Thursday, November 08, 2007

Fine phở in South Nashville

A new Asian grocery/café, King Market, recently opened about a half-mile from my place of business. I've had lunch at the King Market three times during the past week; and I've enjoyed - and I do mean enjoyed - the same dish each time my legs have been thrust under one of the King Market's tables. (If that ain't a Man's Gotta Eat Tribute, I don't know what is!) What's so great about King Market? Well, here 'tis:

One of my very favorite ethnic dishes is pho soup. King Market's pho is the above-mentioned "same dish."

What's phở, you ask? From Wikipedia:

"Phở (pronounced "fuh") is a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup dish. ...

"Phở is served as a bowl of white rice noodles in clear beef broth, with thin cuts of beef. ...

"The dish is garnished with ingredients such as green onions, white onions, coriander leaves (cilantro), ngò gai (culantro, or long coriander), Thai basil, lemon or lime, and bean sprouts. The last five items are usually provided on a separate plate, which allows customers to adjust the soup's flavor as they like. Some sauces such as hoisin sauce, fish sauce, and the Thai hot sauce, Sriracha, are popular additions as well."

I don't want to sound like an Asian soup-eating schoolgirl here, but the King Market's phở makes my taste buds tingle in such a way that I just want to get on the phone to tell someone 'bout it. It is that good, I tell you what (apologies to Hank Hill). Here's why, in bullet-form:

● One fine clear, beef-infused broth
● A good helping of slivered onions
● A fist-full of perfectly cooked rice noodles
● At least 8 ounces of sliced flank beef
● 2-3 quartered meatballs
● Enough basil and green onions to make a person appreciate the hell out of basil and green onions
● A very large plate of extra basil, red chilies, and bean sprouts (with which a feller can garnish his soup)

Sounds good, don't it?

Six bucks will get a man who's gotta eat a 3/4-gallon bowl of King Market phở. Any small-stomached, needin' to eat man who visits King Market toting a small appetite will leave with plenty of left-overs, indeed.

I'm going back to King Market for a bowl of phở tomorrow. To borrow a line from Andy Griffith, if that ain't a tribute to King Market's phở, I don't know what is!

King Market Asian Grocery Lao/Thai Café
1801 Antioch Pike
Nashville, TN 37211

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