Gut Reactions

Pho Pasteur can accommodate cravings.

by Louisa Koeppel

ver since Pho Saigon at Poplar and Tillman burned, I have had a void in my heart and stomach. I crave the Vietnamese soup so strongly that without it I go into a gastronomic depression. I hope Pho Saigon will rebuild, but until they do, I will be happy to drive the extra miles to go to Pho Pasteur, located just across the street from Saigon Le on Cleveland. Unlike Saigon Le, Pho Pasteur shies away from the creative and focuses on the Pho itself. While I enjoy the innovative dishes at Saigon Le, it is the Vietnamese soup that makes my day brighter.

PHOTO BY SUSAN ELLIS

Pho Pasteur is named for – you guessed it – that beacon of penicillin, Louis Pasteur. Evidently, the man is seen as some sort of God figure to the Vietnamese – at least enough so to get a restaurant named after him. Perhaps fittingly then, this restaurant is painted Pepto-pink. With mirrors lining the walls and fake petunia garlands, the restaurant seems more like a beauty parlor than an eatery. But no worries – the beer cooler was in the back and the little Buddha was on the counter, so I knew we were in the right place.

Once seated, we were greeted by a very friendly and attentive server who was both knowledgeable and fluent in English. She gave us plenty of time to absorb the menu and, although she was serving three other tables, she was focused enough so as not to seem rushed.

My friends and I were rather hungry, so we chose some appetizers before deciding the rest of our meals. The egg rolls were fantastic and chock-full of fragrant spices and ground meat. The rice paper wrapping was light, crisp, and void of grease. Although the spring rolls usually come with meat inside, the kitchen was glad to take it out for the two vegetarians at the table. This was fine with me as well, because they doubled the plump shrimp and mint to make for a very light and refreshing appetizer. The peanut sauce served with the spring rolls was a nice change from the usual fish sauce accompaniment.

The last appetizer we tried was the Soup Mang Cua. This crabmeat and asparagus soup was quite odd. It was extremely starchy and did not seem to have much asparagus. The crabmeat was obviously imitation and the smell of the dish was, well, zoo-like. One of my friends said that this was due to the overwhelming amount of bamboo in the dish. I’ll buy that.

Our entrees began to arrive one at a time, and usually this would bother me. However, at Pho Pasteur, this seemed fitting. In the simplest of ways, this promoted a sense of sharing and community and made for a more eventful meal. The first to arrive was the special seafood dinner called Do Bien Xao Thap Cam. This was a stir-fried dish containing several kinds of veggies mixed with shrimp, squid, imitation crab, and fish balls. It had a mild sauce that had a touch of black pepper spice. I would call this a “safe” dish – not too spicy, no really unfamiliar ingredients, except for maybe the fish balls. I’m pretty sure that these are made of some sort of pollack mixture formed into cotton-ball-like shapes. I’m not a big fan of these or the imitation crab, but my number one-companion eats them up for me.

Another friend tried the shrimp with vermicelli, or Bun Tom Nuong. This is a dry dish served cold with chopped peanuts, mint, vermicelli, fresh basil, and fish sauce. Forgoing the fish sauce, my friend used more of the peanut sauce for dipping and loved it. I happen to like a small amount of fish sauce and found theirs to be light and not too pungent. This is a great dish that contains no MSG and leaves the diner feeling full but not heavy. To me it is more like a salad than a pasta dish.

The last two items we chose were Pho. I tried the noodle soup with eye-round steak, well-done flank, and fat brisket. I asked them to leave out the tripe, because as adventurous as I am, I just don’t do tripe. The brisket was my favorite meat in the dish, but the broth stood out as well. Flavorful and light, it picked up the essence of lemon, basil, and hot green peppers and made my tummy very happy. The yellow noodle soup with all sorts of sea creatures, called Mi Hai San, was equally as tasty.

So after our meal, bellies full, I realized my Pho had cured what ailed me. I could step out onto Cleveland ready to take on the world, or simply take a nap. Just as Louis Pasteur cured people with his little petri dish of fungus, so too will Pho Pasteur, with its big bowls of broth.

Dining Notes

by Louisa Koeppel

On the Move

Anna’s Steak House is pulling up stakes (sorry). The restaurant is set to move from its Collierville location to 7424 Highway 64 in the Chiles Commercial Plaza in Bartlett in the first week of October.

According to owner Anna Hamilton, she decided to change sites after her father passed away in order to be closer to her mother.

While Hamilton says there won’t be any differences in the menu, she will have a private dining room to house her collection of Elvis Humes High memorabilia she has currently up on a wall in the Collierville restaurant. In addition, she says the Bartlett site will have three strategically placed television sets showing Elvis movies and concerts.

Hamilton will keep the Collierville restaurant open until the debut of the Bartlett location.

Hops To It

Opening this week is Hops Restaurant Bar & Brewery at 7065 Winchester Road.

Hops is a chain based in Florida, with more than 40 locations scattered throughout seven states and plans to open another 12 this year and 18 in 1999.

The bar and brewery boasts a made-fresh menu that features such items as Jamaican steaks, pasta dishes, a salmon and shrimp combo, a number of salad and soup selections, plus much more.

In addition, Hops offers its customers the opportunity to tour its microbrewery to see how its lagers and amber ales are made.

Smorgasbord

In other food news, Boscos Pizza Kitchen & Brewery is kicking off its Oktoberfest celebration on September 20th with the debut of a new beer created specifically for the fest. Two days later, they’ll be hosting their Brewmaster’s Dinner, which will feature a multi-course meal, each course with a complementing beer. The dinner is $34.95 and reservations are required (756-7310).

The second annual A Place at the Table benefit for the Aloysius Home is 9:30 p.m. this Saturday at the Memphis Botanic Garden. The idea is to have dozens of dinner parties all over the city. The guests will then empty their pockets and take the booty to the Botanic Garden, where everyone has dessert. In addition to dessert, there will be dancing, live music, and an auction. For more information on the event, call 274-8321.

Finally, it’s time to get in touch with your inner Zorba. This Saturday and Sunday, noon to 8 p.m., Greekfest ’98 is being held at the St. George Greek Orthodox Church at 6984 Highway 70 in Bartlett. There will be the usual arts and crafts stuff, but the real draw is the food: the baklava, gyros, kourimbethes, and on and on.