Pho Hoa

I love new food experiences. As I was growing up, I lived next door to my grandmother, who said (more times than I can count) that I should never say I don't like something until I have tried it once. She would allow us to skip eating something she made for dinner, but only if we had tried it before and given it a chance. That thinking stuck in my head, and I began to realize that most things that were served on a plate were at least tolerable, if not enjoyable. I even had the opportunity to turn this around on my grandmother when I was in high school, when we took her and my mom out for Mother's Day to a nice French restaurant. I ordered escargot, one of my favorites, but which my grandmother had never tried in her life. When I asked her if she wanted to try it, she wrinkled her nose and said no. But when I asked if she had ever tried it before, she knew she was done for. She tried it and still didn't like it, but it was fun to see her (pun intended) "taste her own medicine."

When I was in college, my food experiences expanded greatly when I took three trips to Africa. During those trips, I truly learned to eat anything that was set in front of me, be it termites, monkey, or (yes, it's true) dog. Then two years in Europe further enlarged my palette (and my waistline), and now I live in Chicago with the most international group of friends I have ever had. Consequently, when I am offered a new food I have not tried before, my instinctive reaction is excitement and anticipation rather than nervousness and revulsion.

One of my most recent new culinary experiences has been the Vietnamese soup called Pho. This meal was introduced to me by my friend Chun a couple months ago, and I enjoyed it instantly. Since then, I have found that another good friend of mine is also a Pho fan, so we have gone on several occasions to various restaurants near Broadway and Argyle that serve the soup. The first of these restaurants, and still my favorite, is Pho Hoa at 4925 N. Broadway in Chicago. It has a very laid-back "cafe" feel, but they serve delicious soup in portions more than I can eat for about six dollars. They also have pretty decent smoothies, and a bonus is that there is free parking in the lot there (rather than having to search for street parking as with most restaurants in the area).

For those unfamiliar with Pho, it is a beef-broth based soup to which is added white rice noodles, green and white onions, and various types of meat, such as beef brisket, meatballs, tripe, and tendon. Along with the soup they will include a plate with fresh basil, lime, bean sprouts, and chile peppers to be added into the soup. And, at the table, there is hoisin sauce, fish sauce, and hot sauce to be mixed in with all these ingredients. Personally, I add all of the ingredients except the peppers and hot sauce, since I think the flavor is delicious enough without needing that extra kick. While eating the soup, I have often wondered who came up with this combination of ingredients, but put simply, it works. It is a delicious meal for less than I'd pay at McDonalds. If you have not tried Pho, I highly recommend it, and Pho Hoa is definitely a good option to start your experience.

A interesting cultural side note....I was once again at Pho Hoa on Sunday for dinner with my friend, and we both noticed that, as happened on previous visits, the waiter seemed to be inattentive to us, not bringing our bill to us even though we had finished eating quite a bit earlier. Finally, I went up to the kitchen area myself to get the bill and pay for the meal. But, when looking up information about Pho while typing this post, I ran across this statement in Wikipedia: "Vietnamese pho restaurants usually retain the cultural practice of not delivering the bill to a customer's table, since it is considered rude—in Vietnamese culture, it is seen as a way of trying to rush the customer out the door."