524973 Mon Jun 02 13:24:06 -0700 2008 22 8 Midwest 0 3742342 I live in Los Angeles and my Pho 79 here serves a wonderful charbroiled pork Pho. I can't get over how fantastically deep and delicious this makes the broth. Is there anywhere in the MSP area that serves this dish? Will be visiting 6/16-7/2 (and will post more questions soon). As always, I thank you in advance! Mon Jun 02 13:24:08 -0700 2008 12400 WildSwede 1 3744721 Not a direct answer, but Pho Tau Bay has a grilled pork broken rice platter that is about the tastiest grilled meat I've ever tasted. Minneapolis on Nicollet Ave, aka "Eat Street" Tue Jun 03 08:23:40 -0700 2008 3742342 97703 stymie 2 3744864 Eat Street? Sounds great! Thanks. Is there anywhere that has info on that general area? Tue Jun 03 08:54:08 -0700 2008 3744721 12400 WildSwede 3 3744973 Here's a link to Eat Street's website http://www.eatstreetminneapolis.com/directory/index.aspx ~TDQ Tue Jun 03 09:16:52 -0700 2008 3744864 12005 The Dairy Queen 4 3745042 Yay! Thanks! Of the Vietnamese Restaurants there, which would you say has the best Pho? Thanks again! Tue Jun 03 09:31:34 -0700 2008 3744973 12400 WildSwede 5 3745043 Pho Tau Bay (but many others would say Quang.) ~TDQ Tue Jun 03 09:32:18 -0700 2008 3745042 12005 The Dairy Queen 5 3751520 I don't know if Quang's is actually the best, but it is where we usually end up. I think the quality varies, sometimes (but not often) it is sublime. Two other places, Pho 79 and Pho Tau Bay, you couldn't pay me to eat at ever again as I found them rather, er, skanky. Thu Jun 05 04:53:47 -0700 2008 3745042 120833 Enso 6 3752147 Let me go first. Pho Tau Bay has consistently received the highest reviews across multiple media for several years. The majority of customers are Asian. It is not fancy dining. It is very clean. Food is consistently wonderful and the best bargain for your dollar that you could hope for. Thu Jun 05 08:31:37 -0700 2008 3751520 97703 stymie 7 3755096 I'm aware of these opinions. They continue to mystify me. Fri Jun 06 04:05:11 -0700 2008 3752147 120833 Enso 8 3755151 I share stymie's opinion. Pho Tau Bay place is not shiny and new, but the chow is very good. FWIW, my friends, who travel to Vietnam extensively and born in Vietnam and raised by Vietnamese-raised parents, won't eat at Quang as they believe it's not really targeted to them. There's "good" and "authentic" and it's possible for a restaurant to be one but not the other (like Ngon Bistro, which I think is good but not necessarily the most authentic; perhaps Quang goes in this category, too, though, not as extreme as Ngon in the "different" category), both (Pho Tau Bay) or neither. ~TDQ Fri Jun 06 04:51:42 -0700 2008 3755096 12005 The Dairy Queen 1 3744777 I wish I could help - this sounds wonderful. Alas, I've never seen pho with charbroiled pork on a local menu. But many places make great grilled pork (the general term used in these parts) for other dishes, so perhaps you could talk them into making you this type of pho. My favorite grilled pork is at Saigon Restaurant in St. Paul, at Lexington & University - especially in their amazing grilled-pork spring rolls. I also like Pho Tau Bay in Mpls, but haven't tried their grilled pork - yet. Other option: Jasmine Deli (and sister branch Jasmine Orchid) makes good grilled pork, too. Anne Tue Jun 03 08:35:47 -0700 2008 3742342 12541 AnneInMpls 2 3744851 Thank you both. Is one of them closer to the Metrodome? We have tix for the 7/1 Twins game. I think I am leaning towards Saigon since others on this site have mentioned it and their grilled pork spring rolls (I have been researching and making notes for a while now) even though it is probably the furthest away. One more question - is the area of the Metrodome called anything i.e. downtown, midtown etc. - for lodging purposes. THANK YOU AGAIN!! ;-) Tue Jun 03 08:52:20 -0700 2008 3744777 12400 WildSwede 3 3746100 Yup, Saigon is the furthest away from the Metrodome (ain't it always the way?). The Metrodome is in downtown Minneapolis on the SE edge. It's pretty close to the West Bank neighborhood, where the West Bank campus of the U