[Magdalen] WTPho?

[M J _Mike_ Logsdon]

>>>Cholula's great. Sriracha's great, too. I think the eating of pho with
chopsticks must keep it continually stirred-up, so flavors don't settle.<<<

Absolutely.  Chopsticks, fork, or otherwise.  No frequent stirring, the top of your head pops off in the bottom third of the bowl.

Allan:  I'm not so sure they do "range of heat(/flavor)" like Thai joints, but they might.  My guess is no, since the "cooking" mechanism is the cauldron of broth, even for the meat (unless it's chicken like they do at Mr Noodles, pre-cooked and pulled), which would obviously not be seasoned before plunging.  But if they venerate kindly old men like you (and why wouldn't they?), I bet they'd pull something out of their sleeve.  If anthing, I've been going to Mr Noodles now for a couple weeks total, and I've still to find the perfect balance between watery broth as served and the Ubiquitousness (ha!) of the Bottles on the Table.

Jay:  You meantioned slurping and burping yesterday.  This place is definitely "food noise" friendly, but I encountered something even more interesting Thursday night.  An older Asian man, well-dressed but casual, tall and dignified, came in, sat down and was treated like the same sort of regular I now am, with his water and hot tea appearing as if by magic, followed shortly by his pho.  I tend to be "out of body outside of time" when I'm enjoying good food out, so maybe I just wasn't paying attention, but I swear it wasn't five minutes later he was up, paying, and walking out the door.  If my guess is right, he was Vietnamese, and he's been eating pho since before he was able to sit up on his own.  But I nonetheless wanted to beckon the owner over and ask, "Did he push his entire meal through the front of his face like an alien or something?"

Back to Allan:  Having started this thread, I'm as pleased (or more!) as everyone else that from something so simple as a "new food" thread you actually got up and went for it.  Hell, it took me a year or so walking past Mr Noodles to even darken the door!  (Tonight, Everett and chicken, and me surf-and-turf with flank steak and shrimp.)