290 is also very good for those on the NW side. I always finish everything in the bowl.
I don't drink the soup at restuarants because it has way too much MSG and I get a freekin headache. I drink it when I make it at home.
Almost all established asian restaurants in California have a sizable portion of Hispanic cooks. There's the occasional Japanese holdovers, but they're the exception. Authentic is replaced with dishes done right enough to justify costs. I don't finish the soup in Pho because it's not that healthy.
I like the pho at pho saigon on milam and tien anh on travis. Pho saigon is good, tien anh gives you a ton of meat.
The best place for pho in NY is off the B line at Grand street in Chinatown (Nam Son) -- green awning. I haven't found pho that is quite authentic in Manhattan but Nam Son gets it close. Nothing beats a good bowl steaming off a sidestreet in Vietnam though! Here they soak the bones for a couple of days!
Drink the soup? That's the best part ! pho- vietnamese beef noodle "SOUP" . Just be careful when eating out at most restaurants they put tons of MSG in the soup.... In case your wondering why you may feel really tired after eating pho.
