Pho Today (or, PhoTo Day) is a local chain of Vietnamese restaurants located in eastern Pennsylvania and north Jersey specializing in traditional street food from that southeast Asian nation. This new shop is on the periphery of a large mall in Montgomeryville, and is a little tricky to navigate to because of its odd entrance driveway and lack of direct access to public roads. Still, it is worth finding your way to its front door if you like pho (noodle soup), com (rice dishes), bahn mi (sandwiches) and other wonderful VN cuisine.
When I walked in late on a Saturday afternoon, the floor was lightly populated, and I had a table to myself. A server approached quickly, handed me a menu and welcomed me. The menu had all the customary offerings, and I chose Pho with Special Mushrooms, a side Grilled Pork Chop, and. Grilled Beef Banh Mi (to go). My meal arrived minutes later.
The bowl was a decent size, full of steaming light brown clear beef consommé, a nest of noodles beneath the surface and plenty of mushrooms, sliced onion, and scallion. I added fresh bamboo sprouts, Thai Basil leaves, thin sliced jalapeño, and a long squeeze of the lime wedge to give it that extra acidic kick. First slurp from the flat bottomed spoon was hot and tasted of a properly spiced and long simmered stock. It wasn't perfect, but it was quite good. With my additions, it was totally satisfying.
I went with the mushroom option to reduce the oil and fat rendering of the meat alternatives. Thus, the pho was light and tasty without the tax on the digestive system. The noodles were medium soft and folded easily into my spoon.
The Pork Chop was thin and well grilled, with appropriate char and well chopped chive decoration. Long squirts of Hoisin and Sriracha alongside and the supplement to my meal was exactly right. Liked it a lot, and picked up the bone to capture all I could of the tender meat.
Later that evening, I shared the Banh Mi with my better half. This was a beautiful sandwich, full of thin sliced grilled beef, daikon, jalapeño, carrot, cilantro and light mayonnaise. It hit all the right notes, except for the roll, which was not a French baguette, but more a commercial grade Italian hoagie roll, soft and pliant, as opposed to crunchy crusted and well textured. Just the wrong choice for an otherwise very good sammy. Too bad, because it could have been a contender.
Aside from a weird interaction when attempting to pay the bill, which was off putting, I enjoyed my Pho Today experience. I would certainly visit this or the other locations of this business when in the right neighborhood and desiring decent Vietnamese food. read more