Place: Pho Cali, Chinatown 10th and Arch (right on the corner)

 I have heard of Pho Cali from other people that has said that the pho is some of the best that they have ever had. According to yelp, their pho is delicious and keeps people coming back for more. The service was great. I went on a Saturday afternoon for lunch.

First and foremost, those individuals that said to me that the pho was the best, and the yelp reviews that say it's so great, clearly have no taste buds or understanding of what real Pho taste like.

The broth was good at the FIRST sip. As time went on the broth began losing it's flavor; almost until the point where it only tasted like water. In the beginning you get hit with a HINT of spices, but other than that it loses me completely. As I dove deeper and deeper into the broth, I thought perhaps I should take a sip of my water to cleanse my palette... then I took a sip of the broth again... they both tasted exactly the same. The broth tasted like they used ONE of these packages (pictured below) for an entire stock pot full of water. Please step your game up people who have eaten here and find out what real Pho is because you are missing out.

The meat quality was adequate at best. The steak was thin and was completely cooked as soon as they brought it out. It was also shriveled up. For being a Pho Dac Biet, this was sad and deserved to be punished for how terrible it was. It only had steak, brisket, and tripe in it. Most Pho Dac Biet will give you, steak, meatball, brisket, fat brisket, tripe, and tendon. The brisket tasted old and was thick cut and dry. The tripe was tripe.

The vegetables were the best part of the meal. The basil was fresh and the beansprouts were as well. They give you 4 pieces of jalapeno and 2 pieces of limes.

The noodles were fine but they didn't give you very much.  Little did I know that I ordered a small when I could've gotten a large but NO where on the menu does it state that.

The Pho looked good, there wasn't a nice sheen of fat on it, and the onions were cut thick, instead of paper thin. No one wants to crunch on onions while eating Pho.

It was very expensive the Dac Biet was about 8.50 for a SMALL!

No recommendation for this place at all. I will not be coming back here and you should stop going there too if you believe it's the best pho you ever had.... check my blog for the better spots to eat and educate yourself!!! PHOvolution up in here!!

**Side note: The Goi Cuon... pathetic! It was ice burg lettuce and shrimp with rice vermicelli in a thick ass rice paper!**

Ratings:
Broth - 1/5
Meat: 2/5
Vegetables: 4/5
Presentation: 2/5
Affordability: 2/5
Return: 0/5
Recommend: 0/5

Overall Raiting: F