Critic's star breakdown
- Food: 3 stars (out of five)
- Service: 3.5
- Atmosphere: 4
- Overall: 3.5
After the closing of T-Ho a few years ago, there was a dry spell when it came to finding a predominantly Vietnamese-food restaurant in Knoxville. Now it seems that several have sprung up in a relatively short period of time — two of them at Turkey Creek. The Grub Spouse and I headed there recently to check out the newer of the two and find out if Pho Vietnamese Cuisine was the real thing.
It can be easy to miss, even when you're looking for it, because the space's old Cocoa Moon signage is still in place. The Pho folks have put out a temporary banner to alert passersby to their presence. Inside, Pho benefits from Cocoa Moon's contemporary atmosphere and decor, with an earth-tone color palette and a minimalist approach to style that dovetail smoothly with an Asian-themed eatery.
The Spouse and I once again (as we sometimes do) found we had the dining room to ourselves on that cold, blustery weeknight, so service overall was prompt and attentive. We perused a menu that is divided into appetizers, pho soups, rice vermicelli, white rice plates, stir-fry dishes, fried-rice dishes and special entrees.
In the interest of full disclosure, I passed on the pho soups simply because of what I'll just refer to as a "bad reaction" I once had to such a dish in another local Asian-food restaurant last year. Pho's phos may very well be outstanding, but that's just too many negative associations for my poor constitution to undertake.
We forged ahead with a pair of charbroiled-pork rolls for an appetizer (after being told the ground-pork rolls had been eighty-sixed). As for the rest of the entree categories, most incorporate chicken, pork and shrimp as main ingredients. A few dishes come with beef, including a couple of beef stews as well as a shrimp-based Vietnamese crepe that I seriously considered.
The Spouse ordered the charbroiled chicken rice plate ($7.50). I was tempted to try out a vermicelli noodle or a fried-rice dish but decided on one of the stir-fry entrees — pan-fried noodles with seafood. Our server mentioned that it was one of his favorites.
The appetizer came out fairly promptly, and I liked it a lot. Each roll was substantial in size and offered a multi-textured mix of grilled pork and crunchy veggies wrapped tightly in a thin dough wrap.
The entrees were a little longer in their arrival, which I thought was surprising considering that we were number one for takeoff. When they did come out, they were delivered one at a time, the problem being that a solid five minutes passed between the serving of my seafood stir-fry and the arrival of The Spouse's chicken. That left me with the option of eating first while The Spouse just sat there or waiting and letting my food get cold. I've never understood the practice of staggering entrees in that manner, and I don't care for it.
The Spouse's chicken and white rice meal was average in appearance and taste, and I was downright disappointed in my meal. The bird-nest-looking bed of dry, crispy-fried noodles was huge, and dwarfed the paltry serving of seafood stir-fry, which consisted in total of a few squid bits, two medium shrimp and a strip of crab. Even the otherwise reasonable $8.50 price was still too much for this particular serving.
Perhaps other menu items (including the pho pots) might have been more satisfying, but based on our selections, this particular venue left me feeling like I was up Turkey Creek without a paddle.
© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Comments » 6
trollhair writes:
I have been numerous times. The food and service was wonderful. My only complaint is that they put too much food on the plate. I can spend the next 2 days eating left overs!
They have a great vegetarian selection.
mtnbikrtn writes:
I like soup and I like salad. Pho is like having your salad dumped into your soup.
jonathan#509413 writes:
I have been to Pho only once but their Vietnamese crepe (which will forever be my 'benchmark' dish for Vietnamese restaurants whenever it is offered) is ALMOST as good the Vietnamese crepes I used to get at T-Ho. To me, that is high praise. The crepe was also a pretty good portion. Not too big by any means but not 'skimpy', either. I'll be back.
My wife and I have also tried the Vietnamese Bistro that is at Turkey Creek, as well. The food was good but I prefer Pho where the atmosphere is a little more laid back. At the Vietnamese Bistro, my wife had a pork chop that was delicious but a bit on the pricey side, IMO. The Vietnamese crepe at the Vietnamese Bistro was good but it was on the appetizer menu, not the entree menu, and was a little small for my liking (I could easily have eaten two of them) while costing as much or maybe more than the larger crepe at Pho, which I felt was of equal quality and slightly better flavor. There is nothing about the Vietnamese Bistro that would cause me to advise anyone to avoid it. In fact, some may prefer the atmosphere there. However, I prefer Pho.
JKM writes:
How can you review a Pho restaurant when you refuse to eat pho?
bob writes:
JKM, if you havent noticed, the Grub Scout knows little to nothing about food in general. His reviews are discombobulated, illogical, display an ignorance of food and are almost always either a 3.5 or 4 star review, making it difficult to distinguish the best from the worst restaurants.
djf97223 writes:
I have had Pho across the globe and most do not provide the subtle and deep flavor a good Pho should offer. The Pho served in this establishment is not a good Pho. The spring rolls were not very good and the sauces not as authentic as they could be.
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