Bensonhurst’s newest Vietnamese restaurant is pho-king delicious!
Pho and Co. opened on 86th Street on Labor Day, and safe to say, these guys are not just phoning it in.
Normally, you don’t review a restaurant based on the soup, but with a name like Pho and Co., it was a pho-regone conclusion.
Pho (pronounced “fuh?” with an upward inflection at the end) is a traditional Vietnamese soup — usually beef — with rice noodles, herbs and fresh vegetables. The most pho-ndamental part is the dish’s aromatic broth, which here is made from beef stock cooked with charred ginger, clove-studded onions, star anise, cinnamon, and a pinch of yellow rock sugar.
Pho and Co.’s un-pho-gettable Pho Special ($7.50) is heavier on the sweet and than spice, but the ever-subtle anise still shines through. The fledgling restaurant avoids two major pitfalls for pho broth — its take is neither too salty nor too fatty.
My helmet-sized bowl came with noodles, thin slices of brisket, and Vietnamese meatballs. To garnish, bean sprouts, Thai basil (Italian Basil’s licorice-tinged cousin), and a lime wedge — but no chili pepper. Get with the pho-gram, people! After I asked, my server brought some of the pre-requisite hot peppers in no time.
To wash it down, order a Vietnamese iced coffee — which is essentially rocket fuel mixed with sweetened condensed milk. Mine took a good 10 minutes to make, because the eatery brews it fresh using Cafe Du Monde chicory coffee and a traditional metal drip phin filter.
All told, Pho and Co. does a great job — especially for a newly-opened restaurant. So if you’re planning on leaving Bensonhurst for Vietnamese food, phoghedaboudit!
Pho and Co. [1927 86th St. between 19th and 20th avenues in Bensonhurst, (718) 946–8686]. Open 10:30 am–9:30 pm daily.
