One of the Dearest Partner's most endearing qualities is his openness to new things. A few months ago, seemingly out of the blue, he had a hankering to try the Vietnamese soup called pho. We watched videos to learn the correct way to pronounce it ("fah") and to ingest it (with chopsticks and a spoon/ladle combo). Slurping, we learned, is acceptable.
I went on social media to look for restaurant recommendations, and it turns out there is a place called Pho Now fairly close by, between Coatesville and Downingtown on Business Route 30, in the Caln Village Shopping Center. Between COVID lockdowns 1 and 2, we visited twice for dinner and had terrific meals.
Pho is a mixture of rich broth, rice noodles, green onions and cilantro, along with your choice of very thinly sliced meat or fish. They give you a plate full of bean sprouts, basil sprigs, lime wedges and hot peppers to mix in to your liking, as well as a spicy dark sauce. It's fragrant and pungent, but you can control the spiciness. The bowls are big enough that you can take home fully half the soup as a doggy bag.
While eating, we noticed that the place was doing a pretty good takeout business. One fellow came into the restaurant and the owner looked up and said, "Brian? Takeout?" The man was baffled: yes, his name was Brian, but he hadn't even ordered yet. A few minutes later the real Brian came in to pick up his order and they laughed about the mix-up.
Pho Now also offers an extensive menu of dishes and beverages we haven't tried but will. The owner is welcoming and delightful and grateful for the business in this tough business climate. It was close to the freezing mark when we visited for dinner the second time, and I told him that pho was a perfect meal for a chilly night.
He corrected me: "Pho perfect every night!"
Pho Now is at 3911 West Lincoln Highway, Downingtown. The menu and contact information are on Facebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment