Being such a hot day, we thought we'd go with Vietnamese food instead of Indian. Both cuisines are handily represented in this particular area of San Diego, but today, Vietnamese won out.
I noticed that the clock still wasn't working. It had been awhile since we'd eaten here, although we've been to the adjacent yogurt shop next door for their snow ice...
Maybe about five years ago, this place was called Pho Hoa Cali Express, then the Hoa was dropped and "cow" was added.
Maybe it was because of their happy cow mascot? Who knows, but this restaurant was one of the first Vietnamese restaurants we were introduced to by Superman. He and his wife took us to Pho Pasteur in Linda Vista in the mid 90's, then we started coming here when Bert used to work in the area. It was quick, cheap, and tasty.
We all wanted bun...
I noticed the prices went up over the years. A bowl of bun used to be $5.25. It's been awhile.
I remember liking their green chopsticks so much that I bought a pack at Vien Dong Supermarket (now called Thuan Phat). The usual suspects - Sriracha, Hoisin, soy sauce, fish sauce, and chili sauce.
They sat us in the far left corner. One thing about these seats are the cracks which hurt and cut like razors, especially if you are wearing shorts! I saw a girl wince in pain after sitting down (she was wearing shorts) and then try to switch to the other side with her boyfriend, and saw that the seats were cracked on both benches. She, like myself, ended up sitting on the farthest edge of the bench seat where there weren't any cracks.
There was a cool panoramic mural of the San Diego skyline as seen from the Coronado POV.
Our spring roll appetizer with individual bowls of peanut sauce. Most places only give one small bowl, so this was nice.
Our bun trio:
My bun with egg roll and grilled shrimp (there were six):
Bert's grilled pork which he really enjoyed (I liked the random fatty edges).
TC's bun with barbecued pork and pork rind (shredded skin). I was surprised she got this one because of the skin. I am not a fan of the rubbery and chewy texture.
It was refreshing to eat the cold noodles with the healthy vegetables and herbs. The thought of hot cooked food wasn't appealing that day, even though we had plans to have Indian at Bawarchi Dosa (my coupon will have to wait).
Who else went to Pho Cow Cali Express?
Kirbie went back in September 2010 followed by her revisit in February 2011, along with Darwin's visit from October 2010
Pho Cow Cali
9170 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
(858) 271-8341
www.phocowcali.com
When I see the word "cow", I think of Bart Simpson's notorious catchphrase (well, one of them), "Don't have a cow, man!"!
Up next...a look at a new market in the same strip mall.
2 comments:
Looks so good. I got the Bo Kho (beef stew) last time and didn't like it (spoiled by Lucky's version), but it looks like I should try the Bun.
I should try Lucky's Bo Kho then! :) it would be a good excuse to go back to Lucky.
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