Round 1 Midtown Region quick summary by jswatts (8/18)

We wrapped up the first round of the midtown region this weekend. Eight pho shops, has us one-quarter of the way through the first round. Here's some brief observations:

There seems to be only a couple of basic pho philosophies - with maybe 3/4 restaurants adopting some variation on a light, somewhat salty beef broth, which varies quite a lot in how much oil or fat is present. I think most, but not all of these incorporate MSG into the recipe. The remaining restaurants go for a darker, beefier broth. Both variants can be done very well, but given the current sample of restaurants, the darker phos (Pho Ao Sen & Noodles Ranch) really stood out. 

My top tier from this region includes Pho Ao Sen (top?), Khai Hoan, and Noodles Ranch.

The middle tier: Pho House, Dong Phuong, Pho Nhat. 

Bottom tier includes Pho Cao, Rice Paper (bottom?).


Winners advancing to the Sweet Sixteen: Pho Ao Sen vs Khai Hoan; Pho House vs Noodles Ranch. 

Looking forward to Round 2, but we're planning to complete the first round in the other regions before revisiting these restaurants.