The elephantine menu at the Pearl District Pho Van, bound with bamboo, touts a lineup of fresh and keenly executed Vietnamese dishes. More polished and savvy than the original on Southeast 82nd Avenue, this location still offers plenty of traditional noodle soups and eat-with-your-hands appetizers. Menu items are spelled out—apart from the occasional "special sauce" or elusive "Vietnamese slaw"—and when questions arise, the staff is up to speed. The banana-blossom salad, served at lunch and dinner, is a tasty medley of shredded banana blossoms, chicken breast, jicama and grapefruit dressed in a lightly spiced and sweetened fish sauce. (LC)
WWeek 2015