Pho Battle 1 - Pho Cao versus Pho Ao Sen. July 14 and 19 2012.

Well, it's done. The first pho battle of the 2012 Phoenix Pho Challenge is complete. We've started in the region called "Midtown" - which seems to be geographically the most convenient for everyone involved. Will be chasing out the rest of the restaurants in the region over the next month. On the one side we have Pho Cao (Tempe, just off Scottsdale Rd north of the 202), on the other is Pho Ao Sen (Mesa, at Dobson and Baseline).

Just to remind everyone, I'm hear to judge pho... not service, not ambiance, not whether the vegetarian fare was any good. Basically, I order Pho Tai Nam (a mix of rare and well done beef), and try to sort out which I like better. There isn't much more of a system to it than that. It's subjective, and I'm no expert (and I'm certainly not a food writer). Not yet. It is what it is. And there will be a winner.

I'm not inclined to beat around the bush on this one: Pho Ao Sen beat the pants off of Pho Cao.

I don't really want to knock Pho Cao too bad - I mean, it was a reasonable, albeit pretty unremarkable, effort. Squarely in the middle or lower-mid tier of my idea of what makes a good pho. No amount of dressing up with rooster sauce (sriracha), lime, or jalepeno was going to make this stuff anything but average. And average isn't terrible - it just doesn't win pho battles.

Pho Cao:

BUT let's talk Pho Ao Sen. No question in the top tier of "my kind of pho". Broth was pretty good, but really came to life with a few shots of rooster sauce. Then it was borderline awesome. Other ingredients were all top notch. Nicely tender well done beef here. One big ol' bowl of fantastic soup. PLUS the restaurant was a winner. Lovely place, nice staff. Absolutely recommended. This place set the bar pretty high -- wouldn't be surprised at all if Pho Ao Sen goes far in the tournament.  (check out the cool bowl - and damn, this pho sure looks good!)

Pho Ao Sen: