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The first (and only, to date) PHO restaurant to be featured on the Food Network, Pho 87 is also among Travel+Leisure magazine's "95 Places to Eat in the World Before You Die." Home to the "Phozilla" eating challenge, the regular menu of authentic Vietnamese fare is simple and comprises five sections: Appetizers; Soup; Rice; Noodles; and Exotic Drinks. Talking of exotic, at the other end of the spectrum, Kobe beef PHO is also available.
This restaurant was reviewed in the September 2012 LVA; some of the information contained in the review may no longer be accurate. We got the word on Pho ‘87 from an interview in Las Vegas Weekly with Shirley Chung, executive chef at the Cosmopolitan’s China Poblano, who said she goes there for the oxtail pho. Pho is usually served with thin slices of beef (pho tai). We’d never had it with oxtail, so we checked it out and discovered more variations of this Vietnamese noodle soup than we’ve ever seen in one place. Along with the beef and oxtail, there’s pho with Kobe, filet mignon, brisket, tripe, tendon, shrimp, tofu, and veggies. For a tamer version, try pho ga (chicken), labeled “white boys’ special” on the menu. Or go for the gusto with pho Kobe filet mignon. That one’s $87 for a small bowl, but most start at $8. There are several things different about this place. The portions come in four sizes, though the small will be plenty for most. All the chopsticks are bright green and plastic. They don’t look like they’ll work well, but they do. The noodles are still made of rice, but they’re flat as opposed to round and thin. The proprietor says it makes them stand up better to her hearty broth. And speaking of the proprietor, Mia Ha is a little different, too. She refers to herself as “sassy,” and that’s putting it mildly. She’s almost always on property, ready to assume her “soup Nazi” stance if you try to eat your pho in a fashion that’s too far from traditional. You may have already heard of Pho ’87, which is another Vegas transplant to have first achieved notoriety in L.A. And it’s been featured on The Food Network for its phamous “PHOzilla Challenge” involving 16 pounds (including the bowl) of soup and fixin’s. There’s also non-pho phood on the menu, including one of the better Vietnamese-style (rice-paper) egg rolls we’ve tried, but the soup is phocal here. By the way, chef Chung also recommended Asian BBQ & Noodles at 3400 S. Jones, and one of our favorites, Ichiza (LVA 7/8). Note: In the December LVA we wrote about Pho Huong Saigon, which served pho tai for just $3.99. That restaurant has closed, leaving Chinatown’s Pho Vietnam as the least expensive for $6.35, as well as our favorite overall.
