Family-friendly pho dining

Pho Republic Noodle & Rice

3591 N. Belt Line Road
Irving, TX 75062
Phone: 972-594-7259

Having lunch with the ‘rents sometimes tends to be a challenge, with mom’s healthy admonitions and cheap-date mentality constantly at odds with dad’s sometimes-adventurous-bordering-on-dangerous approach, and both totally contrasting to my “I’ll try anything once” gusto for food. Irving has become quite a mecca of different cuisines from Mexican and Indian, to Korean and Japanese, all vying for your dining dollars. But there are some cuisines that mom just doesn’t like, so that rules out some of my faves.

So, we set out for lunch looking for Korean, but eventually ended up at the Pho Republic. Situated in a North Irving stripmall anchored by a Tom Thumb grocery, Pho Republic’s clean and pretty digs makes it an approachable dining spot for all demographics. However, the restaurant just happened to be in the middle of a remodel, flushing out an unwanted guest, which fortunately came out at the end of lunch.

For appetizers, we had the spring rolls (which the parents raved about) and a plate of fried meatballs that I ordered. In truth, I didn’t expect to enjoy the shrimp spring rolls, but their emphasis on the shrimp and less on the stuffing made it a welcome appetizer. The fried meatballs however disappointed, as it was nothing like my favorite meatballs-on-a-stick which I order religiously order at Pho Que Huong. These meatballs were the bland, grey meaty balls that I normally order as extras with my soup. Oh well, I had a sweet ice drink to wash away the meatballs while I waited on the main course. It wasn’t as sweet as I liked, and come to think of it, the crushed ice came in chunks rather than fine shavings, but it got the job done. I might try the jackfruit drink next time.

Just as mom’s irritation about the slow food delivery was starting to manifest (two parties seated after us got their meals before us), the main courses arrived. Dad and I had our bowls of pho–he swears by the #19 while I ordered the meat-tripe-tendon combo #29. While my bowl of pho proved very meaty, there was something about the taste that was stronger than the plum sauce or hot chili sauce that I ladled in. Maybe the cilantro was too overpowering, or maybe my pho-senses were too tightly trained by Pho Que Huong’s. Either way, I just noticed that it was different. Mom got the vermicelli bowl with chargrilled pork. She compared it favorably to tocino, which is usually high-praise for any preparation of pork outside of Filipino cuisine. It was still a surprise for me to see her eat this dish (never having seen her eat Vietnamese before) but I guess that’s a testament to how tasty it was.

The service, except for the lag time in delivering our main meals, was good. Our drinks were always refilled, and the servers were patient and helpful, especially responsive about the hold up in the kitchen.

I remembered being at Pho Republic about 3 or 4 years ago, meeting there with my best friend to plan her wedding. The food was as nice then as it is today. She recalls that the Thai coffee was strong enough to keep her alert and on her toes.

I saw some Chinese dishes on the menu that I’d like to try the next time I’m out this way, among them, Yang Chou fried rice. Hopefully, the remodel will be complete by then, and that uninvited guest we saw during our exit won’t be around.

My rating: 3.5 stars
***1/2

Quick bites: Peanut butter time!

Somehow today’s Yahoo conference segued into a quick stop in peanut butter territory. Was it the George Washington Carver Tech show on History Channel’s Modern Marvels show that spurred it on? A friend entered the conference to relate the outcome of his week-long jury duty stint “between corporations that everyone knows” and I blurted out Jif and Skippy. A quick jog through Wikipedia gave me the link to the popular Peanut Butter Jelly time cartoon and made me Google up some Filipino recipes with peanut butter. In truth I was trying to look up the peanut butter I had as a child growing up in the Philippines, which I remembered was sealed in a glass jar and swimming in what I assumed was peanut oil. You won’t find this artery-clogging concoction in the States, to be sure. Anyway, beyond kare kare and an interesting chicken/peanut butter/hoisin recipe, there is still one peanut butter meal that rules them all.

My guilty pleasure of the day: peanut butter and butter sandwiches!

Chowing down with the masses

When it comes down to locating the best places to eat around DFW, I believe the electronic version of Dallas Morning News’ GuideLive is the most comprehensive and well-publicized. They provide thorough coverage of entertainment information around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including movies, music, and events.

