On a cold and snowy night, we made our way to Little Saigon Café in Fort Collins’s midtown. Use Google Maps to get there and trust it. This place is tucked away and it’s not a place you’ll stumble across.
I heard about it because it’s a favorite pho spot for several of my friends. I was excited that I’d gotten Ryan, my husband, to go on this pho-finding adventure with me.
Tucked away at the back of what appears to be a sort of mall area just off College Avenue, we parked and crunched our way through the snow to what we thought was the restaurant’s front door, but was actually the back door.
We bustled inside to the smell of savory bone broth. Yum. Pho is a perfect food for a cold Colorado evening.
We sat at a booth and ordered egg rolls to start. They were crunchy and the sauce was addictive. We didn’t really need the extra food as when two bowls of steaming pho arrived they were huge. There are three bowl sizes available here and we both ordered the middle one, next time I’ll get the small, although I did manage to slurp nearly all of it down.
Ryan ordered the steak and meatballs from the Pho for Beginners section. I am not kidding, they have this section. Of course, I ordered off the other section I’ll call Advanced (they do not). I got the steak, brisket, and rough flank pho with the fat on. Not only does the menu claim the fat makes it all taste even better, but I’ve been reading “Salt, Acid, Fat, Heat” and I know the author, Samin Nosrat, would agree.
As we slurped, the restaurant did a steady to-go business with someone coming in about every five minutes. Impressive! The restaurant is in a small space and was completely full during our visit. Obviously, despite the hidden location, the word has gotten around about this pho.
It was delicious. An excellent broth, and while I can neither confirm nor deny that the fat made the entire dish taste better, it probably did. The meat was good, although I still think the meat at Saigon Xpress in Longmont is my favorite. The staff here are super friendly and overall it is a very pleasant experience.
I usually have to order extra jalapeños, but since Ryan didn’t eat his, it was perfect!
We had a fun little Fort Collins date night that started with pho and ended with a Nuance Chocolate bar and coffee at Starry Night. I highly recommend following in our footsteps.
Little Saigon Café, 3500 S. College, #14, Fort Collins, Colorado 80525
No website or any other online presence.
Happy Pho Friday!
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