Posts Tagged by restaurants

Guess who skipped her morning workout today? Oh, that would be me (that makes 3 I’ve missed so far this week…trend much?). But when my alarm went off at 5:15 I thought…no way. I had the worst time sleeping last night, most of which is due to my stress level (and then I skipped my workouts so you know, it’s a cycle).

Part of the problem though was my houseguest who kept getting in and out of bed with me:

Sorry for the blurry picture – he doesn’t sit still for very long!

Anyway, if you’re a long-time blog reader you might recognize this dog from my various Lost Weekend trips – Rusty is staying with me for a couple of days while his family is on vacation. He’s a ball of energy in a way that my own little dog can’t even begin to compete with. 

(last fall in West Virginia)

I knew it would be very different having a big dog around – especially one who gets on furniture. My parents’ big poodle is around all the time but he hates being on the furniture and usually stays on the floor all the time. Not so with Rusty! He helps himself to whatever space he can find and it’s part of what makes him so adorable.

Anyway, last night I got to try out the new Pho restaurant that moved into my neighborhood. I love pho (vietnamese noodle soup) – it’s probably my favorite food on a long list of comfort foods – so I was really excited that one was moving in just behind my house. Kathy brought Rusty over and then we went off to try some pho.

For starters, I loved walking into a pho restaurant that was well lit and very cleanly decorated. We have a TON of pho restaurants around here and they vary in decor from “generic warehouse” to “gold+red tchotcke massacre” and most are quite dark – as in there could be dirt everywhere and no one would be able to tell. This place is bright  with white and pale green paint (just about the same shade as my apartment walls, honestly!) and minimal artwork.

We sat down and they brought over our menus – and a little “amuse bouche” :

It was a kiwi and banana soft serve  – so good! A little bit sweet, a little tart and in just the right portion.

We had some crispy spring rolls to start, and then eagerly devoured our pho:

I always get the eye of round in mine but managed to eat it all before I got a picture of the meat. I loved the flavor of this broth – all pho is not the same when it comes to seasonings so each place you go has slightly different flavors. It’s a delicate combination of spices that have to combine to get that “pho” flavor which is why it’s so hard to get right at home.

Ultimately I’m really excited to have a new pho place so close to home and really hope this works out for them.

We got back to my apartment after dinner and discovered that Rusty had done some redecorating:

“I don’t feel the need to explain my art to you, Warren”*

Which is just about what I deserve for using tissue paper as a privacy booster. I had taped (literally, with regular tape) white tissue paper to the sliding doors so I would have an added layer at night since those sheers are exactly that - sheer. It was always going to be a temporary solution but now it’s a little bit higher on my list of things to update!

Have you ever tried pho? What’s your favorite kind?