Pho 84 - Who knew Vietnamese Food Could Be This Good?
Written: Apr 12 '06 (Updated Nov 05 '06)
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Pros: Delicious food, high standards of cleanliness, very reasonably priced
Cons: Always busy - but that's a good sign
The Bottom Line: The best Vietnamese food I've ever had. Wish I'd known about this place sooner.
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| lyagushka's Full Review: Pho 84 |
A short while after we moved back to the bay area, some friends of mine invited me out to dinner in Oakland. They'd decided on a Vietnamese place downtown that I'd never eaten at or even heard of. Vietnamese food has always been on my list of "acceptable" cuisines. I'd never had a stellar meal that made me sit up and take notice of this country's food, the way I do Thai food. You could say my first meal at Pho 84 was my proof of concept that Vietnamese food could be absolutely incredible. And you can bet the farm that my first visit wasn't my last.
Pho 84 is located on 17th Street between Webster and Franklin. It occupies an unassuming little storefront on this unassuming little block. I've only ever been there for dinner, but I've heard that the place sports a line out the front door and down the block at lunchtime. Every time I go there for dinner, the place is full or very close to it. About half the time I eat there, there's a wait for a table of up to 20 minutes. There's nothing particularly remarkable about the appearance of this place. There are wooden tables and padded chairs on slate floors, with paintings of rural Vietnam on the walls. The L-shaped dining room looks like it might have a subdued ambiance if you could ever catch it at a quiet moment. Usually it's fairly loud, though a hung ceiling seems to counteract the slate floor to a certain degree.
The menu at Pho 84 is fairly extensive and it certainly goes far beyond just pho. Pho might well stake a claim as the national dish of Vietnam. It's a bowl of rice noodles in a hearty beef broth, with bean sprouts, basil leaves, a lemon or lime wedge, and usually some sort of meat - most frequently thinly sliced beef or fish balls, at least in the States. Pho is pretty good in its own right, but the menu here also includes stir-fried dishes, clay pots and rice pots, as well as vermicelli noodle dishes and hot and cold appetizers.
Everything I've ever had at Pho 84 has been very good, but a few dishes stand out as stupendous. The chicken salad is listed as an appetizer, available in small or large portions ($7.50/$8.50). Even the small portion could easily be a full meal for someone who's not that hungry or watching their calorie count. This salad contains red and green cabbage, daikon, carrots, cilantro, and exceptionally tender chicken breast in a light, sweet and tart vinaigrette. The larger portion of this salad guarantees leftovers when split as an appetizer between two or three people.
Another favorite of mine is the chicken breast sautéed with eggplant and onion in a spicy shrimp base sauce ($10.50). This dish doesn't contain any fresh shrimp that I can tell, so the base sauce might be made with shrimp paste. But the dish doesn't taste noticeably like shrimp or fish. The eggplant of course turns into a delectable greasy mess, balanced by the chicken and the cilantro garnish. In any case, I find it delicious. I have a hard time not ordering it every time I eat at Pho 84. It's definitely a fall-back order if I'm not in the mood for something else.
A restaurant that puts the pho in their name ought to be able to serve up a pretty impressive specimen of this famous Vietnamese dish. Pho 84 offers five different pho in beef, seafood or chicken broth ($7.50-$10.95). There is apparently no vegetarian version. I've only tried one of the two beef broth phos. On a dreary, cold, rainy day it was exactly what I needed to take the chill off my bones. A plate of Thai basil, sliced chili peppers, bean sprouts, and lemon wedge, along with the condiments on the table allowed me to customize the dish to my taste. The broth was very light in the sense that there was very little fat in the bowl, but the taste was substantial without overwhelming all the other ingredients. The rice noodles were nicely cooked too.
I've also had the chance to try the grilled pork with steamed vermicelli noodles ($9.50), the imperial rolls and spring rolls (both $5.95), and the rice plates that come with Pho 84's special saffron-colored rice ($9.50-$11). There are a la carte dishes of seafood, beef, chicken, or vegetables, with most of those suitable for vegans. Everything I've tried here has been good to excellent, and usually the portions are large enough to share around with friends. More often than not, we leave with leftovers. The presentation of the food also receives attention from the chef in the same way that Thai food is attractively garnished with fresh vegetables or citrus fruits.
