Battle 3, Rice Paper vs Pho House (WuDeng Review)

Phở-enix Scorecard: Rice Paper vs Pho House

                                                                   

                                                                                                                                 

                  

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The Pho
    Neither Rice Paper or Pho House offer a great deal of pho options. At Rice Paper, I was forced to order Pho Tai (Pho with slices of rare beef); there were no other options for a traditional beef-based pho. At Pho House, I did have a few more options than Rice Paper, but not as much as some other establishments. I had the Pho Tai Bo Vien (with rare sliced beef and meat balls). 

    I have to include a note on price in this battle. These two combatants present the largest difference in price thus far in the competition. Rice Paper charges $9.00, while Pho House charges $5.50. As judgement, I will only say that I left Rice Paper hungry, while I left Pho House with a full belly. 

Broth

     The Rice Paper pho was subtle, paper-thin subtle. It held only a few flavors, and almost none of those rich umami flavors. I could taste passing hints of the delicious oils, fats, and salts that are central elements to a good pho broth, but those faint hints suggested that the bones were not boiled and steeped long enough. Also, if you look at the photo of the soup, you can see that the broth included almost no other green herbs or veggies. I could taste a few of the other spices, such as anice, in this light broth. However, the soup had to steep for most of the meal before it picked up the flavors of the fresh herbs, lime, and rare beef. 

     The Pho House soup had a rich broth aligned with the oily and salty tradition of pho creation. You cannot label this broth subtle; on the contrary, you might be able to call it fatty. In fact, you can even see the oils rising to the surface of the broth in the photo. That deep yellow brown color doesn't lie! I would also note that this rich broth was sweeter to the taste than the other oily, salty broths we have reviewed. Perhaps the rich, salty, and sweet flavor of this broth is due to our old friend MSG? No matter ... it is still a tasty broth. In addition to the savory flavor, this broth still managed to grab the flavors of the fresh herb and lime after some time steeping. 

Noodle

     The Rice Paper soup contained a decent amount of noodle. I would have appreciated a little more for my money, though. I have to admit that I don't really recall the flavor or the consistency of these noodles. Overall, I conclude that the noodles were not memorable. 

     The Pho House soup contained a sizeable amount of noodles. At soup's beginning, the noodles were probably slightly undercooked. By soup's middle and end, they were perfectly done.     

Meats

     The Rice Paper soup contained a fair amount of the sliced beef. It was high-quality meat, and was well prepared. Overall, I did thoroughly enjoy the meat in my soup. However, the rare beef did take some time to cook in the soup, because Rice Paper did not serve their Pho hot. 

     The Pho House soup contained a fair to large amount of meat. The slices of rare beef were decent quality, while the meatballs were somewhat poor quality. I rarely order the meatball in my pho; thus, I will try to reserve judgement. 

   Rice Paper does have the edge in quality of meats. However, Pho House does offer more meats (and more variety of meats) in their soup.

Herbs and Veg

     Rice Paper served their pho with well-presented, individual plates of herbs and veg. They offered a large sprig of fresh Thai basil, bean sprouts, slices of jalapeno, bean sprouts, and lime. I appreciated the two wedges of lime (because lime is absolutely, completely, totally essential). 

     Pho House served my fellow Pho-natic and I a large heap of fresh herb and veg on a shared plate. They offered large sprigs of Thai basil, cilantro, jalapeno slices, bean sprouts, and lime. All were fresh and recently washed.

Service and Ambiance

    Rice paper is a half chic/half hipster noshing spot. Thus far, this restaurant is the chicest spot we have reviewed. We enjoyed some microbrew and fancy cocktails while waiting for a table. We sat on white, elevated seats at a long, simple, finished wood table. We even had ambient lighting. Rice paper .... focus a little less on your atmosphere, and a little more on the flavors in your soup!

    Pho House is the ambiance-opposite of Rice paper. It is a bit of a dingy joint in a sketchy shopping center. You sit in old-school booths, on basic benches, and you eat your soup. But, hey, these folks know that their job is to serve you tasty soup. 

Final Pho Sco' (1 - 5)

    The winner, on sheer robustness of flavor (and all around value for my dollar), is Pho House.

    Rice Paper     2.75 - 3

    Pho House     3.5 

Atmosphere means nothing without savory pho. That is why .....

Pho House Winner Pho Dinner!


Vegetarian's Corner
     At Rice Paper, our vegetarian friends and loved-ones have plenty of options. The online menu contains a well-marked veggie section, although the print menu at the restaurant does not. Moreover, Rice Paper even offers a veggie pho! Despite these options, my wife was disappointed in her curry tofu. It was too spicy (My wife loves very spicy food!) for a full entree, and it was rather dry for a curry. I have heard, though, that Rice Paper is the place for veggie spring rolls.
     Unless your veggie friends and family want to eat some desert while you eat some rich soup, they should not accompany you to Pho House. There are no options here!

      Advice: Perhaps take your veggie significant-other to Rice Paper for a spring roll app, cocktails, and atmosphere. Otherwise, plan a night out with some meaty Pho friends and head to Pho House.