Pho of Aurora was the first stop on my pho tour and at the time I gave it a good review. I finally managed to get back there this weekend. I suspected that I had gotten more demanding in my reviews after the first few, so I was eager to go back and see what I thought -- plus it's not far from home and I wanted to know for sure if I have a quality neighborhood pho joint. alas, my fears were confirmed; this time I found the broth unmemorable, somewhere at the mid-to-low end of the "pretty good" that most places scored. the meat was uninspired as well. now maybe they're just inconsistent, but I figure there's a good chance I overrated them on my first trip.

all of which leaves me without a really good neighborhood choice. I guess both Tic Tac and Vietnam are not too far away, though it's too bad there's no decent place right nearby, or at least along this strip of Aurora; I was hoping to be able to flash some 99 pride, but so far no deal.

dgirl1: i got super sick from fucking Cyclo
optic: how sic
optic: k
dgirl1: like felt totally unwell after eating and got home about an hour plus later, threw up and went to bed from 4:15 until 6:30 and finally got out at about 8
dgirl1: i feel ok now just drank a ton of water and ate an orange
optic: ugh
dgirl1: the basil looked old and the spring rolls were totally dry and kinda gross so i didn't finish
dgirl1: and they brought no water to anyone and the broth was extra salty - all in all - thumbs down
optic: weak
dgirl1: yeah you can quote me
optic: someone said they use a lot of msg
dgirl1: that may be why i felt like i was high in the door store combined with 2 hours at the gym

Now, no one denies that Tamarind Tree is really good, one of Seattle's better restaurants and hugely popular. But the question is: how does it compare to the pho joints? I have to say... not as well as you'd hope. I mean, the pho was fine, pretty good. But Tamarind Tree is something special, and I don't know what I was expecting from their pho, but it wasn't particularly memorable. Certainly, if it's pho I want I'll probably go somewhere else -- and when I'm at Tamarind Tree there's many other things to try.

I'm not sure if Pho Vietnam 2 (the sign has the 2, though citysearch just calls it Pho VIetnam) is related to Vietnam Restaurant, which I reviewed before. The pho tasted similar, if I remember right, the free cream puff was similar, and I think they had the same menu (the menu looked very familiar anyway, and I think it was at Vietnam that I saw it before). Anyway, my review for the other Vietnam applies: pretty good, flavorful broth. Everything else solid, nothing outstanding. I went with Cid, who got the veggie pho, and her broth was pretty tasty too -- flavorful, with a nice oniony flavor. Not that I've sampled much veggie pho.

I have to confess it: I think I'm done with the pho thing. Not that I'm tired of pho or don't want to keep exploring, but I've run out of things to say. Seattle has a lot of pretty good pho places, and except for the occasional standout broth, incredible meat, unusual spice mix, or horrible experience, there's not a whole lot for me to say beyond "I went to _____ and hey the pho was pretty good". I'm also having a little trouble keeping them straight. And I got a job (though I still have a week before I start). So I'm probably not going to be reviewing as hard; in fact, I want to revisit a few places and see what I think on the second round (most notably Pho of Aurora, which I may have overrated as my first stop, and Pho Bac, which Peter insists I underrated).

Five Seasons Grill opened in the last few months right near me, and I was excited to have a vietnamese place so close. Unfortunately, I've been underwhelmed by the food (though other online reviewers and the PI seem pretty impressed). I stopped by this week to try their pho, which I hadn't sampled yet.

I certainly don't understand the reviews that praise the pho to the skies (though I'll forgive the guy who compared it favorably to than brothers -- it was better than dishwater). I found it squarely in the "fine" category. Nothing bad, but nothing really stood out as memorable either. A step above un-pho-gettable from the day before, nice to have in the neighborhood, but not something you'd travel for.

(this cookie recipe)

The review of Un-pho-gettable pretty much writes itself: totally forgettable pho. The broth was fairly uninteresting, the meat ordinary, and they even skimped on the onions and other greens in the soup. It's probably the closest to my house, but with several other good places in the neighborhood, I don't see any reason to go back.

