September 3, 2021
It all started years ago when Pho Lan was located on Hwy 34 in my hometown of Loveland, Colorado. A friend, and Pho Lan disciple, John Metcalf, took me there. I’ve been eating pho at Pho Lan ever since (and followed them to their location on 29th Street in Loveland).
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I did not grow up with pho. Which makes it even weirder that it has become one of my crave-able comfort foods. It’s basically, Vietnamese noodle soup, pronounced fu not foo.
Let’s face it, Asian food can be intimidating. Even with a mother who is half Korean, I didn’t grow up eating much Asian food. To this day, I can’t use chopsticks (although severe carpal tunnel syndrome doesn’t help).
RELATED: VN Phở in Firestone, Colorado
In the past, I didn’t want to venture into an Asian food restaurant alone, not knowing what to order or how to eat what I ordered. Now, in my forties, I have a more WTF attitude when it comes to food. I’ll eat anything at least once, whether I know what I am doing or not. It’s a good and bad trait.
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Many bowls of pho later, I still am not sure I am doing it right. I throw in extra jalapenos, top it with all the sides I am given, and get that stuff into my mouth in whatever way I can. Sometimes noodles hit me in the face as I slurp. I am quite sure that Emily Post would say that it’s not ladylike to have pho broth dribbling off one’s chin. This may be why I often eat pho alone.
As I’ve written above, pho is Vietnamese rice noodle soup. An array of meats come in the hot broth. At Pho Lan, I order #10, a pho with rare beef and meatballs. It’s my go-to.
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Pho was originally a breakfast food for Vietnamese farm workers. When I first became fascinated with it, I found an excellent article about the subject. I should have saved it because now I can’t find it, but this soup has a rich history. I’ll point you to this article in “Eater” for more.
Pho Lan is comfortable for me. It’s an order-at-the-front type of establishment that serves a variety of pho. It also serves some stuff that’s not pho, but I’ve never paid much attention to that part of the menu. However, I know it exists because Ryan, my husband, has joined me at Pho Lan, for non-pho food. He’s not a huge noodle soup fan. His loss.
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Pho here will set you back about 10 to 12 dollars plus a tip. This is a popular spot and they seem to do a steady take-out business. My pho has always come quickly and piping hot. That’s the thing about pho, it should be served hot, so I do tend to crave it more in the Colorado winter.
Since my discovery of pho, I have explored other pho restaurants in Northern Colorado and Denver, and I look forward to finding many more. They’ll have to live up to the tasty broth and excellent meat at Pho Lan, and they must give me extra jalapenos.
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Pho Lan, 296 E 29th St. Loveland
They do not have a website or Facebook page. Just go! Give pho a try.
And if you have recommendations of where I should go to eat great pho in Northern Colorado and beyond, please leave a comment.
Happy Pho Friday! I’m gonna make that a thing. Feel free to help me!
#phoFriday