Chew On This
Ode to Pho: The secret comfort of fish balls

-- Margaret A. Pribel

At the time of this writing, I’m losing the battle of the bulge. As the temperature declines, the numbers on my scale are rising. The weather isn’t helping by making it an unpleasant idea to get out for walks; finals are challenging and stressful (I know, they wouldn’t be finals otherwise), and my appetite is telling me to load up the calories for the long winter ahead. I say phooey! Or rather, phoey. Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup, and it rocks.

Everyone knows that soup is comfort food and I wanted to share its wonders with you. Pho 79, a few blocks east of Highway 280 on Energy Park Drive and Raymond Ave. serves pho. This place is about two miles from Metropolitan State University’s Midway Campus, in a small strip mall on the northwest corner of the intersection wedged between a gas station and a bagel shop.

I find a massive bowl of soup can do wonders for whatever ails me. And Pho 79 has dozens of variations of soups. The type of broth, noodle and meats you choose determines what soup you want to order. You can get the traditional beef- or chicken-based pho and even vegetarian. My favorite is the “61” with rice noodles; it has a name, but I can’t read it.

When I’m being good about avoiding carbohydrates, I have asked the server to eliminate noodles and replace them with veggies. And they have acquiesced wonderfully. The 61 is swimming with ocean creatures: crab claw, shrimp, faux crab legs, squid and the delightfully joke-a-rific fish balls (they’re made of fish meat and not other parts).

Pho 79 always serves their mind-boggling, humongous bowl of soup along a plate heaped with fresh basil, bean sprouts, jalapeños and lime. Each table has a variety of condiments, like fish sauce, hot sauce, chili sauce, hoisin sauce and soy sauce, so you can alter the broth to your liking.

My choice is to put the jalapeño slices into the steaming broth and let the flavor and heat leach into the broth while I tear the basil leaves off the stems and let them drop into the bowl. I usually ask for extra lime since I have a penchant for sour or tangy foods. As I eat the soup, I take the jalapeños out so I don’t cry from the heat, and add in the bean sprouts as I see fit; I like the sprouts to retain some crunch.

There is some inner conflict as I decide to hoist the soup to my mouth by fork, chopsticks or those cool Asian spoons. The long noodles make every method a challenge but I consider it part of the fun.

Pho 79 offers spring rolls and egg rolls and more commonly found dishes like chow mein, fried rice, lo mein. The spring rolls and chicken wings are tasty but when you’re getting a huge bowl of pho that arrives in six minutes, why bother? Because the prices are right, that’s why bother.

Pho ranges in price depending on ingredients. But the most expensive is the 61—around $6. This is super cheap when you find you can take half home to warm up for another meal. My method when doing this is to strain the noodles, heat the broth first and then return the noodles and meats so nothing gets overcooked.

The atmosphere isn’t dazzling; the décor is a mish-mash of Asian bits and USA road diner. Don’t be concerned. The surroundings will melt away once you have a huge, hot bowl of pho in front of you. Pho is a great de-stressor. Indulge yourself.

Pho 79 has two locations: 2233 Energy Park Dr., St. Paul, 651-644-2327; and on Eat Street, 2529 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis, 612-871-4602.