Yes, I took a pho break the last couple of days, after my burnout moment at Saigon City. Instead of pho, I explored some other local flavors: a nearby bbq place (this one, I think), and an ethiopian (maybe eritrean?) place, cafe weini. Both were pretty good.. good enough to be on my rotation of local places for when I don't feel like cooking. Maybe back to pho duty today.

I think I may be suffering pho burnout. Not in the sense that I'm tired of pho, at all, but it's becoming hard to distinguish one from another sometimes, and even harder to say anything new or original. Anyway, Saigon City is a highly recommended east side pho joint. I was there for lunch, before a meeting at Microsoft, and I actually expected to find it more packed with Microsofties and whoever during the lunch hour. I wouldn't exactly say it has ambience, but nor is it the standard dingy pho joint (and the prices are a little higher accordingly). It was a nice place to sit with my book and bowl of pho, especially while I could look around and know that pretty much everyone else there had to be back at work soon.

Anyway, they offer a good broth, with a fair amount of depth and complexity. You get the nice hint of cinnamon and star anise when they first set the bowl down, and the first taste is flavorful, with a fairly full flavor as you keep tasting it. The meat is pretty good, standard stuff, with perfectly-done noodles. They're very generous with the basil, and I was glad to see chili sauce on the table. I pretty much cleaned out my bowl.

Cilantro haters, by the way, will be glad to hear their pho seems to be cilantro-free (I haven't really been noting who does or doesn't have cilantro, but I had poor cilantro-intolerant Peter on my mind today, since he recommended Saigon City in the first place).

I hadn't heard of Pho Viet Anh before I found it via citysearch and decided to stop there yesterday after some downtown shopping, but apparently it's a favorite for many, especially if they live around Queen Anne*. It does have a leg up on most pho joints, having nice decor and actual atmosphere, with a bit of a tiki bar vibe and some mood lighting. The menu also goes a little beyond the standard pho joint options (though not to the book-length complexity of someplace like Tamarind Tree). Though you pay a little for the luxury: the price for a bowl of pho is a few dollars up from the standard dingy joint.

Anyway, the pho itself was pretty good. The broth was tasty, though like many it had more flavor impact up front with less complexity behind it. In other words, the first taste is really good, but it gets less interesting fairly quickly. The meat was fairly standard. The noodles, as is common, were a little undercooked at first but after a few minutes of eating, perfect. No chili sauce, just sriracha and some weird kind of dry chili thing that I didn't try. So, pretty good pho, and a step above in decor in atmosphere.

*Actually, after looking more carefully at the reviews on the stranger, yelp, and especially citysearch, I'm suspicious that there's a certain amount of astroturfing going on. (hint to unscrupulous business owners: when you add fake reviews, don't make them all 5 stars and by user accounts that have never reviewed anything else).

After picking up some more kitchen cabinetry from Ikea Sunday (but that's a story for a different series of posts!), E and I stopped out our new favorite (okay only) Renton eatery, Lemon Leaf. We were drawn there on a previous Ikea trip by the attractive signage (really, nice design; and it's a preview of the beautifully designed interior) and the nearly constant craving for Vietnamese food we've had since our trip there. The place is fairly new and the inside looks like they just unwrapped it. The first time we were there it was almost empty, but this time it had a decent amount of traffic for lunch, so it may be catching on. Lemon Leaf isn't really a pho joint -- it's a full-on Vietnamese restaurant with a varied and tempting menu. But for now I stuck firm to my pho quest (though we did share some of their egg rolls -- really, the traditional Hanoi-style fried spring roll; they were very good, though their nuoc cham seemed a little watered down).

They don't have an extensive menu of pho options, but I got the standard steak pho. The broth was pretty good. It had a lot of flavor and was very interesting up front, but not a whole lot of depth afterwards. otherwise, the pho was fairly standard, maybe a little skimpy on the noodles and accompanying herbs (more basil please!). I wouldn't knock Lemon Leaf -- we've had other good stuff there -- and the pho was fine, but I'd go there for other foods, and have my pho elsewhere.

About the third thing out of my mouth when E picked me up from Seatac on my return from Atlanta Friday night was "let's get pho!" Since we had to go by that way anyway, I thought it would be a good chance to start hitting some of the ID's best pho joints, and since it turns out both of us had our first pho there, we decided to hit Pho Bac. Last time I was there, I only remember having to choose "large" or "small"; there are a few choices of different meat in your pho, but this isn't the sort of place where you can get chicken or veggie. And no cream puffs.

