1250 Western Blvd, Jacksonville, NC 28546
Nestled in a shopping center, in Jacksonville, NC, near Old Navy, Cold Stone and The Groom Room, is a small little Vietnamese restaurant called Phở Le. Vietnamese food is very dear to me. Back in my 20’s I had a close friend who was born in Vietnam and some of my very fondest memories are of our nights shopping at the Asian market, cooking food from her childhood and watching rom-coms.
Next week we leave Jacksonville, NC forever. The Marine Corps is moving our family overseas to Okinawa, Japan. We couldn’t be more excited! First off, we want to travel all over the world! We want to see everywhere! Taste everything! So we asked the Marine Corps to PLEASE send us to Okinawa.
As a general rule we don’t eat out much. It’s kind of the curse of being a chef. To Eat Out, or Not Eat Out…that is the question. The difficulty is when we order something, wait around, get the food, taste it and then realize…I could have made this at home, for 1/2 the price and double the flavor.
There are a few exceptions to this rule here in Jacksonville, and one of them is Phở Le. With our household goods on its way to Okinawa and our house sold, we are staying in an AirBnB. While I can absolutely cook in the AirBnB (in fact I have a few videos to edit!) we are still eating out more than normal because of our current transient lifestyle. And of course…we want to stop by all our favorite places one last time.
So this afternoon Mini-Me and I went to Phở Le. There are a few other Vietnamese restaurants nearby, but this is the one we end up at over and over again. While I have tried most of the things on the menu, Mini-Me and I know our favorites by this point. For me, if it’s winter, Phở! If it’s summer, Vermicelli Noodles. For Mini-Me, if it’s winter, it’s Phở…if it’s summer, it’s Phở!
If you are not familiar with Vermicelli Noodles or Bún Thịt Nướng, as I’ve always known it as, but it is not listed as such on the menu at Phở Le, you need to correct this immediately. First off, the main ingredient is (surprise!) Vermicelli Noodles or Bún as it is named in Vietnam. Bún are rice noodles that go by many names in different cultures. For this review we are going to stick to the Vietnamese facts.
Bún is used in several dishes in Vietnam but my all time favorite is Bún thịt nướng! According to Wikipedia Bún thịt nướng is:
“A Vietnamese dish consisting of grilled pork (often shredded) and vermicelli noodles over a bed of greens (salad and sliced cucumber), herbs and bean sprouts. Also, it often includes a few chopped spring rolls, spring onions, and shrimp. It is commonly served with roasted peanuts on top and a small bowl of nước mắm pha (fish sauce with garlic, chilli, sugar, lime juice, water or coconut juice).”
Now, at Phở Le, it is a little more Americanized than many other places I have been and of course not as authentic as what my friend Gia and I would make on our cooking nights, but it’s pretty good!
I am committed to being honest on this blog and I am not going to say that Phở Le is the very best Vietnamese food I’ve ever had. HOWEVER, it is the best in the area (in my opinion).
For example, the Bún thịt nướng at Phở Le does not come pre loaded with a lot of herbs. They do bring a plate of herbs, bean sprouts, jalapeño and lime. So you can add those yourself. Also, the nước mắm pha is not the most flavorful I’ve ever had. But once I pour that “dressing” over the “salad”, I get super excited. Anyone else have that thrill go up their spine when good food is placed in front of them? It kind of goes up my spine…and shoots from my heart to my belly. The grilled pork, the fried egg rolls, the fresh veggies and the cold noodles. It’s so refreshing and filling. The flavors are super fresh and healthy.
My daughter gets…Phở. Rain or shine, it’s Phở, or as she says, “SOUP…!” Again, I turned to Wikipedia to help me articulate what exactly Phở is.
“Phở is a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles (bánh phở), herbs, and meat (usually beef (phở bò), sometimes chicken (phở gà)). Phở is a popular food in Vietnam where it is served in households, street-stalls, and restaurants country-wide. Residents of the city of Nam Định were the first to create Vietnamese traditional phở. It is considered Vietnam’s national dish.”
So…yeah…that’s what phở is! Apparently phở was invented sometime between 1900 and 1907. It became popular in the United States in the 1990’s. As with a lot of dishes, the history of phở is a result of a disenfranchised group turning one person’s trash into an amazing culinary delight. The French army which invaded Vietnam in 1858, brought more beef into the country. While the French wanted the beef, they did not want the bones. Chinese workers who were in Vietnam at the time purchased the bones and created the broth that is the base of phở. Phở originated as a street food for the workers.
Mini-Me always get phở bò. Actually she gets the mix of rare beef steak and beef brisket. The smells of phở always transports me back to Gia’s kitchen in Seattle. We would roast the onions, galangal and garlic. We would simmer the beef broth with the roasted aromatics and star anise. We’d slice the meat super thin and cook up the noodles. I remember that thrill when we’d dish up the noodles, layer on the raw meat and ladle the boiling hot broth on top of the prepared bowl. The bean sprouts and herbs would get sprinkled over the top and we’d settle in on the couch with our steaming bowls in our laps and watch Sandra Bullock fall in love.
Now, 20 years later sitting in the booth at Phở Le sneaking tidbits of brisket from Mini-Me’s bowl I am so thankful that I can share my love of this amazing dish with her. We will miss you Phở Le.
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