Thursday, May 1, 2008

Viet Niam Pho





Address:
7640 15th Ave Seattle Wa 98103

Phone:
206-783-4310

Price:
Small - 4.35
Large - 5.15
X-Large - 6.35

Rating: 4.75

I figured that I would start with a review of my favorite Pho eatery. Viat Naim Pho is in Ballard. As far as I am concerned, this place sets the bar for Pho. The menu only consists of Pho, cream puffs, spring rolls, and drinks. I ordered a large Tai Chin Nam Gau Gan Sach, which is eye-round steak, well done flank, marble brisket, soft tendon, and tripe. This is what I normally order when I am enjoying a bowl of Pho. I know it is not very common for a "westerner" to enjoy tripe and tendon, but if you can make the tripe and tendon taste good then that is a true measure of a great bowl of Pho.

This bowl of pho was a great bowl of soup. It had the perfect balance of meat and noodles. The meat was sliced thin and was full of flavor. The tripe and tendon were also thinly sliced and the flavor did not overwhelm the rest of the meal. The condiment plate that traditionally comes with a bowl of pho was the perfect size. There was enough jalapeño, which was also sliced thin. There is nothing worse then getting big chunks of jalapeño because the flavor just over bears the soup. The broth at Viat Naim Pho is probably the best broth I have ever tasted. I always end up drinking all of it and i always get a feeling of disappointment when it is gone. At Viet Naim you are served a cream puff with every bowl of pho. Their cream puffs are great and I almost always think about buying some for later as I walk out the door. Overall, as I said at the beginning, I love this place and can't recommend it enough. If you love pho, I bet you will love this place.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I used to eat at this place over a period of several years but I finally gave up as they are very inattentive and no one seem to tell the server when a customer walks in. The owner used to work at the Than Brothers near Greenlake before he opened this place. They are better than Than Bros. My favorite is still Pho Bac on the corner of Jackson, Boren and Rainier. Pho So 1 down the street used to be pretty good but I haven't been there recently.

You are right about Pho Duc but unfortunately, my niece loves to go there because they serve a kid's bowl and they know her and her Dad as they go in once a week. Their soup is as bland as Tic-Tac on Aurora. As you mentioned, Pho of Aurora on 130th was a pleasant surprise.