Lucky Pho'

After my so-so pho experience at Kim's Vietnamese Chinese Restaurant, I was jonesing for a really good bowl of pho. Kirk (mmm-yoso) really enjoys the pho at Lucky Pho (read his review here), so I decided it was finally time to try it. Hey, Kirk hasn't steered me wrong yet (and a few hundred, maybe even thousands, of other San Diegans). With my friend, L, in tow, we headed over for lunch last week.

I've shopped at Lucky Seafood Supermarket many times but never eaten in the adjoining restaurant. And it dawned on me that I rarely eat at any "adjoining" type of establishments. Most likely some subconcious idiosyncrasy I got from my mom (I have a few of those!). She believed the food to be subpar from a "real" restaurant. Why? I never bothered to ask. But I had no trepedations about trying Lucky Pho. As a matter of fact, L and I were quite eager.

The restaurant was clean, less than half full when we got there around 11:15 am. We were greeted by a pleasant young man who escorted us to our table and gave us menus. L decided on a bowl of rare steak and medium flank and me the rare steak and tendon, our modus operandi. Shortly after, our bowls came. We noticed right off what Kirk described as a beefy broth. I immediately took a sip and sighed a happy "ahhhhhh." L agreed that this was the best broth that we've had. Rich, beefy, good depth, and nicely seasoned. It was so good, I didn't add anything else to it so I can enjoy all its richness as is.

This is my bowl. You can still see a bit of rare in one of the pieces, and the tendons were incredibly good. When I first picked up a piece of steak, I was a bit worried it might be tough because it was thicker than those in other pho places. But was I wrong. These steak and flank were the most tender we've had. And there was lots of it.

Okay, so all the add-ins are great. Moment of truth -- the noodles. After breaking it apart (the typical lump of noodles), I had my first bite. Ahhh, al dente, cooked just right. It had good pull just like Kirk described. Wonderful! Exactly what I was craving. L and I kept making "mmm-mmm-mmm" sounds as we finished our bowls. There was no doubt that these were the best bowls of pho we've had. As a matter of fact, we enjoyed it so much, we're going back today.

Thanks, Kirk, as usual.

Lucky Pho (next to Lucky Seafood Supermarket)
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
(858) 586-7979
Hours: Mon-Sun. 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Now go and eat well.