On a recent trip to San Francisco, I ate at a small family run Vietnamese Restaurant. The visit wasn’t planned, but after a 4 mile skateboard adventure through the cold city, nothing looked better than that sign for Pho.

In case you didn’t know, Pho (pronounced “fuh”) is a Vietnamese Soup with thin beef slices and rice noodles in beef broth. Usually it is served with a cold platter of fresh bean sprouts, jalapeños, mint, basil, and lime. Diners can add this to taste.

I ordered the Pho Tai Bo Vien, which is Pho with thin sliced rare beef and beef balls. My favorite part of eating Pho is the one-of-a-kind broth. Maybe it was because I was freezing cold 20 minutes before, but this broth was especially good. The beef balls were savory and it never crossed my mind (until now) that these are the Vietnamese equivalent of an American Hot Dog.

This place is run by a really friendly small family. The lady here was especially hospitable. It really felt like she was serving us dinner out of her own kitchen. She took great care in making the Iced Vietnamese Coffee which was crucial since I don’t know how to use the table side coffee drip devices.

Tags: Travel · Food ·