Pho Hoa

Exceptional, extensive Vietnamese menu, even if today I encountered a little misstep in my order. I noted especially the bo la lot, here translated as "grilled mint beef"; lotus rootlet salad; the "beef seven courses" meal for two; small selections of lau (seafood fondue, or hot pot) and tom hum (lobster); 20 varieties of pho with a pictorial guide to the various meats; and the plum, soy, fish, and hot sauces that stood ready at every table. I intended to get the $6.50 lunch special, with rice, of muc rang tien muoi (pan-fried squid with spiced salt); I was billed $9.95 for what I was later told was the full dinner serving. Not perfect tenderness — I couldn't bite cleanly through — but very good, with a good amount of pepper salt, on a spicy salad.

Pho Hoa
17 Beach St., Boston
(one of two locations)
617-423-3934