Pho Redbo - Palos Verdes

This pho is fancy, make no mistake. It's hot, it's savory, and tastes amazing in this setting, a spacious former diner surrounded by a skating rink. 

Cut through the cold by crunching into an Eggroll so crispy you can hear the skin break in your brain. The beef is extra good, and the shrimp softens the stronger meat. 

Watch the skaters zoom by or listen to the rhythm of hockey blades slice through the ambient music as a chimney of beef broth fills your nose and soaks your senses. Sip the soup and ask for the wide noodles instead of thin for a different texture. The Pho Combo will do nicely as the rare steak is great, the brisket fatty and tender, and the rib cubes melt in your mouth. The meatballs have the rubber chew you'd expect. 

Fight the urge to upgrade - that premium pho with the Wagyu Oxtail is more like a downgrade and definitely not worth the upcharge. There's nothing wagyu about it, and I wag my finger at whoever doesn't know how to cook oxtail. This meat should fall of the bone, but I had to take it home and ugly-gnaw at this mess. 

Similarly bland is the Shaken Beef, with barely-cooked peppers, not too many cubes of actual beef, and very little seasoning to speak of. The spicy dipping sauce can help, but it makes a most unsatisfying meal.  

Wagyu Beef Stew is supposed to give comfort, but only some of the beef chunks are tender, depending on the amount of marbled fat. It's alright, but I prefer the pho. 

I would come back but only for the pho. Their classic pho is marvelous, and the meats are mostly marble-lous, but don't be distracted by the other noise. 

Noodle Box Kitchen - Reno, NV

I thought I’d seen all Reno has to offer, but Noodle Box popped up next to The Discovery, and it might be the best discovery I’ve made.  

Even the drinks are irresistible. Thai Lime Tea has the flavor and creamy sweetness of the original minus condensed milk. A lift of lime takes it from dessert-like to refreshing. Vietnamese Coffee hits the spot if you're craving a caffeinated classic.

Boat Noodle Soup is the one they recommend, a bone broth with a bite. The flavor is savory beef with a slightly spicy afterburn and lots of notes of sweet, sour, and salty all adding so much depth. The slices of pork shoulder are tough and the meatballs are bland, but I do love the soup itself. 

Tom Yum is a solid choice if you're craving the sweet n' sour. It's a tangy broth with fabulous, fresh shrimp and soft, flavorful fish balls. 

Khao Soi Fried Chicken is the best thing they make. They fry up the thigh meat which has a lot more flavor than a blander breast, and the curry is so thick and sweet it's practically a solid. Pickled veggies and red onion break up the rich, creamy bites, and the contrast of cream and crisp is a feast for the senses. 

For dessert, they have mochi cakes in matcha, regular, and Ube. Try them. ALL. 

We loved Noodle Box so much we went twice in a single week. Service is spectacular, from some of the most genuinely nice people I've ever met, and though the tables are no frills, they make you feel like royalty when they bring your fantastic food. 

Crustees Eatery - Los Angeles

A bad name for a fantastic place. I get it, there's crust on pies, but it's hard to take a place like this seriously at first. That said, there's also the "Pie Hole" and "Fat + Flour" to contend with, and I can only conclude that the pie places want you to think they're gross. 

The polar opposite of gross is Crustees, which churns out, obviously pies, but not so obviously chili and a Seafood Gumbo that tastes like it was scooped straight from the bayou. The shrimp and crab bring on the seafood savor, and chicken and sausage make a meaty mix. You get more chunks of sausage than any other meat, but don't worry, this is the opposite of a problem.  

A simple Apple Pie that still tastes like apple is an underrated thing. I love that they make theirs tart rather than sugaring it to death, so it still tastes like a pie full of apple. 

All the sugar they didn't put in the pie went right into their famous Banana Pudding, on the other hand, has all the sugar they didn’t put in the pie. I love me a good banana pudding, but I can't tell you which is better than the rest. This one's good. Super sweet for my taste, but it's good so get it to share if you caught a craving.

I'm not going to lie, nine dollars per pie is pretty steep when the pie's only 5 inches wide. But they are family owned, and good ingredients and rent are never cheap so if I'm supporting anyone nowadays, I'm glad to be supporting them. 

