Pho Chau Is Dallas Staple For Vietnamese Cuisine

The burden of February's weather sinking into the teens reminded us of one small wintertime joy, the first piping hot sip of a rich pho broth.

While the internet provides plenty of recommendations for Vietnamese food, we often go on Google Maps zoom missions to see what pops up.
From the photos alone, Pho Chau has all the markings of a gem. They've been parked between a Subway and an old-school Italian restaurant for more than 10 years, and it seems nothing in the restaurant has changed in that span of time.

It has a true family-owned feel with nostalgic photos on the walls, those specific kinds of chairs that were peak during Pizza Hut's buffet reign and well-loved, laminated menu pages.

Like most other Vietnamese restaurants, the large menu touches on the main pillars of the cuisine: pho, banh mi, fried noodles, rice dishes, and appetizers. They throw you a curveball with the option to order pad Thai, but we'd never complain about that.
If you know your way around an eggroll or two, you know that they fall into one of two categories: memorable and forgettable. Somehow, never in between.

These Vietnamese egg rolls (3A on the menu) came fresh out of the fryer and landed perfectly into our micro eggroll hall of fame. Category: memorable.

Despite how fast they come out, they're most definitely made in-house with fresh ground pork and vegetables. The wrapper is hot and crispy, while still being thin enough to enjoy the full spectrum of the fillings. There isn't that weird mantle of wrapper fluff like you get when places use pre-made, frozen egg rolls.

Dip them in the side of classic sweet and spicy chili sauce and you get a mouthful of crispy roll, then umami-rich pork and a final zing from the sauce. One order just isn't enough.
Number 7P, under the noodle soup section, comes with eye-round steak, beef brisket and a special spicy sate sauce. I'm pretty sure the owner brought my bowl out, and he was almost more excited about the soup than I was. He appreciated the spice in the soup as he set it down in front of us.

The first rule of eating pho is always tasting the broth first, then adjusting it to your taste. This bowl was near perfect as is, but we hesitantly added hoisin and siracha because you can mess with greatness.

Fresh lime and ripped basil leaves are always mandatory in our bowls for an extra boost of freshness. You can taste the star anise and cloves that have been simmering for hours. The heat level, to us, was right in the middle, but for the less fortunate, it might be too hot.

The delicate meat finished cooking in the piping hot broth. The only thing awry was the meat-to-noodle ratio. With a little more beef, it would have been perfect.

We got out of here, including tip, for $23. Quick service, fresh Vietnamese food and generous portions. What? No, that's not a tear in our eye...

Pho Chau, 1640 W. Mockingbird Lane, Monday - Friday, 9:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.; Saturday/Sunday, closed.