I went to Pho Dollar with a friend this early evening to check out this (relatively) new Vietnamese place on the west side of Buffalo. Since it opened, there has been quite a bit of hype surrounding it and we were intrigued.
It's located on West Ferry Street near Grant Street in a neighborhood that has seen better days. Don't let the location scare you away though! Once you get inside you're bound to feel comfortable. The decor, although dated, and the surroundings are bright and clean. The lower level appears to be bar-seating/take-out waiting area. There are large flat screen televisions behind the bar airing sports games and local news.
We were seated in the upper level where tables are situated along the walls and in the middle of the room (I think it would be pretty cramped at busy times.) The tables are clean, the chairs are comfortable and wobble-free, and the lighting is appropriate for this type of a restaurant.
A hostess pointed us to a table and quickly brought us menus, cutlery, and iced water. We were immediately greeted by an inexperienced server (to her credit, she did tell us it was only her second day) who brought us cold Jasmine tea (she did promptly replace it with hot tea.) About 3 minutes later she asked us if we were ready to order. Now...had we been regular customers, perhaps we wouldn't have needed to look at the enormous menu however we were not regulars. Again, to her credit, she was eager to please...just a bit inexperienced.
The menu is GIGANTIC and contains appetizer, soups, beverages, and entrees listed in Vietnamese with small photographs and very vague descriptions in English.
OK, so that sums up why this review lost two stars. Now, on to the good part!
The food was delicious, fresh-tasting, and (I'm told by my friend) authentic. We ordered the spring rolls (three to an order, cut in half) which were served with a season fish sauce, the Vietnamese pancake (a LARGE pancake filled with ample bean sprouts, scallions, pork and shrimp with a side salad containing lettuce, julienned carrots and cucumber). The pancake had a bizarre sweetness that we quickly found to be quite pleasant. We also both ordered #22 - the beef pho. It is served with a large plate of bean sprouts, lime slices, jalapenos, and two green vegetables we couldn't identify. (One of them smelled like basil and the other had an indecipherable aroma.) We asked the server, who asked the busboy, who asked another server what these vegetables were but they didn't know how to say it in English. Nonetheless, they provided a delicate fragrance and taste to the hot broth. The pho also contained ample noodles, scallions, shaved beef, some sort of shaved meat ball, and a few ingredients with which we were unfamiliar. The condiments on the table included Hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sriracha, and what appeared to be homemade hot sauce. I added a bit of all of them into my pho and it a very tasty soup indeed.
One pleasant surprise was when an "older" gentleman came to our table to ask us how everything was tasting. He explained to us (albeit in a hard-to-understand accent) that everything is cooked to order and that if we didn't like something we should let him know and he would take it back and fix it. He explained that allergies and dietary constrictions are also accommodated if they can be.
All in all, it was a pleasant experience and a new (for me) adventure into the growing food culture that is, thankfully, happening in Buffalo at this moment. I will certainly be back...I just hope the tea is hot and the servers can answer questions for Vietnamese cuisine newbies like myself. read more