of M is, and isn't too terribly far from the East Bank campus and Dinkytown - but traffic in that direction is horribly snarled because of the 35W bridge being gone. Eat Street's Vietnamese restaurants (Jasmine, Quang, Pho Tau Bay, etc.) are definitely closer. Here's a google maps link to show where you are. You can use the "Find businesses" or "Search nearby" links to find nearby restaurants and hotels - just type in "restaurant" or "hotel" or the name of a place. It's a great help to traveling chowhounds!) http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=900+S+5th+street,+minneapolis,+mn&sll=44.97588,-93.258219&sspn=0.014481,0.02871&ie=UTF8&ll=44.97418,-93.259206&spn=0.007241,0.014355&z=16&iwloc=addr Anne P.S. It was probably me mentioning Saigon's grilled pork spring rolls in those other threads you saw - I rave about them a lot. But Quang and Jasmine and Pho Tau Bay are really good, too. Tue Jun 03 13:23:51 -0700 2008 3744851 12541 AnneInMpls 4 3781965 I spent one Summer systematically trying every single pho house on Eat Street. Many were good, but judging just by the quality of the pho, my choice was Pho 79. Since then, I've tried several pho houses in Dinky Town and University Ave. Pho 79 still has the tastiest pho. The grilled pork was nothing to sneeze at either, but it's all about the pho. Sun Jun 15 08:59:09 -0700 2008 3746100 176814 discus 3 3781970 I made a special trip to Saigon, dragging the whole family and hanger-ons. The food is okay. The best thing on the menu were the eye popping prices. If you're on a university student budget, it's a great deal. Otherwise, I'm staying on Eat Street. 8^} Sun Jun 15 09:01:16 -0700 2008 3744851 176814 discus 2 3766754 Isn't Saigon on Dale and University? Tue Jun 10 09:57:20 -0700 2008 3744777 149048 babaoriley7 3 3767604 Oops - yes, Saigon is at Dale, not Lexington. Thanks for the correction. Anne Tue Jun 10 13:22:55 -0700 2008 3766754 12541 AnneInMpls 4 3777219 I ventured their now that I work somewhat close to it. I had the pork and egg roll Bun. It was AMAZING! The pork especially. The egg rolls were good too, some lemon grass flavor maybe? I still think the Lotus does the best viet egg rolls in town. Too bad that is about all they do "best" IMO Fri Jun 13 07:40:20 -0700 2008 3767604 149048 babaoriley7 1 3748071 I think NGON on University avenue has a pho with charbroiled pork on it. I really like their slightly more upscale take on the vietnamese dishes - their pork belly sandwich is totally yummy. Wed Jun 04 06:14:49 -0700 2008 3742342 55708 ABakersWife 2 3749018 Here's a link to Ngon's menu. I didn't see pho with charbroiled pork, but maybe it's a special (or maybe the web site is out of date). http://www.ngonbistro.com/menu.html The OP should note that the pho at Ngon isn't really "traditional" Vietnamese pho, but is lighter and more delicate - some love it, and others really hate it. Follow the places link to see the threads on Ngon. Anne Wed Jun 04 10:32:58 -0700 2008 3748071 12541 AnneInMpls 2 3749233 i was just there-- they have oxtail pho, ribeye pho, the wild acres duck breast, chicken, and seafood soup variants, no pork soup that i saw. however there's frequently very good pork items on the menu-- i 2nd any pork belly preparation at ngon. and i love the pho there, too. Wed Jun 04 11:22:04 -0700 2008 3748071 46030 soupkitten 1 3749611 At Pho Tau Bay, their grilled pork bahn mi sandwich is fabulous. I like a little extra meat in mine and asked what the cost would be, and was told it depended on how much I wanted. For an extra buck the extra meat was just perfect. FYI, The owner of Que Nha told me they be moving to Eat Street as a result of redevelopment on University Ave. My favorite dish there is the build your own spring rolls, what a fun and delicious meal. Wed Jun 04 12:50:02 -0700 2008 3742342 97703 stymie 2 3779846 We tried the BYO spring rolls and it inspired us to buy our own pink plastic platters! Almost as fun as making authentic, family-style nabe. It will be nice to have QN closer; I saw several items on their menu I wanted to sample. Sat Jun 14 04:49:47 -0700 2008 3749611 120833 Enso