Anyway, pho bac has a good broth, though for a place often pointed to as among the best in Seattle, it's surprisingly not great. I thought it was a little thin and lacking in depth, though well-rounded and fairly flavorful. However, they had definitely the best meat I've had yet; it was somehow extra meaty and tender and almost melted in my mouth. I also appreciated an especially generous serving of herbs and veggies, including double lime wedges.

One thing my dad wanted me to do while I was here was take his convertible out for a drive, since it's been sitting lonely in the garage. Twist my arm. So I went out for a while yesterday and managed to slip into Pho Tan Tan, one of several pho places along the heavily asian stretch of Buford Highway in Chamblee. I'd looked up a few in citysearch, but ended up here because I could find it and it looked nice from the outside. As soon as I walked in though, I was a little worried -- it's a huge place, completely empty, and has more the mood of a banquet-friendly Chinese restaurant than a pho joint.

Still, I sat down and ordered a bowl of pho tai and had it in front of me in a few minutes. One thing I noticed immediately was the spicy smell coming off the bowl, and indeed the broth seemed to feature a bit more cinnamon and star anise than usual. Other than that it was a decent broth, fairly flavorful though a bit overwhelmed by the extra spice. I found it an interesting change from the pho I've been having, but I wouldn't want it to be my every-day pho. Other than that, the pho was fairly standard, good if not remarkable. Though frankly, $7 for a bowl of pho just seems outrageous compared to the usual rates.

When I got home, I looked up the place but it isn't in citysearch. I did find various reviews (here, here, here, here, here, here, and here), some pretty positive and some very negative. There are a couple of other places in the area that are better-reviewed (and maybe I'll have time to hit one), so Tan Tan probably shouldn't be your first choice. Pho Tan Tan, 4646 Buford Hwy, Chamblee 30340.

Nick and I got back into the routine of spending the whole weekend on the kitchen, so I haven't had any pho. This coming week I'll be in Atlanta, and will hopefully be reporting on the pho situation there (though I'm not sure I'll have time every day). Anyway, my first week of pho was great. I haven't gotten tired of it yet at all (in fact, I'm kind of wishing I had some for breakfast right now), and I feel like I'm gaining a greater appreciation for what makes a good bowl of pho.

Anyway, aside from the visit to Pho Hoa in Redmond, I've been exploring my general North Seattle neighborhood. In order of preference, I'd have to say: Pho of Aurora, Vietnam, Tic Tac, Pho Hoa, Than Brothers. I feel like I need to go back to Pho of Aurora though: it was my first of the bunch and my tastes are probably more refined now. Anyway, more to come.

Friday I paid a visit to Pho Tic Tac in Greenwood on 85th (sorry, Eric). Tic Tac is almost upscale by pho joint standards -- they appear to have made an actual effort toward interior design, and added little details like chopsticks that match the green of their decor. Still, it's your basic pho menu, with the typical options and prices. Except that there are some extra dishes on there, including some noodle plate one of the employees was eating (I was there at a slow time again, about 3:00, so several employees were eating lunch on their breaks) that looked really good.

However! My mission is pho, so pho is what I got -- a large bowl with flank and meatballs. The broth was very good, a rich flavorful taste with a fair amount of depth and no strange sharpness or anything. I was happy to slurp some before adding anything (and I slurped it to the bottom too). The flank was good but the meatballs were a little weird; I'm not sure what, but there was an odd aftertaste to them I didn't like. The vegetables and extras were all good, with plenty of onions and so on in the broth. They offer a chili sauce (the kind in a round container with a spoon, with visible seeds in it), which I've decided I prefer to either sriracha or chili oil. The oil adds funny red globules to the soup, and I've come to the conclusion after a solid week of pho that the sriracha calls too much attention to itself when you add it in. It has a sharpish flavor you can detect immediately, and I prefer the more neutral chili sauce. Anyway, this was a good bowl of pho (but skip the meatballs).

