Pho the love of soup

Variations of Vietnamese staple heats up menus

Pho.

The word looks so exotic.

The land it comes from, Vietnam, is so exotic.

But the beef noodle soup is about as down-home as you can get.

And pho (rhymes with duh) is spilling out all over Tucson.

Two restaurants serving the Vietnamese soup have recently opened. At least three others here offer it.

Pho is to the Vietnamese what tomato soup is to those who grew up in this country: a necessary comfort food.

"We'd have pho every Sunday after church," said Steve Ma, owner of and the talent behind the soup at Miss Saigon. Ma grew up in North Vietnam. His mother and grandmother taught him how to make the soup.

The base for the broth is beef. "We slow-cook it with beef bones for about 12 hours," Ma said.

It can be gently spiked with such seasonings as anise, roasted ginger, cilantro and onions - though how it is seasoned varies from restaurant to restaurant.

At Miss Saigon, for instance, anise is not in the broth, but a smidgen of sugar and cinnamon is.

A whole slew of ingredients can be added just before it is served to the customer. All restaurants add the pho - rice noodles. The hot broth softens them up. Most of the places we sampled offered the same add-ons: choices of thinly sliced beef - rare and cooked (the hot, hot broth cooks the rare when it is poured over it); tripe; tendons; brisket; shank; and compact, wildly tasty Vietnamese meatballs.

At almost any of the restaurants, and you can get it all in one.

A fragrant cloud of steam hovers over the large bowl as it is set in front of the diner. It is accompanied by a plate piled high with sweet basil, little pinwheel slices of jalapeño, crunchy bean sprouts and lime quarters.

Here's how it's eaten, according to Ma:

* First, eat it while it's hot - otherwise, those noodles will get too soggy.

* Add bits of basil, a handful of the sprouts and the jalapeño, if you are so inclined, and squeeze it with the lime. Don't throw it all in at once - the herbs will overcook and lose their flavors.

* Take chopsticks in one hand and a spoon in the other. Pick out your noodles and meats with the sticks, the broth with your spoon, and "eat and sip, eat and sip," Ma said. Hoison and chile sauces are often served on the side - you can add them to the broth, but they are really intended as a dip for the meat, he said.

* Eat and drink the whole thing.

Pho, said Ma, varies according to the part of Vietnam from which its cooks hail. In the north, the broth is generally more meaty; in the south, it has a sweeter tinge, he said.

Now we know what you're thinking: It's hot outside. Who wants soup?

But consider this: Hot foods make us sweat. Sweat makes us cooler.

Besides, from our vantage point, any weather goes when good food is involved.

A ladle of the places that serve pho in the Old Pueblo:

* Miss Saigon, 1072 N. Campbell Ave., 320-9511

Price: $4-$6.50

Hours: 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays; noon-9:30 p.m. Sundays.

At Miss Saigon, the onions and scallions are served on the side, so you can add those if you like.

The broth was a rich, meaty one, the meats thinly sliced and tender, and the giant meatball a masterpiece. It was hand-ground and handmade, we're told. And the seasoning is minimal: black pepper. There's no filler added to this meatball, Ma said. Its full taste bears him out.

Pho 88, 2746 N. Campbell Ave., 881-8883

Price: $5.50-$6.50

Hours: 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. daily

Pride practically bursts out of the Lam family, which owns this new addition to the restaurant scene.

The Lams are mighty pleased with their pho, and they've every right:

The broth is full and meat-flavored, with just a tinge of sweetness, possibly from anise.

The onions and scallions are added to the broth for you; the sprouts, basil and jalepeño are served on the side.

The texture-rich tripe was tender, and the meatballs - cut into smaller pieces than at Miss Saigon, were tender and subtly flavored. Miss Saigon and Pho 88 (88 is the restaurant's lucky number, we were told) were the favorites of the four sampled.

Cali Restaurant, 2511 E. Speedway, 323-9886

Price: $5-$6

Hours: 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays

The pho choices aren't as varied at this new restaurant: There's the sliced beef and the beef ball.

The beef was tender, but the broth was on the bland side, as though it hadn't spent the intimate cooking time with the beef bones that it should have.

Basil, sprouts and the jalapeño were abundant, and tips on how to eat the dish were graciously given.

Pho Thu Vietnamese Restaurant, 2226 N. Stone Ave., 670-1705

Price: $4.99-$6.25

Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays

This is the granddaddy of pho spots in Tucson - the restaurant opened four years ago, settling into the space that Three Sisters originally occupied.

The broth was sweet and not terribly meaty, the slices of beef a little on the thick side, the tripe more chewy than it should have been, and the meatballs so rubbery they nearly bounced.

The noodles, however, were generous, and the sides of sprouts, basil and jalapeño managed to give the broth more oomph.

* Contact Kathleen Allen at allkat@azstarnet.com or
573-4128.