PhoTasia - Irvine

 

Vietnamese food in Irvine, not Garden Grove. Close enough?

Close enough! Menu meets authenticity criteria; it's all numbers and has photos to match the food. The Pho is a pho-filling broth, P9 is pho-loating with juicy rare steak, soft tendon, and fall-apart brisket bits. 

Despite my poor pho-tagraphy, this stir fried veggie dish is well-made. Toddler loved the tofu, wouldn't touch anything else. Would recommend for vegetarians over 18 months, especially with the garlic butter rice. 

B12 Bun is noodle goodness, good noodle-ness. The shrimp on a stick is alright, the roast pork is sweet and pretty tender, love the egg rolls with the juicy ground filling. Fill with fish sauce, stir it all silly, and feast. Pho is better though, FYI.

The pho is just better when you go south of South Bay. Good broth, great steak, lots of choices. What's not to like?

Pho 79 - Garden Grove

There’s been a lot of fake news lately, and you can’t believe everything you hear. Read responsibly and check your sources, and when it comes to food, confirm it yourself when you can. 

Pho 79 makes some of the best pho in the country. Source: James Beard. Confirmation: YES. 

I don't have much for comparison, but I’ve never had anything like this. The broth is fatty and thick, sweet, meaty, and rich to a depth I’ve never seen. I got the Pho Tai Nam Gan (#24) with tender rare steak, melty slices of well cooked beef with so much marbled fat, and gooey bits of tendon. 

Get the “side” of oxtail (Xi Quach Duoi Bo, #39) before they sell out, and you'll find the secret to the pho. The meat slides off the bone in shreds and it's this incredible mesh of meat and sweet that melts in your mouth and lingers on your tongue.

The main attraction is the pho, but the other stuff is decent too. 

The Goi Cuon (#2) are good because when are spring rolls not good? It's not Broddard, but it's good. 

I can never resist a Bun Bo Hue (#45), but this one isn't their best. The broth is thin and not spicy, unnecessary compared to the pho. 

A few other selections like the (#87) Bun Tom Thit Nuong Cha Gio and (#92) Bun Cha will nab a noodle craving, and I loved trying the (#97) Banh Mi Bo Kho with tender stewed beef with a tomato tang.

Come for the pho, leave with the oxtail. Come with some skepticism, leave completely floored. The pho is phabulous, and even James Beard agrees! 

Nouilles of 3rds UPDATE - Lomita

Most people don’t know this, but I am indebted to Nouilles of 3rds. Because pregnancy also comes in thirds, and I wouldn't have made it through the first third if I didn't have Nouilles of 3rds. 

During first trimester, I was one of the “lucky” ones. No nausea or vomiting, but I had my own equivalent; fatigue and a complete lack of appetite so severe I could barely force feed myself a single banana.

Everyone finds a food they can handle, and for me it was the House Noodle Soup. Almost once a week, I'd muster all my strength to get into the car for almost a full bowl of noodle soup. The beef broth is full of flavor and savor, rich without being too fatty or thick. That giant bone that's full of marrow adds extra layers of depth, and the rice noodles are always cooked just right. And Nouilles of 3rds was extra kind. I just don't love their meatballs,and when I would ask to substitute the meatball for extra tendon, they loaded it up without batting an eye, and I would get a bowl so full of tendon that I would catch a bit of it every time I dipped my spoon.

I had to know if I loved that soup just because I was pregnant or because I just love that soup so I ordered that soup again. I just love that soup. It's just as good today as it was all those other days, though it may be even better without the progesterone to screw with my system.

They make other dishes too, Cambodian/Asian staples from the south if you're looking for less liquid. They make a good Hainan Chicken, for example, a deceptively difficult dish. The chicken is tender with none of the sliminess that sneaks in when chicken is poached. The ginger dip is strong and stings in a way that is hard-hitting without being a full-on assault. The garlic rice is just right, made in a broth with a little edge. 

The Beef Loc Lac is juicy little bits, tiny bites sautéed with a sweeter soy. It’s not my favorite thing only because I like the chicken better. 

I think I’ve had everything on the menu now, and I have yet to find something that doesn't make me smile. In a pandemic world where there is less and less reason to smile, at least I'll be smiling about the soup.

