Pho Friday (In case you can't think of anything else to do that night.)

I have updated my restaurant list (to the left). If you keep up with it, you will see that I have added two Vietnamese restaurants to it:  Pho 95 and New Saigon.

Now, you have to understand that I am no expert in Vietnamese cuisine. In fact, until a couple of years ago, if you mentioned Vietnamese food to me, I might have responded by saying, "barf!" So cultured, I know! The truth is, I didn't have the stomach for the fish sauce. It totally disagreed with me, and even now, I'm still a bit wary of it. But I have changed my ways. A dear friend of mine introduced me to pho (a million thanks, Aerie!), and it's been on my mind ever since. Since the intro to pho, I've even braved trying other dishes and have liked them. Fresh spring rolls, crispy fried spring rolls, cold noodle bowls, and et cetera. I think, though, that pho remains my favorite. There's just something that satisfies all the culinary senses--hot, fragrant broth, smooth rice noodles, bright and sour lime, and fresh, crisp sprouts and herbs.

This same friend introduced me to Pho 95 at SouthGlenn (Arapahoe and University). My understanding is that this is their second store, their main restaurant is on Federal. Service here is friendly, staff is knowledgeable, and dishes are excellent. Oh, and inexpensive. This place has been busy every time I've been here. Jake and I usually end up ordering either the #17 pho (brisket and tripe) or the grilled pork noodle bowl.

New Saigon (630 S. Federal Blvd.) is also excellent, but more of a general Vietnamese cuisine than a pho joint. We have only been here once because, well, we've got small kids and Federal is not so close to where we live. But that's the only reason why we haven't gone. Spring rolls come on a plate loaded with vegetables with which to wrap them, and even their smoothies are to-die-for. The day that we were there, the resaurant was completely full--people waiting for a table, and people ordering these smoothies to go. Super busy. If you eat there, you will understand why.

So, two new restaurants worth checking out. I'm hoping to try some more new (to me) restaurants in the near future, so watch for that.

As a side note, I will grace you all with my pho-making experience. I found a recipe for making pho at home. It is not difficult at all. Just time-consuming--it is, after all, a rich, flavorful stock. It was awesome. The only wrench in the whole process was when it was time to pour in the fish sauce. Wow. It was like liquid death. In case you don't know, fish sauce is quite fragrant. Pungent. Actually, quite frankly, it reeks like death. And it didn't help that I was pregnant at the time. The lesson here is, if you're dabbling in making your own Vietnamese cuisine, and you have a finely-tuned olfactory sense, back off of the fish sauce until you know what you're in for!