Pho Party in the House!

 I've been chomping at the bit for the Banh Mi Saigon restaurant to re-open. Sadly, the Banh Mi restaurant was destroyed in an electrical fire in Hadley last October. We also lost other fine establishments, to include Mi Tierra Mexican restaurant, the International Food Market, an Ecuadorian food store and Greggory's Bakery. Greggory's is now open in a bigger and beautiful space in Hadley. Mi Tierra is opening in September in their own building.  I hope the stores re-open soon! 

I discovered that the Banh Mi restaurant had a huge following when I read the reviews on the restaurant after the fire. The reviews by customers were fantastic. I was saddened that I didn't discover this gem of a restaurant. I was thrilled to recently hear that they found a space and were re-opening. In the meantime, I learned that the owner was a wonderful and kind man. I'm pleased that he landed a perfect spot on Main Street in Northampton. 

Being a Foodist Dork, I decided that it would be a good idea to arrive 15 minutes before the soft re-opening at 11 am this morning. We were the second customers on line. The first arrivals were very excited about the opening and often frequented Banh Mi when they were open in Hadley. Another customer arrived who drove up from Enfield. Her sister lives in Hadley and she said they would often pick up sandwiches at Banh Mi. She was having lunch and then bringing to go banh mi sandwiches to her sister. We were greeted 10 minutes before opening by Hai Cheng, the owner of the international market. He is helping out the owner of Banh Mi for now, and was very excited about the opening. He said that everyone in the restaurant was excited and nervous. 

The doors opened, and everyone spilled in. We had big grins. The staff had big grins. We were all on cloud 9. It was fun to watch the joyous re-connections with past customers. There was A LOT of staff working and things were a bit nutty. We were prepared to be patient, because after all it was a soft opening and nuttiness is to be expected. The restaurant owners were new to a full service restaurant as the restaurant in Hadley was counter service. 

The atmosphere of the restaurant was lovely. They did a nice job on the re-design and there was a simple, airy feel with an added coziness from the brick walls. 

 We ordered the fresh spring rolls as an appetizer. I have to say that these were the best fresh spring rolls I've had. The rolls were wrapped nice and tight. As you can see from the picture, these rolls were chock full of shrimp and there was plenty of cilantro too. Sometimes, the rice noodles in the spring roll are a little too cold for my taste. Not so with these, which were the perfect temperature. The sauce for dipping was excellent. I do think they could serve a bit more sauce. We ran out about 3/4 of the way through devouring these lovely rolls.

 Blue ordered the pork banh mi sandwich. I had a big bite and it was delicious. The bread was perfect for banh mi sandwiches and I'm curious about whether or not they bake the bread. The sandwich is made with roasted pork, cucumbers, pickled carrots and daikon, cilantro, onions, and scallion oil, with Vietnamese mayo spread. Blue started chowing and I waited patiently for the pho noodle soup to arrive.

 A big bowl of happiness arrived. The broth in the soup was fragrant and the noodles were cooked to perfection. They were generous with the beef portion, which includes rare beef, meatballs, brisket, tendon and shank. The soup had scallion, bean sprouts and basil for garnish. I give the pho a 10!

Slurp! 

We will be back very soon. I'm very happy for your return, Banh Mi Saigon!

Public service message: Pho is pronounced Fu