Lee's Tofu - Gardena

 

This parking nightmare of a giant Gardena strip mall is a gold mine for amazing, affordable food. Teeming with every kind of eat for every kind of Asian, you can literally stumble around blindfolded and still guarantee a good time. 

It’s hard to try them all when you already know what you like, but I regret nothing about Lee’s Tofu. It’s never too soon for their sea-salty, savory, beefy-with-a-blast-of-brine Bean Paste Soon Tofu, a bubbling broth of silky comfort with a kick. 

Even the freebies are right on - in the Ban Chan, the pickle game is strong. 

Soon tofu makes a rich combo with a sizzling skillet of Beef Bulgogi if you’re really hungry for protein, but the tofu remains the reason you’re here.

Do come with a friend or three - you’ll need someone to share the Seafood & Green Onion Pancake with. This crispy-fried concoction has a concentration of crabmeat and all things seafood in an eggy glue, and every bite is amazing.

I think Lee’s Tofu is often overlooked in favor of old giants like Boiling Point and Furaibo and sits in the shadow of noodling newcomers like Northern Cafe. No one thinks to check out this sweetly nondescript spot in the corner instead of waiting in line elsewhere. I’ve had my fair share of fantastic food in this complex, though, and I would still go back just for the tofu. 

Nouilles of 3rds - Lomita

Cambodian comfort north of Long Beach and it awaits at Nouilles of 3rds. The location is authentic enough, so the food must be close. Good luck finding the shopping center, and if you have to take a left across PCH at rush hour, their food that may be to die for...literally.

I'm really not into meatballs. A ball of mystery meat, no thanks, but I do love the Street Meatballs here. The tendon softens the more rubbery texture of the beef, and I love the savory flavor that drips juice from inside a crispy crust. The sharp garlic oil and sweet chili sauce are great embellishments, and they get your fingers sticky. 

Nouilles is French for noodles, and the Bah-Bong Noodles are comfort to the max. The chicken is tender and the egg rolls are bomb. Rice noodles are al dente, and the veggie mix meshes with coconut cream.The hubby says it tastes like Cambodia and he would know. 

The No3 House Noodles Soup. Impossible to find good pho in the South Bay, but this iteration makes a savory soup all the same. The prime beef does taste prime, and the beef bone marrow is the absolute best part. Tendon is tender, beef balls are baller, and I prefer the rice noodles over egg.

This is how Asian food should be. Nothing flashy, nothing fancy or gourmet, just good stuff made well, bowls of soup and steaming noodles cooked in the heart of a heartland fire. Nouilles of 3rds won't be rising to widespread acclaim anytime soon. They seem to have lost their website too,  but I like that they keep their profile low. I'd rather not wait in line every time I crave their noodles, and I predict I will crave them fairly often.

Xi'an BiangBiang Noodles - London, UK

Back to London, and our first choice had a 1-hour wait, and we were just too hungry. I regret being that hungry.

I don't mind this casual drop-in noodle house. The Hand-Pulled Biang Biang Noodles are have the right texture, and they're close to al dente. The thick chunks of beef are tender, and the special sauce is a pleasantly numbing burn. 

The Hand-Pulled Noodles with Pork Mince in Qishan Soup are exactly what they say they are. The noodles are great, and the broth hurts so good if you're a spice wimp like me. It's perfect for a cold, rainy day...which is pretty much every day in London. 

Steer clear of the Boneless Chicken in Chili Oil. This is my favorite appetizer, but after having terrible iterations at multiple restaurants, I'm learning that this deceptively simple dish is difficult to make. I hate to say it, but the one here is gross. The chicken is slimy with several spots of goopy fat, and the sauce is mostly chili oil with no other detectable flavor.

The Chinese Greens with garlic break up all the meat and carbs. They are the surprise of the meal, my favorite dish. The garlic is fresh and sharp and clings to the still-crisp green like mildly gelatinous glue. It tastes freshly-picked, like most of the produce I've had in Europe, and I'm impressed by the quality of something so basic.

I don't love this restaurant, but I definitely don't hate it. It'll do in a pinch, and most of the food we ordered was made well. The overall experience was quite pleasant, and although most of the food is reasonably authentic, it just wasn't the best representation of this cuisine.