Thanh Da: My go-to Pho spot in Brooklyn
I was introduced to Thanh Da a few months back by someone who I can’t credit for confidentiality purposes (but if you’re reading this, you know who you are and thank you). Like most Vietnamese restaurants I’ve been to, I haven’t stuck with their main dishes and therefore I can only speak for two of them. Nevertheless, they’re good enough to have me go back again and again
Pho Xe Lua (火车头)
Compared to other Vietnamese places I’ve ate at, the beef chunks are much thicker (notice I said chunks and not slices ), that means it takes longer to cook and it’s much juicier than the beef I’ve had at other places. The onions which can be overlooked are also juicy themselves. Not to mention that the broth is already tasty without the basil (but I prefer to add it in for the extra kick). The main draw of this is that the meat is just juicier than other places.
Rating 10/10:
Everything just tastes really juicy when you bite into it from the beef to the onions. My bowl was empty afterwards.
Bunh Bo Hue
If you like spicy but not spicy to the point where you’re questioning if your taste buds still work: this is the perfect dish. This is the first and only time I’ve had the dish so I can’t compare this to others. However, compared to the Pho, the broth and noodles are thicker and the beef is more on the well-done side. It’ll satisfy your craving for spicy things and the beef is a bit more well cooked than the Pho.
Rating: 9/10
While it’s well made, the dish itself doesn’t perfectly suit my taste. If you’re the type to prefer spicy things and prefer the beef to be super well-done or mind that this isn’t the dish where you can completely empty the bowl, this would be a 10/10 for you. But for me, this is a 9. Nevertheless, If I’m craving something spicy when I’m in the area, I wouldn’t think twice about coming back.
Thanh Da
6008 7th Ave,
Brooklyn 11220
(Btw 60th & 61st St)
They also have a place on 8th avenue that sells primarily Banh Mi. I’ll review that in the future :-)
- HZ
