On Tuesday, R, the Birdkiller (yes the Birdkiller) and I went for a lunch adventure to What the Pho in the Southcenter area (close to my favorite spot, Chipotle). The big news here is that the coupon loving, freebie coveting Birdkiller PAID FOR EVERYONE'S LUNCH!
Now that you've recovered from the shock, here's the low down on Pho of Woe.
I thought the place was closed; the windows are so heavily tinted. I thought either a) this spot didn't last long or b) they were hiding something. In fact, they were hiding something, a sophisticated and well designed dining area (which are few and far between in the Southcenter area). We sat in a booth by the bar and watched three Vietnamese coffees s l o w l y dripping simultaneously (sort of the equivalent of watching paint dry).
The menu offers a wide array of options for non-pho lovers (which I am- I'm always worried about chicken feet), many sound highly delightful. The service was efficient and VERY polite(bonus point for atmosphere). The Birdkiller read his potential lunch choices off in Vietnamese and corrected R and me for mispronunciations (no, the Birdkiller does not speak Vietnamese-but he does speak the language of "I am always right").
The Birdkiller ordered some beefy pho and complained that the meat seemed old and frozen. R ordered some sad-ish veggies with noodles, and I ordered grilled chicken with noodles (and an eggroll-hey the Birdkiller was paying). My meal was pleasing to the eye, but flavorless to the tongue. I added a huge amount of chili sauce and hoisin to give my dish a touch of flavor (isn't that the cook's job). The veggies in my dish were just ok, the real offense were the cold (like straight out of a fridge) noodles. They were a little gross and very disappointing.
Next time I want noodles, I'll be going to Simply Thai for their namesake dish.
Food: 2.5/5 The chicken was nicely grilled, the rest of my dish was blah!
Atmosphere: 5/5 Maybe next time we'll get Simply Thai to go and eat it at What the Pho.
Good Times 4/5 Paying Birdkiller and a Target trip afterward always increases the score. Thanks R for driving.
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