Sometimes, you just don’t want to spend a lot of money, but you want to have something tasty and maybe –just maybe– even a little healthy. That’s why I started the Five-Dollar Feed feature here at Wanderingjustin.com – to help find non-corporate, non-fast food places to get some good food for a reasonable price. Today, we’re at Da Vang for a bowl of pho.
Vietnamese restaurants really have a knack for finding nondescript, cheerless locations. Here on 19th Avenue and Campbell, you’ll find Da Vang ensconced in a squat, run-down building. It’s one of those times where you should really get over the appearance and concentrate on the food.
Especially the pho. This is a Vietnamese noodle soup, which comes in several varieties. The difference is the meat in each. Pho ga comes with chicken, pho tai with sliced beef. Still others will have those funky Vietnamese meatballs, tripe, brisket, beef tendon or some combination of them all (I’ll call that pho dunt no).
Pho tai is my favorite. I’ll usually go for an iced coffee or a limeade to chase it. Call that an extra $2.50, tops.
Before your pho arrives, you’ll usually get a plate of bean sprouts, fresh jalapenos, basil and limes to garnish the pho. I also recommend a squirt of Sriracha hot sauce (which is the king of hot sauces of the non-homemade variety) and a generous dollop of hoison sauce. To keep things from getting splashy and messy, I attack the broth first before devouring the beef and [...]
