Pho Loc

Anyone know if they relocated?

RIP
I drive by here every day but looked over and saw the place dark inside and the signage ripped down. They never did quite recover from the roof collapse thing. Was the only Vietnamese place by my work, now sadly, there are none. They should have offered Banh Mi for lunch. Woulda-​coulda-​shoulda.

3.5, really… was going to round up for the quality of the meat (all white meat chicken, for example) and the willingness of the owners to become familiar with customers (I hadn’t been since before the roof collapse and they remembered me. When we were organizing our cash she suggested if I was having a problem I could get the rest «next time.»)
I decided to round down for the fact that they only have soft drinks in cans and they don’t take credit or debit cards… CASH ONLY. Bottom line, though: this place is «A-​OK»!
I like the food and, when I’m craving phở or vermicelli for lunch, I don’t even think of any place else! Glad they’re back!

This is why I have stopped eating Chinese food and become a Vietnamese food addict…
I have eaten here at least 15 times since they’ve re-​opened and have become quite friendly with Sarah and Bill, the English names of the owners. Bill is a master chef and I am starting to understand why I like Vietnamese cuisine now where before, I just knew that I liked it better than Chinese.
First off… the Phở. They really don’t serve any seafood phở and I’ve come to realize by eating at other Vietnamese places that even though I love shrimp, it tends to make a rather flavorless phở and if you used a beef or a chicken base, it would overpower the seafood. So beef phở just makes sense. Their phở is terrific. I found it more useful to get one of the more standard phở rather than the ‘spicy’ and spice it myself. The thing I’ve learned is to taste the phở broth before I hit it with any of the toss-​ins or sriracha. They seem to sell a lot of phở ga (chicken soup), but I haven’t tried that… it would be hard for them to beat my mom’s authentic penicillin. I will point out that their Sour Shrimp soup was fantastic but it’s not a phở.
Next — their bun… It’s rather simple and plain — noodles with meat of choice (or shrimp/​shrimp paste), optional peanuts and egg rolls, accompanied by the sweet fish sauce. The trick I learned here is that you put the chilies and/​or sriracha and/​or hoisin sauce into the fish sauce and mix it up and then dump it over the bun and toss it all with the fork and spoon. Without sriracha or chilis, bun is something any child would love. This is the absolute safe choice for anyone eating Vietnamese for the first time.
Next — their broken rice… Again, it’s rather simple and plain — meat of choice accompanied by rice, sliced pickled carrots and green papaya and surprises not on the menu, an egg, mushroom quiche type concoction that is called xeo (not clear on the spelling here) and some thinly sliced salt pork. The first time I got this, I just consumed and the second time, I started asking about the things I was eating. Clearly there is some genius here. Again, the trick here is to mix the chilis and/​or sriracha into the fish sauce so you can distribute it more evenly throughout. There are a wide array of flavors, all very delicate and much more enthusing than any sauce drenched Chinese offering. Each time I order a broken rice dish, Sarah tries to substitute the barbecue pork which I absolutely love but it defeats my intent to try something different each time.
I have since discovered that Bill makes vietnamese pancakes (quite tasty) and ox-​tail phở (probably too fatty for my tastes). The pancakes are easily the most messy things to try to eat wrapped in a lettuce leaf with cilantro and dripping fish sauce. Utensils clearly don’t work here.
Here’s a tip… sit close to the table and don’t wear a new clean shirt. On the plus side, none of it is greasy so it won’t permanently stain but between phở noodles, bun noodles, drippy pancakes, it’s hard not to leave soiled and happy.

I’ve been waiting for Phở Loc to reopen after their roof collapsed last year in a major rain storm. So hooray!!!
Seems like they expanded the menu here but I had to have my favorites and since I can’t remember the names, I’ll give you the Numbers’s;73 and 43, uh this is the best I can remember so I will explain.
Barbecue pork, fried egg rolls in a giant bowl of rice noodles, served with a small bowl of very nice sweet sauce. Love the pork, very special, thinly sliced and grilled to perfection. Parts of the meat, nicley carmelized. The table has a bottle of Siracha hot sauce, a bottle of Hoisin and a hot chili sauce. I love the trio of sauces, very nice touch to have on the table. They may go out of business with customers like me sqeezing tablespoons of the delightful sauces all over my food. Sweet and hot, makes the mouth water.
The other dish has as a base, fried rice noodles and piled «High and Deep» are bok choy, broccoli, carrots, onions and shrimp and beef. The sauce is a rich blend of soy, ginger, fish sauce, ginger. This is one of my favorites. I love the crunchy rice noodles.
The owners are genuine people who love cooking their native foods and have the gift of hospitality. Yummy Yummy Yummy. Would like to see some Asian beers, so that is my suggestion here. You will not be disappointed.

