Before you eat it, you should know how to pronounce it.
Pho, the national dish of Vietnam, sounds like “fuh”. It is borrowed from “feu”, the word for fire used by the French colonial rulers of Vietnam.
Pho Augusta, 4045 Jimmie Dyess Pkwy., is an excellent restaurant to take your taste buds on an Asian vacation.
Augusta’s first Vietnamese restaurant didn’t open until 1994, when Vietnam Oriental Restaurant opened at 1855 Gordon Hwy.
It’s gone — Club Rain now occupies the address — but 30 years later, the distinctive taste of local Vietnamese cuisine has become much more accessible. About a decade ago, two Vietnamese restaurants, Pho Bac and Viet Royal, sat conspicuously across from each other on either side of Towne Center Drive in Evans.
Neither is in business today. Viet Royal was summarily closed and in 2023 Pho Bac merged with another competitor, Pho Augusta, which opened in 2020.
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The best Vietnamese food is made with fresh, natural ingredients. Flavors like lemongrass, cinnamon, and mint are common in recipes, including the 12 varieties of pho on Pho Augusta’s menu.
Pho often consists of thin slices of steak, flank or brisket, but diners can also choose other proteins such as chicken, shrimp and tofu. Be sure to try Pho Augusta’s Pho Chin, a well-done steak soup. Both the steak and the savory recipe are well-done.
Diners with gluten allergies should not have much of a problem at Pho Augusta. The noodles and vermicelli are made from rice rather than wheat, giving the main dishes a lighter touch.
But bread lovers are in for a treat too. Another colonial product of Vietnam is the banh mi, a lighter, airy French baguette used as the base for huge sandwiches filled with meat, savoury items, vegetables and herbs. Pho Augusta’s crispy pork belly sandwich should come with a warning that eating it can be addictive.
Pho Augusta is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Sunday from 12:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