However, I not always in agreement with their restaurant reviews and tend to think of their opinions as slanted in favor of the latest trends in dining (i.e. asian “fusion”).

Recently I’ve discovered Chowhound.com to be a more accurate reflection of the dining scene in DFW. The forums are full of debates by enthusiast diners over the “best of” Dallas dining. You find less culinary conceits and politics of the expert palates reviewing for the Guide, and more cheery opinions from the humble Dallasite who just enjoys good food when they eat it.

The hunt for evergreen daylilies

Guess who decided to surprise me and work on the dog run? That’s right, DH grabbed a rake and started prepping the run for the sod arriving this weekend. Pictures forthcoming.

Meanwhile, my hunt for a white evergreen daylily has expanded my ambitions of populating the flowerbeds with greenery. Most catalogs and online stores won’t ship until as early as March for my zone 8 gardens, so I still have time to plan my daylily purchases.

Here is my white daylily research so far:

STANDARD FORMS:
JOAN SENIOR 6″ 25″ EM Reb Ev Dip near white self with lime green throat
GENTLE SHEPHERD 5″ 29″ EM Sev Dip near white self with yellow green throat
WHITE TEMPTATION 5″ 32″ M Sev Dip near white self with green throat
LIGHT THE WAY 6″ 36″ M Reb Sev Dip icy white self with pale green throat
HENRY BAKER 5.5″ 21″ EM Reb Sev Dip near white self with green throat
SAGARMATHA 6″ 27″ VL Reb Sev Dip near white self with olive green throat
WHITE STAG 6″ 18″ M Reb Sev Dip near white self with green throat
WINTER CHILL 6.5″ 34″ ML Reb Sev Dip near white self with chartreuse to green throat
BLIZZARD BAY 6″ 28″ L Reb Sev Tet near white self with green throat
FAITH HOPE CHARITY 6″ 30″ L Reb Ev Dip near white self with small chartreuse throat
ICE PLANET 6.5″ 28″ EM Reb Ev Dip near white with green shadings and green throat
MOONLIT CARESS 5.5″ 26″ ML Sev Tet near white self with green throat
MORMON 8.5″ 20″ EM Reb Ev Dip near white self
SPACECOAST SNOW ANGEL 6.25″ 28″ EM Reb Ev Tet near white self with green throat
TUSCAWILLA TRANQUILITY 5.5″ 21″ EE Reb Sev Dip near white self with lemon lime throat
VANILLA RUFFLES 5″ 20″ ML Ev Dip near white self with green throat


SPIDERS:
ANNIE LEE 9″ 26″ M Dor Dip near white spider self with light green throat
WHITE STRIPE 5″ 25″ M Dor Dip near white spider with green throat

UNUSUALS:
HEAVENLY ANGEL ICE 8″ 36″ ML Reb Dormant Dip white self above green yellow throat
MARGO REED INDEED 7.5″ 28″ ML Reb Sev Dip cream white with pink undertones and small ruffled white edge above chartreuse throat

Flower wishlist

What happens when you window-shop garden catalogs in winter? Your wishlist and shopping carts grow longer by the time spring arrives. Here is my current wishlist of flowers, which covers the gamut of annuals and perennials, seeds and tubers/bulbs. I’m going for some early flashy color this season, which is why annuals made it into my list.

Zinnia elegans Candy Stripe
Zinnia elegans Swizzle Cherry & Ivory
Dianthus chinensis Corona Cherry Magic
Dianthus chinensis Velvet ‘n Lace
Cosmos sulphureus Cosmic Mix
Anemone blanda Blue Star or Blue Shades
Stokesia laevis Blue Danube, Bluestone or Peachies Pick
Caryopteris x clandonensis Dark Knight
Salvia x jamensis Sierra San Antonio

…and a large white-flowered reblooming evergreen daylily, perhaps a spider form.

I am still researching the white daylily as there are many cultivars available. Many online stores have huge selections of white/near-whites…now it’s just a matter of time trying to discover a particular Hemerocallis that will fit all my criteria.

I’m also expanding my blue-and-white garden, as evidenced by the number of blue flowered plants on my wishlist.