How I love pho. Comfort food for the eyes, the nose, the stomach and the soul.

Ahhhh, Pho!

Sadly, my local (within short walking distance) Pho place closed.

What the pho-que?

And lucky us for getting all the SE Asians who brought us their wonderful food and their work ethic and their spirit. If California still had a manufacturing infrastructure they'ed revitalize that as well.

If you want it good, you got to make the broth your own way. A good size bone, cracked so the marrow is exposes. Cover that with cold water in a good size stock pot, bring up to a boil. Lower the heat until it's just gently boiling, add cilantro roots. If you can't find it, use the stalks tied with string. Add about six cloves of garlic, some star anise, a chunk of ginger the size of your pinky, a similar size chunk of lemon grass (my aunt like this one), lower to simmer. Skim the foam.

Flavor to taste with fish sauce and palm sugar. Heck, salt and regular sugar works for people too squeamish about fish sauce.

You can put all the spices in a sachet and put it in the pot, easier to take out later.

I feel so lucky. A great Vietnamese restaurant is just 6 blocks from my office in Everett, WA (not too far from the gigantic Boeing plant). They have the best food and better pho, all at bargain prices.
As Jewel says, it is the greatest comfort food!

If somebody made a fake pho it would be Faux Pho. The cook would have to be named Fifi.

Update: A web search informed me it pronounced Fuh, not Foe.

I live in the Philly area, and I've never seen a pho place around here. On the other hand, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a pizza place. Pizza and cheesesteaks are good.

I would like to try pho, tho.

Riki,
Run this string into your browser and go pho up!

http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=pho&ns=1&find_loc=philadelphia+pn#bbox=-75.2673339844%2C39.8728576179%2C-75.059967041%2C40.0318206133&sortby=composite_rating

IMHO-The best pho in the Bay area is at Pho Hoa Hiep II on East 12th Street, Oakland.

Pho Shizzle

http://steamykitchen.com/3136-crock-pot-pho.html