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Rated this place:

I went on a reco from some foodie friends at work (Janel). I've been to about 10 Pho joints in Toronto and this is certainly the best value for your dollar. The XL pho bowl ($6.50) clearly violates the "never eat anything bigger than your head" rule. The ambiance may have been lacking, not sure, wasn't paying attention. Who looks for ambiance in a Pho restaurant anyhow?I skipped the regular pho and went straight for the Thai-style pho. While I thought it was really tasty, there was something that bugged me about it: It tasted like the chef had slopped some tom yam paste into his pho broth and called it "Thai Style". Hints of lemongrass and mushroom with wilted thai basil (already mixed into the broth) all conspired to be one flavour too many. Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving this place a thumbs-down - I suspect I just chose the wrong thing on the menu. I was hoping for something more along the lines of Pho Pasteur's 'Pho Satay Rare Beef'. Will try their regular Pho next.

Cheap - in the good way

Rated this place:

...Located just east of Broadview, on the north side of Gerrard, this cozy little joint doesn’t look like much from the outside. From the inside, though… well, it still doesn’t look like much. What it lacks in the aesthetic department, however, is more than made up for by the food — as long as you’re dining in. A bowl of Thai-style Pho ($5.50 reg./$6.50 xl), for example, loaded with tender slices of still-rare beef in a heavenly seasoned, lemongrass-infused broth, is sublime. Although I was initially nonplussed about it coming sans bean sprouts and basil on the side, this shortcoming was all but forgotten by the time I got down to licking the bottom of the bowl.

As good as the soup is, however, it’s some of the other items on offer that really turned this scribe’s head...See Full Post