By Amanda Mayberry
Teetering right on the edge of Chinatown and Lincoln Heights is Pho 87, a restaurant that serves amazing Vietnamese food at affordable prices.
The restaurant serves 25 different flavors of pho with the choice of beef, pork, or chicken, as well as appetizers, rice, noodles and other soups. The entire menu consists of 106 numbered items.
As simple in décor and menu as it is in name, don’t be fooled by the modesty of this little restaurant. What Pho 87 lacks in aesthetics it greatly makes up for in the quality, and quantity of its food.
Number eight on the menu comes with rice noodles and beef and is filled to the rim and packed with unbelievable flavor.
As big in flavor as they are in size, this small bowl can easily be shared with another person.
The medium and large bowls are also good for sharing, but for those with big appetites, eating an entire bowl is no problem.
Each bite is filled with noodles, beef, and green onions, which come together to form an array of flavor and deliciousness in your mouth.
The noodles are almost transparent, thin and soft, as is the beef, which is juicy and tender.
The seasoned broth is warm and yummy for chasing your noodles and beef with.
For those who love spicy food, adding the jalapenos along with the three chilis adds and improves the already awesome pho bowl.
Also complimentary to the soup are the egg rolls, which are served with a ginger dipping sauce, or nuoc cham gung.
Try adding a little bit of the tuong ot toi to your dipping sauce for added flavor, or even try dipping the egg rolls into the pho bowl for more deliciousness.
Though the restaurant’s two key decorations are an overcrowded koi fish pond located at the front and a generic painting framed at the very back on the stale, mint green wall, this little restaurant is sure to please.
The food isn’t gourmet and the décor has much to be desired, but at Pho 87, customers can expect quick service, and great food for low prices. A small pho bowl cost only $8.25.
At the end of every Pho 87 experience customers can treat themselves to some fortune cookies, Red Vine, or mints, compliments of the restaurant.
Pho 87 is located near the gold line, which Elans can find at the corner of Atlantic and Pomona. Exit Chinatown Station, take the stairs down to College St., walk up College to Broadway. Make a right on Broadway, and to the right, on the corner of Bernard and Broadway is Pho 87 Vietnamese Restaurant.