Long ago, back in the spring of 2007, The Wife and I visited Saigon at their original location at the suggestion of a coworker who recommended their banh mi. While we didn’t get an opportunity to try their sandwiches, I enjoyed the food and looked forward to returning.
Well, return I did…nearly five years and a new location/name later. Chapter & Verse contacted me after he saw that Saigon had changed its name again, this time to iPho, and suggested we get together for lunch. I rounded up a couple of other readers: lefty, MSPD, and Closet Carnivore and we met up there on a beautiful day in mid-February. We arrived to a mostly empty restaurant. We were seated in the middle of the space at a big round table and we all ordered their pho. While they offer a variety of options I believe everyone went with the Special and both MSPD and Closet Carnivore added shrimp for several dollars more (~$2.75).
While we waited I looked over the menu which was designed to look like an iPhone. It was black with colored icons of a bowl of pho, a sandwich and something else. Clever I suppose but I’m surprised any business would want to even think about taking on Apple regardless of the lack of confusion they could create. There’s also the expense of changing the name to something which could prove to be a fad in a few more years only to force another name change then. But I digress.
The pho was out quickly and the steaming bowls were set before us. MSPD remarked that the broth smelled sweet as if there was perhaps nutmeg in there somewhere. To me it was a very herby aroma and it was certainly pleasant. There were plenty of noodles and vegetables but very little in the way of meat and what was there was a little more overcooked than I prefer.
The pho itself wasn’t anything special. For what used to be the gold standard in pho in St. Paul, other restaurants have clearly mastered the art that Saigon was commonly known to have knocked out of the park first. The broth was a little oily and the herb flavor was nice but overall the soup was simply uninspired. In fact, if it weren’t for the bottle of garlic chili sauce which was getting a workout from several members at the table, I would have ranked this one pretty low on the scale of pho in the area.
Overall iPho was fine, and based on the large number of people packing the place by the time we left it’s more popular than I would have guessed. However, as popular as it is, the pho really isn’t all that great and you’re probably better off at any number of other restaurants nearby instead. Never the less I had a great time with the guys and gals (MSPD falls into the later) and at least I now know that it’s probably more popular by reputation than it deserves.
Have you ever eaten at iPho (or the old Saigon) in St. Paul? If so what did you think? What did you have? What do you think about their pho? Where else on University would you prefer to go instead? What about their name? Do you think it’s silly or stupid? Do you think it’ll help to get them more business? Whatever you have to say about this one go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Address:
iPho
704 University Ave W
St Paul, MN 55104
Phone:
651-225-8751
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March 9th, 2012 at 8:04 am
The name/marketing-Schtick makes me want to stab myself (or somebody else) in the eye with a spork.
But, I’d still eat there if the food was worth it. It wasn’t easy to tell by your review, Bill, but I’m gonna guess that the food rings in at a solid “meh.”
March 9th, 2012 at 9:22 am
Been a regular at Saigon since high school, back when they used to be on the other side of University next to the police station. That was when they had the best pho in town. I love their food but I’ve never been fond of some of their staff (mainly the cashiers). Just some grumpy individuals. When they moved to their new location, they stopped taking credit cards and switched to cash only. Soon after, an ATM machine appeared in the doorway, how convenient. Over the past couple of years they’ve had a ton of management problems leading to unannounced closures due to a myriad of reasons: repairs, gas leaks, water lines broken, kitchen remodel, etc. A lot of their loyal customers, myself included, grew tired of this act and just found other places to get their Vietnamese fix.
I found my fix temporarily across the street at Trung Nam which also has some of the best croissants in town. They used to serve pho for a little while and it was cheap and available late-night. They took it off their menu because they didn’t make enough money on it and they shortened their hours due to the crime in the area. Plus the girl who runs the place is barely 5’2 and 95lbs. soaking wet.
I rarely eat pho when I go out (eat it enough at home already) but I would almost always get it when I went to Saigon, it was that good. Bill, I’ve noticed you’ve reviewed a lot of Vietnamese places lately. You need to skip the pho (since you’re already found your favorite) and try some other tasty dishes like com tam bi suon cha, bun thit nuong, bun rieu or mi kho. Pho in restaurants is going to be either really good, or just acceptable.
