Vegetarian's Review of Pho 78

For an Asian restaurant, Pho 78 does not have many vegetarian options. That does not mean the choices taste bad. Saturday night, Professor Husband and I went to Pho 78 for dinner. Perhaps it was because we went a little late but we were the only patrons at the restaurant. Needless to say, we were seated and served promptly.

Because it was freezing outside, we ordered hot tea to warm us up. For appetizers, I had the vegetarian spring roll and Prof. H ordered the shrimp rolls. My appetizer came out quickly. As usual, it tasted good and the vegetables inside were fresh and crisp. I must say that I love the sauce that comes with the rolls. It is a nice combination of peanutty goodness and spicy. For some reason, Prof. H's shrimp rolls did not come out until after our vegetarian vermicelli bowls were served. It seems like if two people order appetizers, one would bring them both out at the same time. The shrimp roll was not what was expected. Prof. H expected an actual roll with veggies, noodles and shrimp. Instead, it was shrimp wrapped in a roll and deep fried. He said it tasted fine but it was not exactly what he wanted.

The vegetarian bowls had fresh vegetables and those weird crispy pieces of tofu that I don't quite get. I think Pho 78 is the only place that cooks the tofu that way. The vermicelli did not have quite as much a kick as I would have hoped. I added some of the different sauces from the lazy susan (I love the fact there is a lazy susan at the table) to give it a more spicy flavor. Overall, I enjoyed the meal.

Here is my favorite part of the dining experience. There is a television in the far corner. This particular night, they were watching a Star Search-like show from somewhere in Vietnam. Honestly, I am not sure what it was considering there was a woman in a very tiny bikini strutting her stuff across the stage and a man in drag putting on some sort of skit with another man. Also, the audience members dressed in evening gowns and black tie. Actually, most of the singers were quite good (one woman had an amazing voice) with the exception of this one woman singing with an American rapper who I could not identify. She sang she was searching for "her special friend" and in the chorus she rapped (?) "four, five, six I don't know who to pick, seven take me straight to heaven".

It was awesome. Truly awesome.

It makes me wonder what people from other countries think when they watch "talent" shows from the United States like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.

In sum, Pho 78 has good vegetarian options (even more so if you eat fish) for a reasonable price. If you like spice, you should probably add some of the sauces from the lazy susan (susan, get off your ass!).

Pho 78, 3965 West 12th Street, Erie, PA 16505-3343 (814) 833-8883