Went over for lunch today. I was worried that getting there in the middle of the noon hour on a Friday it would be packed. Place was almost empty and everybody that worked there was out on the sidewalk enjoying the weather. Apparently their «lunch» crowd marches to the beat of a different drummer and folks were wandering in the whole time I was there.
I had a bbq pork and rice vermicelli dish preceded by an order of egg rolls. The egg rolls were very good but I thought the lettuce was a bit limp. The vermicelli dish was good, I didn’t think all the goodies would already be in the bowl so I accepted the cilantro flavor as I had not thought to mention it beforehand.
I was greeted and seated immediately. After wandering around the menu for a while the waitress came over and answered my questions and took my order. Their specials board is small and on the front wall between two windows. Today was pineapple curry chicken which I might have tried but did not see the inconspicuous board until after my egg rolls had arrived. Most of the people that came in after me seemed to be regulars. I tend to try and follow custom and as the folks that finished before me went up to the register and paid their check which was never delivered but was at the register I did so also. Good thing I carry cash because that is the only thing they accept. The place was clean. My table wobbled a bit.
I will most likely go back. The waitress/​hostess/​part owner is particularly proud of her Phở and encouraged me to come back so I could try some.
Based on the lines the shopping center is about to undergo some major reshaping that will affect parking. I saw lines marked showing a new sidewalk 10′ onto the existing parking lot.

Try the ox tail phở! I was silly with glee that Phở Loc finally reopened so that I could have my favorite phở — ox tail. If fact this can hardly be considered a full review of their menu, because during the dozens times I’ve been there I pretty much order one thing — ox tail phở. I’ve tried the myriad selections my husband has ordered, and while all are quite tasty (lacking ox tail phở, I’d be happy with any of them), nothing comes close to my favorite.
Why ox tail you ask? The meat comes in tender hunks, not in thin slices or manufactured ball shapes. The texture and taste is fantastic. Ox tail meat is pretty fatty, but don’t be dismayed — it is so tender that you can usually separate the meat from the fat with only chopsticks.
Along with the availability of ox tail (I tried phở shops all around Phoenix during Phở Loc’s absence and could find it nowhere else), Phở Loc serves some mysterious slender-​leafed green to put in the soup along with the mint and bean sprouts. I asked them what it is, but they did not know the English translation, but did comment that it is «very expensive». It’s extraordinarily tasty, and once again I have not noticed it at any other phở places.
The dessert made of crushed ice, coconut and red beans is tasty, especially on a hot day.

This place was closed for awhile, the roof collapsed after a rain storm… which was probably a good thing, the place was renovated and cleaned… which in most Vietnamese places, seems to be something needed.
But, for all that, they’ve always had great service, terrific phở, and very nice lemongrass chicken. Their new menu is missing the ox tail phở, but it IS available if you ask! Delicious! Also get a coconut drink, try the rolls and anything with a fried egg on it!
Cash only!

Stopped by today for lunch (Sunday 7−27−08).
Phở Loc is closed, appears the roof collapsed.
Looks like they are gone. :(

The Phở is pretty good here, about $ 6 a bowl. The Thai Ice Tea is also pretty good. I’ve always come in a large group, and they accomodate us cheerfully, and the service is always fast, and they never forget anyones meal.
The restaurant is clean, and i think it used to be some kind of tropical beach theme joint before, as the Grass Hut bar tells me. I like that I don’t feel like I need to shower after eating here.

First, the service here is wonderful. Since I am realizing now more than ever how much I’m in the «know» when it comes to the Vietnamese community, I can say that this place is way up there on the service. And um, we know how service can be at your typical Asian establishment (just read other reviews).
What to order, eh? The phở is good, but not the best. I order it because I can’t make it myself. The bun soup is also good, especially the shrimp-​laden variety. A little shrimp paste goes a LONG way. I like to nibble on grandma’s because she can eat most of the bowl and I tend to get tired of the bun.
The lemongrass chicken is the best in the Valley, according to my sister and I. It is a dry stir-​fried dish, which I appreciate because isn’t it easier to add a goopy garlic sauce and call it a dish? I think so, so I appreciate that they cook the sugar just past caramelized but before burnt, sautee the chicken in it and add soy, garlic, lemongrass and chili. It’s all preference, I suppose.
The cha gio (egg rolls) are some of the best I’ve had, though at $ 5 for two, I’m wondering why the soup is relatively cheap?
An overall good experience.

I’ve been to Phở Loc a couple times for lunch hoping it was going to yield me something amazing. Instead, disappointment on all the fronts. The time I had phở it was just standard and nowhere near as abundant in flavor and aroma as some other Vietnamese places, even with the bowl of basil, scallions, chilis, and bean sprouts dumped inside it. To be fair, they were lighter on the MSG because I didn’t leave with any dry mouth. And maybe that’s why the flavor was missing. Who knows exactly.
The next time I had a lemongrass chicken dish which on the menu looked really appealing and authentic. However, I didn’t recognize it as a Vietnamese dish when it got to my table. It seemed like generic Americanized Chinese food on par with Panda Express, but maybe even less so. The lemongrass was so charred that none of the flavor actually made it to the rest of the dish. I ate half of it and was done. And I’m a guy who usually finishes his food.
I think two chances were enough to formulate an opinion about this place. You could definitely find worse food in the neighborhood, but you could also find better. Had I based this review on just the phở, it would be three stars. But the lemongrass chicken was a turnoff so unfortunately I’m taking it down a notch. They’ve also had a cease & desist order from the county for operating without a permit. Don’t know if that’s been resolved one way or another.
Service is friendly and efficient, though. Maybe other folks have had better experiences.
2 stars.