March 9th, 2012 at 9:28 am
jorn, you’d be correct.
Dan,
1. iPho takes credit cards.
2. I like soup in the winters and people like searching for pho. These searches tend to make me money. That said I’ll be sure to try what you suggest my next time out.
March 9th, 2012 at 9:46 am
When we left that lunch, I commented to MSPD that I was glad I was going home because my shirt was littered with collateral splashes from my less than stellar chopstick technique.
Well, that $100 shirt is now suitable for cutting the grass. The pho did not really taste all that oily or greasy, but the permanent stains would beg to differ.
I thought the product was serviceable for lunch, but hardly memorable except for the fact that I got to meet some nice people from here. I think I probably had an equal amount of hot sauce to broth ratio once I got done eating, but I could not get the stuff to really even taste very spicy.
In an odd coincidence, I am going back to dinner at Amsterdam tonight just like I did the day we went to iPho. Bacon Sandwich!!
March 9th, 2012 at 1:19 pm
OK, I was a pho virgin before this outing. To be honest I was expecting more. The broth was flavorful enough. Some of the meat included was unidentifiable.. and CC certainly didn’t want to know what part of the animal it came from. I think it was MSPD who made a suggestion that caused pause. The best part of the pho was the Thai basal(?) – wow was that good. While not a spice-head I too was squirting on the the garlic-chili sauce at an high rate… at least for me. Bill was applying it on each spoonful.
lefty, if that was a $100 shirt I want to be your clothier – there’s profit to be made off of you!! As for your chop sticks chops… uh… yah…
March 9th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
I’ve been to Saigon a few times and liked it. But when in St Paul, Ngon gets my business. Best pho in St. Paul and best Bun anywhere in town.
I think you all should try Cheng Heng on University. It is Cambodian and very tasty. They have some wonderful soups including a Sum Tom Soup with quail eggs that is really great. The papaya salad is different than other places I’ve had it and quite good. Prices are cheap and decor is terrible.
I think I’ll go tonight.
March 9th, 2012 at 4:12 pm
Bill’s tempered enthusiasm kind of sums up my recollection. It’s possible I’ve been having such good pho lately at the Hmong Marketplace at Como and the Hmong Market on the East Side, as well as Palace’s Pizza, that I’m getting a little spoiled. It was OK, but not as good as those places.
I thought getting three average sized shrimp for my $2.75 was a little skimpy. Maybe if they were large and fresh, but these were your standard frozen/peeled/deveined stuff where even at retail you can get a 40-count bag for less than $10.
Also, sitting for 10+ minutes wondering if we would get a bill or pay up front was very strange. I mean, with my inferior 7 year-old, $8.50 Kohl’s clearance rack sporty-casual shirt, it felt like an eternity sitting next to our resident hoity-toity fashion plate, lefty.
All in all, I’m not compelled to run back. I am, however, compelled to fling grease droplets at lefty the next time I see him.
Oh, and I hate the “iPho” name.
March 9th, 2012 at 8:14 pm
This was my first pho as well, and I’m going to go ahead and venture a guess that it will be my last. I can’t imagine it would be something I like, even if done really well. My mouth didn’t know what to make of the flavors, and it really says something that I actually left meat behind.
A hearty thanks to MSPD for identifying some of the unique parts for me, though in hindsight I probably should have tried them anyway.
March 10th, 2012 at 9:40 am
Closet Carnivore,
Don’t forget to tell everyone how good looking I am. I have an image to uphold here you know.
lefty
March 10th, 2012 at 10:20 am
lefty,
I had planned to say that, but then wasn’t sure if it was you or the fancy shirt that caught my eye.
Plus, to be honest, it’s hard to focus attention on anyone else when MSPD is around.
- CC
March 12th, 2012 at 10:44 am
Akin to not wanting to look at the train wreck, but physically not being able to resist taking a glance.