phở

Big news - this weekend I went out to eat in Amherst and I see a sign that says "PHO - VIETNAMESE NOODLES". It was in a lame "oriental" font, so I was a bit suspicious...

For those of you who don't know, I have been phở-less since coming to Massachusetts - a sad situation. So I was filled with a mixture of excitement and fear of disappointment as I walked into the restaurant.

Long story short - I got "the usual" - although the menu didn't have any Vietnamese on it, I went for what would have been called the "pho dac biet" complete with rare steak, tripe, and "Frank" (I assume they meant fatty flank).

Price: $6.75 (about 2 dollars more than a Haltom dac biet)
Portion: plenty of meat, but a little low on noodles. didn't fill the bowl
Complaint: as all of you pho-lovers know, there is a thick "brown sauce" that you put in the soup before eating. It's supposed to be thick, about like barbecue sauce. I start to pour some on my soup, and out comes something the consistency of soy sauce. Alarms go off.

All that said, the pho was actually not bad. Definitely not worth the 6.75 price tag, if I were in Fort Worth. But beggers can't be choosers - it looks like there's now a place to get my phở fix in Amherst. Yeehaw.