Good Pho

[firstlady]

Please, please, PLEASE tell me there's a good pho place in or around New Haven. My sister turned me on to it and I just love the combination of flavors. Willing go to 20 miles in any direction.

[RatherBeFishing]

The only place I know is Pho Vietnam in Danbury - it's one of my current "favorite restaurants".

[mels]

If you do a search, there have been a few threads on pho. This one has some NH area recs:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/7209...

It is more than 20 miles, but if you find yourself in the Hartford area, my absolute favorite is Pho 501 in East Hartford.

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Pho 501
501 Main St Ste 5, East Hartford, CT 06118

[firstlady]

Thanks. I discovered the thread after I posted my question. Can't wait to try Pho 501.

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Pho 501
501 Main St Ste 5, East Hartford, CT 06118

[plien69]

I second Pho 501.

Pot-au-Pho was disappointing the last time I was there. And York St. Noodle House served something they called "Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup" but whatever it was, it wasn't pho.

I'm mystified by the lack of good Vietnamese in New Haven and Fairfield counties. You really have to travel north to the Hartford area and its Vietnamese population in order to get decent pho.

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Pho 501
501 Main St Ste 5, East Hartford, CT 06118

[Pipenta]

Pot-au-Pho is very disappointing. What's sad is that they are not totally clueless. You get the feeling it could be a pretty good place if they got focused. But I have had entirely too many strange dining experiences there, with food that just missed the boat. One gets the impression that there are folks there, either in management or in the kitchen with some talent, but lots of issues.

And yeah, it breaks my heart that there is no good pho in New Haven or the surrounding area. I guess I will drown my sorrows in pizza.

[Low_Fat]

If you're willing to drive down to Bridgeport, then check out Pho Saigon. It only sells Pho and Bahn Mi.

[plien69]

A couple of things about Pho Saigon:
1. It's one of only 3 places that I can think of in Fairfield County that serve pho.
2. The pho is decent, but not outstanding.
3. It's in a pretty sketchy area of Bridgeport.

Each time I think about going, I have to weigh #2 vs. #3.

Oh, and their Bahn Mi was nothing to write home about either.

[chipmonger]

Of the other 2 places in Fairfield county, one of them must be Pho Vietnam in Danbury. How does Pho Saigon compare to Pho Vietnam?

What is the third place?

Thanks!

[plien69]

Yes, Pho Vietnam, which I've only been to once, and would put on par with Pho Saigon.

The third place used to be Pho Mekong (soon to be Shake Shack) in Westport, but they closed. Pho Garden opened up the Post Rd in Westport, but I don't think their pho is as good as Pho Saigon. I find their broth to be a bit on the bland side and one dimensional.

They're new, so maybe they need some time, but you'd think if you open a place with "Pho" in the name, you better have your broth recipe down pat.

[cardiak]

How does Pho Garden compare to Pho Mekong? I've been to Pho Saigon a few times and it was definitely a bit better than Pho Mekong, but the additional drive and overall sketchiness usually outweighed the slightly better quality for me.

If Pho Garden is on par with Pho Mekong, I'll definitely be hitting that place. I get a Pho hankering about once a month and last time I was in Pho Mekong they let me know that they were closing and I cried a little bit.

The fact that Shake Shack will be taking their place helps dry those tears a bit.

[plien69]

In my opinion, Pho Garden is not as good as Pho Mekong was.