Battle 5, Pho All Seasons (Dragonfly Vietnamese Kitchen) vs Pho Nhat in Mesa (on Southern) (WuDeng Review)

Phở-enix Scorecard: Pho All Seasons vs Pho Nhat in Mesa (on Southern)

vs

The Pho 

    At Pho All Seasons, I ordered the Pho Tai, Chin Nac (with eye round steak and well-done brisket). At Pho Nhat (on Southern), I had the Pho Tai Nam (with rare beef and well-cooked beef). Essentially, I ordered the same bowl of pho at both Pho Nhat Tempe and Pho Nhat Mesa ... could one bowl be better than the other?

Broth

     The broth of the Pho All Seasons was ... it was .. well ... there was this pepper?! I am not sure I can honestly tell you what the broth tasted like, at least accurately, due to the amount of pepper sprinkled into the soup. I think (i.e., I am guessing) that the broth was of the lighter tradition, but with slightly more salty oils and fats than perhaps the refined broths of the top-tier shops. I also appreciated that this broth contained some green onion and chopped onion. It's lighter side and slightly veggie taste reminded me for a second of the Khai Hoan style broth. I remember having moments in which I sensed it was a rather nice home-made broth ... and then the pepper swooped in and destroyed all remaining taste. Here, I was really with a feeling of, "What if? What if there hadn't been all that pepper? Maybe one day we will know ... maybe one day."

     The broth of the Pho Nhat soup was the same broth served at Pho Nhat Tempe. It was not a thick broth, but it was oily and somewhat salty. However, it was not as salty as the Pho Nhat Tempe broth. Overall, I felt that the Pho Nhat Mesa broth was better balanced than the Pho Nhat Tempe broth. It is a nice, middle-of-the pack pho broth.

Noodle 

    The noodle at Pho All Seasons was relatively well-cooked, but perhaps a little overdone. There was a relatively large amount of noodle in this soup. In all honesty, though, I couldn't keep my mind off that pepper.

    The noodle at Pho Nhat Mesa was average. It started perhaps a little underdone, but was pleasantly cooked by the end of the meal. There was a large amount of noodle in the bowl.

Meats 

     The meats at Pho All Seasons were of slightly higher quality than the meats at Pho Nhat. However, I could be convinced that the rare beef was slightly better at Pho Nhat than at Pho All Seasons. I had a vague sense that Pho All Seasons served more meats in their soup than Pho Nhat.

     Overall, I might give the edge in meats to Pho All Seasons. However, the meats were relatively comparable. Again, I had a difficult time concentrating on soup elements at Pho All Seasons ..... concentrating through the pepper.

Herbs and Veg

      At Pho All Seasons, my fellow pho-natic and I were served a very large plate of fresh Thai basil, sprouts, jalapeno slices, and lime. The herbs were fresh and imparted the proper flavors to my soup. Unfortunately, none of them acted as natural pepper-scrubbers. 

     Like Pho Nhat Tempe, Pho Nhat Mesa serves a single plate with Thai basil, cilantro, bean sprout, jalapeno, and lime. The herbs were fresh and complimented the soup well.

Service and Ambiance

     The service at Pho All Seasons was decent. It was a bit slow and a little inattentive. However, the service did not bother me. Personally, I don't mind being left alone as long as the food arrives and my water and/or tea are re-filled. 

     The service at Pho Nhat was nearly non-existent. After my party ordered, we received our waters and eventually our food. The server never appeared again. My wife was very upset that her water was not re-filled, as she drinks a lot of liquids (especially in our desert home here in AZ). 

     In addition to the service, the ambiance at Pho All Seasons is better than at Pho Nhat. Pho All Seasons has a decent little spot in a predominantly Vietnamese and Korean shopping mall. The restaurant itself is not particularly note-worthy and a tad functional, but it is not a distraction. It is pleasant. I did appreciate that the restaurant had invited a musician to play some tunes for the diners. I also have to give points to Pho All Seasons for its proximity to The Streets, which serves the best milk tea and boba in Phx (period!). 

     Pho Nhat is a functional restaurant. It is bare, and may be a little dingy. Here, it is all about the soup.

Final Pho Sco' (1 -5)

     This final score comes with a caveat. The score reflects only the bowl of pho in this instance, and does not consider other factors. I am certain that the service and the vegetarian experience would change the result. I am also somewhat certain that removal of certain condiments would change this result.

Pho All Seasons           3.25

Pho Nhat                    3.25 - 3.5

It was ... it was ... the pepper! Pho All Seasons likely could have won this battle if were not for the use of an overpowering amount of pepper. The last-minute introduction of the over-zealous point guard from the bench lost the match.

If you can request that Pho All Seasons leave the pepper out of the pho, then you have yourself quite a nice bowl of soup (at least, I think so.). Moreover, I would return to Pho All Seasons over Pho Nhat (with the hope of limiting the pepper), because the service/ambiance and vegetarian experience tip the scales. At Pho All Seasons (sans pepper), I can eat a decent bowl of soup and take my lovely vegetarian wife for a good dinner (see veggie corner below). I just can't do this at Pho Nhat. But, in the context of the pho battle,  ....

Pho Nhat is winner Pho Dinner!

Vegetarian's Corner

Pho All Seasons...take your veggies!
My extremely lovely and attractive wife, who happens to be vegetarian, really enjoyed Pho All Seasons. She was presented with several nice options. Most importantly, though, she was able to order a vegetarian Vietnamese crepe. According to her, it was very tasty. You don't often find a restaurant that serves these crepes. This alone will bring us back.  

Pho Nhat...veggies stay away!

There are limited, mostly non-appetizing vegetarian options at Pho Nhat. My wife was limited to a pathetic plate of greasy fried rice. I felt guilty for taking her to Pho Nhat Mesa. 

Advise: Take your veggies to Pho All Seasons to try the Vietnamese crepe.