Target 2.4: Au Petit Café
Address: 4851 Main Street
Phone: (604) 873-3328
Menu: Page 1; Page 2; Condiments Photo
Hours Photo

Visit date: May 9th, 2008
Visit time: 12:00 Noon

–ratings–

[Read more →]

The last time I posted Knightafter’s phodown my brother called me to ask how it felt to see someone do a better phodown. I tried to explain to him that you really can’t say one is better than the other; they’re just different. That makes sense. Right?

Well, I may have to change my tune. A couple of weeks ago Knightafter sent me his new expanded phodown, with a whopping 43 restaurants on it. 43. Let that sink in for a second. That’s a lot of pho in a short amount of time. Besides the sheer awe and respect I feel for this man, I also want to talk to his cardiologist. Seriously though, I feel like Daniel-san in Karate Kid III, going around thinking I’m the king of phodowns when secretly Kreese’s buddy has been training this super-athlete. It’s ridiculous.

Anyhow, click the image above or here for Knightafter’s updated phodown. And keep in mind that Pho 66 is now closed.

Enjoy!

[Read more →]

A little while ago Eat Vancouver reader and local food enthusiast, Knightafter, emailed me with the results of a phodown he has been conducting over the past several months. I was incredibly impressed by the thoroughness of his report, as well the sheer number of pho joints he has visited. It is also nice to see that his results correlate very highly with our own, and they highlight some potential areas for reassessment. And of course, he uncovered a lot of interesting places that we just didn’t know about. It’s highly worth a look (click the image above) for any pho-lover in the area.

[Read more →]

Target 2.3: Saigon Venture
Address: 1310 Burrard Street (map)
Phone: (604) 605-8908
Menu: Page 1; Page 2; Page 3
Price: $4.25-$5.95 small; $5.25-$6.95 large
Condiments Photo

Visit date: March 13th, 2008
Visit time: 1 PM

[Read more →]

As you have likely noticed we redesigned Eat Vancouver a bit this weekend. We’re now sporting a flashy new banner and a three-column format. I’d like to send out a huge thank you to Michael Chin for designing the banners and Travis Schneider for helping with the back-end stuff.

[Read more →]

Target 2.2: Pho Kim Penh Xe Lua
Address: 500 West Broadway (map)
Phone: 604-877-1120
Menu: Page 1; Page 2; Page 3; Page 4
Price: $5.49 small; $6.49 large; $7.49 extra large
Condiments Photo
Fishtank Photo
Hours

Visit date: February 19th, 2008
Visit time: 7:45 PM

[Read more →]

Target 2.1: Vong Gac - Now Closed
Address: 663 East 15th Ave. (map)
Phone: 604-872-6650
Menu: Page 1; Page 2; Page 3; Page 4
Price: $5.25 small; $5.75 large
Condiments Photo
Fishtank Photo

Visit date: January 24th, 2008
Visit time: 7:20 PM

[Read more →]

Phodown 2.0
a nail in the coffin

Monday January 28th, 2008

By Jason Chin
Eat Vancouver Writer

After awaking to find a frosted over car for the past few days, I couldn’t help but get a very clear message: Winter is here, and she’s not catching her return flight anytime soon. While there’s no way to put and end to that bitch’s icy reign, there is one thing we can do to wait it out. And as you may have guessed from the kick-ass banner, that one thing is a phodown.

[Read more →]

Home for the Holidays
a holiday special series

No Country for Old Phở
Wednesday January 9th, 2008

By Michael Chin
Eat Vancouver writer

I’ll be honest. I had trouble finding an angle for this piece. It seemed odd because there certainly isn’t a shortage of angles on Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup (case in point: The Phởdown). I guess it would be more appropriate to say I was burdened with an overabundance of angles. In picking one I had to keep in mind that I have lived in the DC area all my life, so I can’t really talk about things like they are new or at least like I am re-experiencing them. I have, however, eaten phở in Vancouver, which does give me some sort of unique perspective, albeit a little lame. I’ll do my best to keep it snappy.

The third most important thing to know about phở here is that, in general, it’s not much different than Vancouver. There isn’t really a colloquial difference, like chowder. Just like in Vancouver you are bound to find a strip mall dedicated to the stuff. The fixins are the same, the cafeteria setup is the same, and the locations are plentiful. One such location, and arguably the best representative for phở in the Metro area is Phở 75. With several locations in Virginia, Maryland, and Philadelphia it borders on a mini institution on the East Coast. I go about twice a month. I used to go more.

[Read more →]

Phodown Lowdown

The Phodown Recap
By Jason Chin
Eat Vancouver Writer

Download the excel file (with links to previous articles)
Download the SPSS file

After a dozen phos, the phodown is finally over and I have to admit, it’s been a turbulent ride. My sodium intake has been all over the charts, some nights waking me up, dry-mouthed in the middle of the night, absolutely certain that the pho-gods were hiding just around the corner. I’ve had bowls of pho envelop me with their fragrant bouquets, just daring me slurp up my fill, and I’ve had bowls of pho whisper to me, almost inaudibly, words of warning: “You are going to regret this later.” And I did. This is not to mention the Fishman sending me painstaking looks that sent a message as clear day, “When will this be over?” I haven’t seen such pure, unbridled dread in his someone’s eyes since someone mentioned the word “salad” to Gerald Tritt.

[Read more →]