We went to Pho Super Bowl with Mom and Dad (my parents-in-law) and our sister and brother-in-law on Tuesday, December 22, 2009. Mom first heard about Pho Super Bowl from her niece (our cousin). She also saw that it got good reviews on yelp.com. She then tried it herself with some friends. To get there from the house we drove north on Ramona, followed it to where it became Mission Drive, and then turned left on Main Street. That intersection is a bit confusing because the east-west street is named Main Street to the left (west) and Las Tunas Ave. to the right (east). We then turned left into a shopping center with a big sign for Pho Super Bowl.
Pho is pronounced “fuh” and is Vietnamese rice noodle soup. Pho Super Bowl is a small to medium-sized restaurant with yellow walls and framed photos of scenes from Vietnam on them. They seated us at a table for eight and gave us menus. We learned from them that the “Super Bowl” in the restaurant’s name referred to one of the two sizes of bowls of pho that could be ordered and not to the NFL championship game. The other size that can be ordered is Regular. Every menu item has a corresponding number and there are two pages of all the different phos. However, there didn’t seem to be much variation among them. Most contained steak either rare flank or well-down flank, and/or brisket. They also had chicken, pork and vegetarian pho. The menu had many items beside pho. There were sections for appetizers, rice dishes, vermicelli dishes, and on the back page were listed drinks and desserts including many teas and some sundaes.
We placed our orders by telling the waiter the numbers corresponding to each choice. On our table were carols with utensils: forks, spoons, deep plastic soup spoons, and chopsticks. They brought us our drinks first. I ordered the soybean milk so I could compare it to the soy milk that I often drink. It tasted like it came right from the beans and didn’t have any added sweeteners or flavors. That doesn’t mean it tasted better than soy milk, though. But it quenched my thirst. They also brought the pot of tea that Dad had ordered for us. Next they brought our appetizer of two orders of egg rolls. They were medium size and came with garnish of rice noodles, shredded carrots, and lettuce. There were some small bowls of sweet clear sauce for dipping. The egg rolls were crunchy and flavorful but also very hot in temperature. The first one I bit into burned my mouth.
They then brought our entrees. Each one looked like a lot of food. Even my regular bowl of pho didn’t look much small than another’s super bowl. They also brought plates of vegetables to add to our pho such as bean sprouts. I added a few but I guess I was supposed to let them cook a bit because they tasted too raw. I was too hungry to wait. The pho broth had a lot of flavor and was slightly sweet. I’d only had pho once or twice before. I think the last time was as a lunch special at Garland Café. At Pho Super Bowl I got the number 14: pho with well-done flank steak and golden brisket. The meat was in strips among the rice noodles and flavored by the pho broth. Some strips of meat had quite a bit of fat. I ate most of the broth before trying the noodles so it wouldn’t be too messy but I still got some oily drops on my shirt.
Mom enjoyed her pork chop with rice. It looked flattened tender and she said it tasted good, not too salty. My wife thought her Cornish game hen was OK but not as good as when Mom makes it. She also felt that the butter rice that came with the hen didn’t taste particularly buttery. As we finished our entrees the waiter gave us complimentary tapioca pudding for dessert. It was made with coconut milk and tasted OK. I still suffered from some digestive irritation that kept me awake through the night and made the next day a struggle. I can’t think what could have caused it. It didn’t feel like I had dairy. Perhaps it was the soybean milk, the raw bean sprouts, or the tapioca pudding? In any case, when it comes to Super Bowls, I’ll stick with the NFL championship game.
Pho is pronounced “fuh” and is Vietnamese rice noodle soup. Pho Super Bowl is a small to medium-sized restaurant with yellow walls and framed photos of scenes from Vietnam on them. They seated us at a table for eight and gave us menus. We learned from them that the “Super Bowl” in the restaurant’s name referred to one of the two sizes of bowls of pho that could be ordered and not to the NFL championship game. The other size that can be ordered is Regular. Every menu item has a corresponding number and there are two pages of all the different phos. However, there didn’t seem to be much variation among them. Most contained steak either rare flank or well-down flank, and/or brisket. They also had chicken, pork and vegetarian pho. The menu had many items beside pho. There were sections for appetizers, rice dishes, vermicelli dishes, and on the back page were listed drinks and desserts including many teas and some sundaes.
We placed our orders by telling the waiter the numbers corresponding to each choice. On our table were carols with utensils: forks, spoons, deep plastic soup spoons, and chopsticks. They brought us our drinks first. I ordered the soybean milk so I could compare it to the soy milk that I often drink. It tasted like it came right from the beans and didn’t have any added sweeteners or flavors. That doesn’t mean it tasted better than soy milk, though. But it quenched my thirst. They also brought the pot of tea that Dad had ordered for us. Next they brought our appetizer of two orders of egg rolls. They were medium size and came with garnish of rice noodles, shredded carrots, and lettuce. There were some small bowls of sweet clear sauce for dipping. The egg rolls were crunchy and flavorful but also very hot in temperature. The first one I bit into burned my mouth.
They then brought our entrees. Each one looked like a lot of food. Even my regular bowl of pho didn’t look much small than another’s super bowl. They also brought plates of vegetables to add to our pho such as bean sprouts. I added a few but I guess I was supposed to let them cook a bit because they tasted too raw. I was too hungry to wait. The pho broth had a lot of flavor and was slightly sweet. I’d only had pho once or twice before. I think the last time was as a lunch special at Garland Café. At Pho Super Bowl I got the number 14: pho with well-done flank steak and golden brisket. The meat was in strips among the rice noodles and flavored by the pho broth. Some strips of meat had quite a bit of fat. I ate most of the broth before trying the noodles so it wouldn’t be too messy but I still got some oily drops on my shirt.
Mom enjoyed her pork chop with rice. It looked flattened tender and she said it tasted good, not too salty. My wife thought her Cornish game hen was OK but not as good as when Mom makes it. She also felt that the butter rice that came with the hen didn’t taste particularly buttery. As we finished our entrees the waiter gave us complimentary tapioca pudding for dessert. It was made with coconut milk and tasted OK. I still suffered from some digestive irritation that kept me awake through the night and made the next day a struggle. I can’t think what could have caused it. It didn’t feel like I had dairy. Perhaps it was the soybean milk, the raw bean sprouts, or the tapioca pudding? In any case, when it comes to Super Bowls, I’ll stick with the NFL championship game.
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