PHO SAIGON-MAN vs. PHO

For lunch I had the chance to visit a local place PHO SAIGON with my good friend Melissa.  This was her choice as she heard it was a good place, so I was up for it of course.  Apparently, they have a little Man vs. PHO challenge which you can see if you click on their website above.  A very good ploy or marketing plan to get people to come and try their PHO.  I was impressed, being a marketing professional myself and was very much excited to visit this spot.  It is located in a strip mall in Catonsville in a very unassuming spot.

Upon entering the establishment I was quite surprised to see that it was completely packed!  There was actually a waiting line.  I only had to wait 10 min., however the staff was extremely friendly and they all wore these black Man vs. Pho shirts which of course another advertising/marketing ploy that got my attention cause now I wanted to go to the site and see what this is all about?   

The atmosphere was good and lively, it may have been a Sunday church lunch crowd, however there were not anyone too dressed up as like they were coming from church, so I suspect it was the normal busy afternoon, still busy once we left at 2pm.  The menus were nice and colorful and full of options.  Also, the menu highlighted the Man Vs. Pho challenge. There were 21 different types of PHO and 3 special PHO places.  The prices were relatively the same, difference of .80 cents per the bowl.

The condiments were nicely posted on the side of the table and their were two different types of chopsticks available the longer slippery type and the wooden smaller type. The spoon and chopsticks were plastic and placed where everyone could reach them, however they looked very clean.  I was happy to see there was a choice this time.   We ordered the summer rolls and went with the sharing amount of 5, we had water placed at our table and Melissa ordered a coke, which came in a pretty glass bottle. 

The summer rolls were small, however they were flavorful just shrimp only no extra meat but too bad they were so small.  The peanut sauce was ok, it was very very sweet and a little thin but had a good flavor.  Melissa enjoyed sampling some of the spicy peppers with hers.  We did complete all of them and then we ordered our PHO.  Melissa ordered the Steak and Meatballs, while I ordered the special Grilled Pork PHO.  I had to order this because it was special and I had never seen it before and well I love some grilled pork.  I ordered a large bowl and Melissa stayed with the small one. 

The condiments were good, large amount of jalapeños and the beansprouts were smaller than normal however there were a lot of them. Looks like the basil came out washed so that was a good sign that it was a little fresh and not laying around wilting and turning black.

                                                          PHO HEU NUONG 

                                              TAI BO VIEN

The broth flavor was good and it came out very HOT...which is a plus when you want to enjoy the whole experience.  For this bowl, since the pork came separate I added it with the small carrots and cucumber they provided.  At this rate, it is almost like I could put anything in a delicious bowl of this PHO broth and it would be good.

In the end, we were both very happy with our meals and the atmosphere and the staff were very nice. I had to go up to the counter to pay, which seems to be the norm lately with these places but it was quick and easy.  They seem to have a pretty steady flow of take-out orders as well.  I almost finished my bowl and Melissa was able to eat all of her topping and meat, however there were a lot of noodles left.  It is a good sign that there were noodles left.

Please take a moment to click on the video below and see what all the talk is about the Man vs. PHO challenge.  I love what they did here!

                          All in all I was happy with this place and give it 4 bunches of basil!