Just for the PHO of it........PHO Saigon in Bridgeport

I work in Bridgeport.   My regular day job takes me to the east side of the city where a long time ago, I would read the Monday paper about all the stabbings and robberies and homicides that took place over the weekend.  So of course I would never venture out of my way from the highway and back.  Since then, the city has gotten safer and I have realized that the city really isn't all that bad.  Its actually quite a melting pot of ethnic variety that has much to explore.

About a year ago a friend of mine was visiting from Phoenix and he asked me if I have been to Pho Saigon.  I told him I never heard of it and he said if I like the Vietnamese soup Pho, then I will love this.  Pho is basically a Vietnamese noodle soup.  Served in a big steaming bowl, you will find noodles, and some sort of protein.  The Most popular is a beef variety.

I found the address and made my way to Iranistan rd in Bridgeport.  On the corner of Iranistan and Wood Rd is a house with small restaurant on the main floor.  It's a simple place really that is basically one room with a kitchen off in the back.  There are maybe 20 tables inside each with a stack of chopstick and Siracha chili sauce.

I have enjoyed Pho before but don't know all the ins and out of it.  So I just ordered the first one on the list which was the beef Pho.  Unfortunately I had to take it to go so I walked out with a square Styrofoam container and a quart size container of broth.

When I got back to my office I poured the broth into a big bowl and opened the Styrofoam. Inside was a large amount of rice noodles, bean sprouts and thinly sliced raw beef.  In addition to that was scallions, licorice  basil and another thin leaf.  I threw it all into the broth to let it cook.  I also got a side container of Siracha and chili paste and added a generous amount.

After only a few minutes, the beef had been cooked and the noodles were all warm and soft.  The broth was very aromatic with hints of 5 spice and garlic.  But the flavors went much deeper with the layers of chili paste and basil.

It's a huge amount of food and I said I can have this for lunch and dinner but my inner pig took over and I ate the whole thing.

I can't wait to go there again and eat there.  While we were waiting there was one woman in the restaurant who was eating a dish that was very colorful with many different colorful vegetables. Looked awesome.

PHO Saigon is located at 1275 Iranistan rd in Bridgeport CT.  I highly recommend it.