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Pho Oregon, Portland’s 20-year-old Vietnamese beef noodle soup standard bearer, has opened its second outlet after a nearly two-year wait. Pho Oregon Beaverton debuted in March along a fast-moving stretch of Tualatin Valley Highway where strip malls are interspersed with car dealerships.
Paper concealing the construction work inside had been up in the windows for months, belying the promise of a street-side sign displayed for about the same duration. At last, the finished product has been revealed—and if an early visit was any indication, it was worth the wait.
The must-have pho order, the No. 1 ($17), arrives as a steaming, quart-sized cauldron of aromatic awesomeness, founded on beef broth whose aroma of star anise and other warming spices nudges the nostrils. A tangle of perfectly prepared thin rice noodles nestled on the bottom of the bowl is topped with bits of beef tendon, tripe, quartered meatballs, thin slices of round and flank steak, fatty brisket and a little green and white onion.
Standard accompaniments of basil, bean sprouts, lime wedges and jalapeño slices are served on a side plate for your customization pleasure. Likewise, the tabletop setup includes a ramekin of smoky chile oil plus bottles of fiery Sriracha and sweet hoisin sauces. It is a mad (food) scientist’s play lab.
There are a dozen or more other pho combinations that can be ordered in two sizes, though getting the $15 small almost seems silly when the large is $16. There are chicken and shrimp noodle variations for non-red meat eaters. Salad rolls (shrimp, rice noodle and veg tightly girdled in a thin rice wrapper, $9) or pork skin rolls (filled with finely cut strips of skin and rice noodle, $9.50) are my customary starters, though there are more than a half-dozen alternatives.
When the urge for hot soup wanes, Pho Oregon’s menu seems to ramble endlessly with choices, from rice plates and bowls to grilled meats to stews and beyond. Check out the bo la lat (grilled nuggets of betel leaf-wrapped ground beef, $18.50) in the “Vietnamese traditional food” section of the menu. Another can’t miss is the banh xeo chay ($18), a vegetable-filled, rice flour-based crispy crepe distinctively colored and flavored with turmeric. This is merely the tip of the iceberg, which anyone who has visited the original Pho Oregon on Northeast 82nd Avenue already knows.
The only shocking thing about the new Pho Oregon Beaverton is how nearly identical it is to the original outlet. The menu is the same, the beige granite tabletops are the same, the central cashiering station and incorporated shrine are nearly the same, the servers’ bright yellow polo shirts with red “Pho Oregon” trim are the same, and even the number of seats—around 75—is about the same.
Still, it has a fresh new feel compared to the original, which is a little shopworn after two decades of slinging soup. It is light and bright inside, a byproduct of big windows that run along two sides of the building, showcasing an abundance of stylish art on the walls. There is a small parking lot, too, as befits the suburban location, which is shared with heavenly smelling Donut King that, I can say firsthand, was open and had plenty of very fresh doughnuts at 9 pm on a Sunday. Might as well make it a twofer.
EAT: Pho Oregon Beaverton, 12870 SW Canyon Road, Beaverton, 503-747-0814, phooregon.net. 10 am-9 pm Monday-Saturday, 10 am-8 pm Sunday.