Noodling around for Vietnamese soup dish

Max Jacobson

Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2001 | 9:27 a.m.

Pho (pronounced "fuh," like the word foot without the "t") is one of the great and economical treats in the world of food. It's a proverbial meal in a bowl.

The dish consists of long, chewy rice noodles and various cuts of beef, all immersed in a savory broth. Pho can be found in most local Vietnamese restaurants, and a few of them even specialize in it. Amazingly, you rarely pay more than $6 for a huge bowlful.

Pho starts with the boiling of beef shinbones in a giant pot, until a rich and concentrated broth results, usually in 24 hours. The broth is then spiced up with black pepper, star anise and a variety of other spices, as per the whim of the chef. When you order, the rice noodles are added into the broth, along with whatever cut of beef you choose, and cooked to order.

On the side, there will always be a plate of garnishes that you can add to your pho, to change the taste of any given spoonful. In the soup, there are usually slices of onion, chopped green onion and fresh coriander. The side plate typically contains fresh cut lime, a pile of crunchy bean sprouts, Thai basil and Vietnamese mint. The idea is to pinch or squeeze a sprig or leaf into your soup to vary the flavor of the broth.

There are also several condiments on your table with which to further play with the basic taste of the soup. There are ordinarily a variety of red chili sauces, soy sauce, the Vietnamese fish sauce nuoc mam, and Hoisin sauce, a sweet and spicy sauce made from soybeans, garlic and spices. You may also get a few slices of the incendiary green peppers that many Vietnamese people like to eat with their pho. Be careful here -- one bite and you'll be breathing fire.

Here are a quartet of Las Vegas restaurants where you can have your pho and eat it, too.

Pho Noodle 2000, 3650 Decatur Blvd.

This is the newest, most modern and most spotless of our Vietnamese eating places, a big, spic-and-span dining hall with library lamps, glass table tops, an open kitchen and a counter where you can dine while watching the chefs at work. The rear wall has a gaudy, paneled mirror. The sideboards are full of Chinese and Vietnamese pottery -- very attractive.

The pho here ($6.95) is served in attractive ceramic bowls, and the broth is very aromatic, with hints of clove and ginger. However, it isn't quite as beefy as one would hope for. Perhaps this broth hasn't steeped as long as it could.

The noodles are chewy, though, and the side plate, which contains both mint and basil, plus bean sprouts, green chili and lime wheels, is a good example of how appetizing the condiments can be when fresh.

The best cuts of beef here are the thin slices of rare steak, a rosy pink in the center, and bo vien, crunchy Vietnamese style meat balls. You can eat the sliced steak rare, or plunge it into the soup to cook further, and add flavor the broth while doing so.

Open from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. Call 368-4000.

Pho Vietnam, 4215 W. Spring Mountain Rd.

This noisy, often smoke-filled haunt is located on the second level of the Chinatown Plaza mall, and caters to an almost exclusively Asian crowd. On the tables are squeeze bottles of Sriracha Thai red chili, and everyone is given a steaming pot of Oolong tea, free of charge.

The broth here is less aromatic but more persistently beefy than the one at Pho Noodle 2000, and tastes as if it has simmered for quite a long time. The noodles are nicely al dente and the portion size is generous ($5.50-$6.50), however the bowls are plastic and many of them look as if they have seen better days.

The best buy here is the No. 1 pho dac biet, a large bowl filled with slices of both rare and well-cooked beef, crunchy beef tendon and beef tripe. If that is too authentic a mix for you, another good bet is No. 2, pho tai, which is just the rare beef, or No. 4 pho nam, just the well-cooked beef.

Open from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. Call 227-8618.

Xinh Xinh, 220 W. Sahara Ave.

This restaurant, whose name is pronounced "shin shin," has the largest menu of all our Vietnamese restaurants; the various pho dishes ($4.50-$6.95) are at the top.

Lots of large families eat here with regularity, especially on weekends. It's a jade green room with an abundance of silk plants and mournful Vietnamese folk music plays regularly on the sound system. The families are usually sharing huge bowls of pho that look about three times as big as the regular-sized ones. They aren't on the English menu, but they are served on request.

The first pho listed is terrific. That would be pho xe lua, which consists of rare steak, thinly sliced beef brisket and a few shreds of tripe. The broth is as intense and homey as a good French pot au feu, the noodles are properly firm and the side dishes are fresh. All the pho choices are good here, even if service can be on the slow side.

Open from 9 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. Call 471-1572.

Pho Chien, 3839 W. Sahara Ave.

Pho Chien is boxy, with pink tables set with silk flowers inside champagne flutes. The walls are decorated with Vietnamese musical instruments and the setups are strictly no frills -- paper placemats, wooden chopsticks and the condiments inside plastic squeeze bottles.

The broth here ($5.25-$6.50) may be the best in the city, and that is ironic because the portions are small and the service could be more welcoming. This pho comes in a salty, assertive broth that is laced with scallions and the quality of the meats -- especially the Vietnamese meatballs, the lean brisket and the rare, sliced steak -- is impeccable.

There is also a great fresh limeade with which to wash down a meal here. But this restaurant rates to remain short on business, until it loses some of the attitude and adopts a friendlier face.

Open from 9:30 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. Call 873-8749.