May 2011
1 post
➊±➍ Washington is Phoked.
I’m often asked where to go for a truly great bowl of phở in Washington; my answer is, invariably, the suburbs. Perhaps I ate at new-comer Phở 14 too early, before it had gotten its sea legs; perhaps I am too much of an originalist for the strong cinnamon notes at Saigon Bistro… Still, I maintain my position: when it comes to Vietnamese food, our nation’s capital is phởked.
For the...
August 2010
1 post
➊±➌ Pot Au Pho.
The earliest recipes for the classic French stew, pot-au-feu (“pot on the fire”), were written by Marie Antonin Carême in L’art de la cuisine française au dix-neuvième siècle. Carême provides a lengthy introduction to his recipe, implying that the dish originated in 1789, during the French Revolution. Since 1789, recipes for pot-au-feu have found some variance, but all typically...
March 2010
3 posts
6 tags
The Muffin and I are a Casual Thing.
Phở fiends! The chronicles resume next week; to tide you over, choice excerpts from “Missed Food Connections” by Frederica Bepler.
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“You were sitting in the window of that French restaurant on Broadway, cute as a button in a tiny ceramic pot. They just don’t make french onion soup like you anymore. Are you...
7 tags
➊±➋ Phossil Record
Our discussion of phở begins with China, which held hegemony in Việtnam for over 1000 years. China’s dynastic period began in 111 BCE, with the consolidation of Nanyue by the Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE), and ended in 938 CE, with Việtnam’s victory at the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. During its long dominance, China both captivated and catalyzed Việtnam’s culinary development....
6 tags
➊±➊ Phoshizzle
Nothing chronicles the history of 20th century Việtnam more eloquently than the promulgation of phở. Born in poverty under colonialist influences, phở merged the sensibility of Chinese fěn (rice noodles) with the culinary consolation of French pot-au-feu. After the 1954 partition of Việtnam, phở traveled south from Hanoi to Saigon in the stock pots of anti-communist refugees. When Saigon fell to...