Dishing on the magic of pho in Clark County

One possible answer is proximity. There is a larger Vietnamese community in Portland (14,332, according to the 2010 U.S. Census), and Vince Siharat of Pho Thanh says many have discovered that Vancouver is a good place to open restaurants.

Does the overcast, cool climate drive people to eat large bowls of soup? According to Kevin Vu, co-owner of Pho Green Papaya, the restaurant is busy on overcast days but empty on sunny days.

Maybe we should start reporting the weather based on the probability that you will crave pho on that day: Overcast skies, 85 percent chance of pho for lunch.

My final question was more vexing: How do you choose where to eat pho in a city that has so many pho restaurants?

Ashley Swanson, features news coordinator at The Columbian, helped me by compiling a list of all the pho restaurants in Clark County. These restaurants were all in Vancouver, except for one in Salmon Creek (Ei8ht Noodles), so I decided to call our map the Van Pho Map.

I ate at every pho restaurant on the list to find out where I could get the best pho in Clark County.

In my research, I discovered that there is a huge difference between good pho and bad pho. I had pho broth that tasted like it had been dripped into my mouth directly from the chalice of a pho-bearing god, and I had pho broth that tasted like mop water.

There were variations in decor and service, too. Some places are clean and comfortable — while others were cramped with tables filled with dirty soup bowls. Service can be friendly and attentive or you could be treated like an unwanted bill collector. In rating a restaurant, I looked at all these things — food, atmosphere and service.

Graphic artist Marsha Matta created the Van Pho Map based on Ashley’s list, and I came up with a star system so that when you locate a particular restaurant on the map you will know its rating.

A single star to the right of a restaurant’s name means that this is a place I recommend — I think the soup is good, I like the setting, and the service is good. Two stars (assigned to only two restaurants) means that the soup is excellent and served in a friendly, comfortable setting.

If you have good pho at any of these places, please take a photo and use #vanphomap. We will repost our favorite reader pho photos online.

The winners

I gave two stars to Pho Vi Van and Pho Thanh. These restaurants earned their stars by serving excellent soup in pleasant settings.

• Pho Vi Van:

I wrote a review of Pho Vi Van in one of my regular columns in the Weekend section. Pho Vi Van is special because the broth is exquisite. It is simmered for a very long time using fresh vegetables (and fruit in the case of the vegetarian broth). These soups have a light, flavorful broth made with fresh, high quality ingredients. I have tried most of the soups on the menu, and they are all delicious. My current favorite is the spicy beef soup (Bun Bo Hue – S1). This restaurant has a soothing and calming vibe (I called it a Pho Spa). A restaurant with exceptional soup in a calm setting is my idea of superb meal.

As my friend and partner at Foodcouver, Monika Spykerman, and I were Zen-ing out, she commented, “the atmosphere here is so soothing and contemplative, with the water feature softly burbling in the background. You feel like you can really concentrate on the whole pho experience.”

• Pho Thanh:

Pho Thanh is located in a strip mall off of Mill Plain Boulevard at Northeast Olympia Boulevard. It is a small, tidy, modestly furnished restaurant owned and operated by the Siharat family. On a visit to Pho Thanh, I spoke to the son, Vince. He told me that his mother makes the stir fry and his father makes the soup. Making the soup broth is a special passion for his father, who uses the best ingredients and will not serve it until it meets his exacting standards. This requires simmering the broth for 14 hours.

I had a couple of different types of soup (Beef Pho, Wonton soup) and each broth was completely different and delicious. Creating broth this good requires skill and care in balancing spice, herb, salt, and sugar. I asked Vince what made his father’s soup special.

“Every pot of broth is made with love,” he said.

Note: Nom Nom Restaurant and Grill, 801 C St., Vancouver, opened on May 12. I wasn’t able to try their pho by my deadline for this article.