Today keph joined me for an outing to Vietnam Restaurant, the place to go if you're in Ballard/Crown Hill (unless you prefer the Ballard Than Brothers; I'm coming to the conclusion that there are two types of pho eaters in Seattle: those who think Than Brothers rules or is near the top, and those who don't). Anyway, Vietnam follows the standard pho joint template of being unassuming, seedy, cheap, and not heavy on ambiance. Humorously, the pho part of the menu looks like it was copied word-for-word from Than Brothers -- same choices, presented in the exact same way. They also offer the complimentary cream puff, though I liked Than Brothers' better. By the way, make sure you bring cash to Vietnam; no credit cards.

Anyway. The broth is very good. Like at Pho of Aurora, it had a good rich, full flavor, not too bright and not too thin, with a lot of depth. This is a bowl you want to lick to the bottom. For variety, I ordered mine with steak and extra meatballs, both very good. Like at Than Brothers, the pho had plenty of onions and greenery in it. The noodles were done about perfectly, maybe a tad underdone at the first couple of bites but perfect after a few more minutes.

The strangest thing about lunch at A16 was the coincidence that our waiter there had been our waiter the previous night at Orson. Fortunately, he's a really good waiter. He steered us well at Orson, had good suggestions at A16, and recommended some other places to try (including Front Porch, where we ended up Saturday night). A16 is known especially for their pizzas, though we were anticipating the meatballs, since E's dad had actually made their meatball recipe before and it was great. Of course, meat-lovers that we are, we were happy to discover they had a charcuterie selection. On our waiter's recommendation we tried the house-cured ciccioli, which is almost more of a pate than what you'd usually think of as a cured meat (here's a description of the process). This one was soft and sort-of spreadable, though not as much as a pate, more somewhere between sausage and pate. Regardless, it was really good; especially if you don't think about exactly what pig parts might be in there. It also went well with their really really good table bread, which had a nice thick crust and soft inside.

For our main courses, we had:
- Pork meatballs braised in tomato with basil and grana padano. These were amazingly light and fluffy meatballs, with a great pork flavor, and just enough tomato and basil to complement without overwhelming. The texture was great, though personally I prefer meatballs a little more dense.
- Pizza salsiccia - fennel sausage, rapini, red onions, mozzarella, grana padano, garlic, chiles. The crust on this pizza was very good, thin and crispy. I usually don't like the bitter-ish greens so wasn't crazy about the rapini but didn't mind it. The sausage was good and fennel-y.
- Huckleberry sorbetto, fresh yogurt gelato, honey almond gelato. We had originally passed on dessert, since we were planning a trip to Bi-Rite later, but our waiter knew it was E's birthday and brought us these three treats with a candle. All three were good, and were especially good together. The yogurt stood out though just because the flavor was so fresh and clear. I didn't know what it was when I took my first bite and it was a yogurty taste explosion.

Yesterday's pho was at Than Brothers (the one at Aurora & 77th). I think it may be the most recommended Seattle pho joint outside the international district; certainly it appears on many people's lists, though that may be partly because of the delicious cream puff included with every bowl of pho (which, yes, is delicious). The menu, as usual, has a bunch of options depending on which combinations of meat parts you want, plus extra this or that. And unlike the standard small/large option, they actually offer four choices, all of them fairly large and cheap. Again, I was there at sort of a dead time, around 3:00 in the afternoon; in fact, it was so dead (there were a couple people eating) that no one who worked there even saw me for a while and they were pretty lackadaisical about bringing me some water and taking my order. I attribute this to the hour though mostly, since I hear at peak time they are fast and efficient.

Anyway, of course, first comes the broth tasting. And I have to say, it was a bit of a letdown. Compared to others, the broth seemed a little thin and less flavorful. Not bad, of course, but the first impression was a small letdown, and several slurps didn't change my opinion. On the other hand, the meat was really good (I had the steak and well-done flank), and the pho featured lots of flavorful onions, green onions, and cilantro., which I like. I also tried their chili oil instead of the usual sriracha, which made for the visual excitements of lots floating globules of reddish oil, and good flavor. Still though, in the end the broth is king and I wasn't super-captivated by theirs; though I enjoyed my cream puff.