The first time I dined at Pho 84, we noticed some milkshakes being delivered to another table. We looked on the menu and discovered that mango milkshakes were listed. We excitedly asked for two of these, but were told that mango was out of season, and that the milkshakes we'd seen were jackfruit milkshakes. We hadn't a clue what a jackfruit was, but we figured we could stand a little adventure, so we ordered two jackfruit milkshakes. It turned out they were pretty good, though sweet enough to make our molars vibrate. The jackfruit had a fairly tropical taste, somewhat similar to a cantaloupe. The milkshake didn't seem particularly rich in milk fat to us - more like a frozen smoothie. They were good, but sweet enough to share around, and definitely not for diabetics.
Service has always been pretty snappy at Pho 84, especially considering how busy it always is there. The waitstaff as a rule is perfunctory. They don't schmooze the customers and they generally don't bother checking back to see if everything is alright at the table once the food is delivered. If you need something further, you've got to flag someone down. Our food usually arrives fairly quickly, especially given how crowded it always is. Sometimes a pitcher of water is left on the table for self-service, sometimes not.
One thing that particularly pleases me about Pho 84 is the extreme state of cleanliness of the condiments left on the table. Too often, I'm grossed out by condiment containers that look like they've never been cleaned in years. The hoisin sauce and hot chili paste that Pho 84 sets out for customers are always in immaculate containers. It's pretty obvious to me that these containers are cleaned and refilled before each shift begins. It's a small detail, but one that I notice and that I think speaks very well for the restaurant as a whole. The bathrooms are always clean too.
I realize that many people are more inclined to go out for Thai food when they're in the mood for something south-east Asian. A year ago, I would always have chosen Thai food over Vietnamese if given the choice. With access to Vietnamese food of this caliber however, I'm able to weigh the qualities of the two distinct cuisines on their own merits and allow my mood to dictate which one I choose. Pho 84 is definitely one of my current favorites for casual restaurants.
The price per person for dinner has always been less than $20, including tip when I've eaten here. Considering the quality of the food and size of the portions, this seems like an exceptionally good deal. I highly recommend this low-profile but very popular eatery if you're in downtown Oakland. It's also within very easy walking distance of the 19th Street BART station in Oakland if you should want to get there by public transit. Check it out; I don't think you'll be disappointed.
I can also recommend a meal at these restaurants:
East Bay
• A Coté - lively pan-Mediterranean tapas in a sleek but fun atmosphere
• Café Rouge - best choice for steak or high quality meats in the East Bay
• Cha-ya - vegetarian Japanese restaurant in the Gourmet Ghetto
• Chez Panisse Café - Alice Waters' sumptuous fare at about half the price
• Lalime's - superb New American fare in an intimate setting
• Manpuku - a cheap and simple ramen bar in the Elmwood
• Nan Yang - fantastic Burmese in north Rockridge
• Oliveto - exquisite Italian in Rockridge
• Rick & Ann's and La Note - both offer excellent choices for breakfast
• Shen Hua - great Chinese in Berkeley's Elmwood neighborhood
San Francisco
• Boulevard - hands down, the best restaurant in San Francisco
• Woodward's Garden, which is almost as good as Boulevard
• Betelnut - highly recommended for a fun night with a group
• Helmand - little known but excellent Afghan place and a great value
• Suppenkuche - unpretentious German bierhaus charm in Hayes Valley
On the other hand, I can't recommend Café Cacao, which is part of the Scharffen Berger chocolate empire, nor Pizzaiolo which features pretentious, outrageously priced pizza served by hipper-than-thou servers.
Recommended:
Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations I especially recommend the chicken salad as an appetizer or light main course. Try carry out if you''''re in the neighborhood, so you don''''t end up waiting for a table.
Best Suited For: Friends
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