As a food junkie, I’d say we’re blessed to live in such a great day and age. We live in a time where meat is often a condiment for other meats, candy sushi is a thing, and snickers makes ice cream bars. Since there are so many food choices out there, how does one simply decide what to try next?
I’ll make this easy for you… Try a Phorito. A Phorito is the blissful love child of Mexican and Vietnamese cuisines. I indulged in my first Phorito from the Bahn ME food truck in Des Moines and have only great things to say about it.
In its name, the “Pho” (actually pronounced “Fuh”) comes from a type of Vietnamese soup typically made from beef stock and spices to which noodles and thinly sliced beef or chicken are added. By itself, Pho is a Vietnamese staple that will surely electrify your taste buds.
The “rito” is simply referring to a Mexican burrito that we all know and love very much.
When you combine the two dishes, a Phorito is born with a gospel choir singing Hallelujah in the background and heavenly lights shine down upon your face. Okay, so that’s not 100% accurate, but that’s sure how the Phorito tasted.
For starters, Bahn ME didn’t skimp on the size of the Phorito. It was giant and equivalent in size to a Pancheros or Qdoba burrito.In its name, the “Pho” (actually pronounced “Fuh”) comes from a type of Vietnamese soup typically made from beef stock and spices to which noodles and thinly sliced beef or chicken are added. By itself, Pho is a Vietnamese staple that will surely electrify your taste buds.
Photo by Aaron Bell
My first bite into the Phorito saw equal amounts of beef brisket, noodles, cilantro, and jalapeño peppers (which were optional). It was important that I didn’t get a mouthful of only one ingredient, so props to Bahn ME for that. I knew this was a sign that better things were coming from the Phorito, and boy was I not disappointed.
The beef brisket was tender and succulent and dripped with juice. It wasn’t very fatty, just lean and full of flavor. The meat had been marinated in a special version of everyone’s favorite Au Jus sauce (in French, Au Jus roughly translates into “in it’s own juice”), which was appropriately dubbed “Pho Jus.” The soft noodles in the Phorito were similar to a spaghetti noodle, and were also wet with Pho Jus.
Photo by Aaron Bell
For a very classy touch, some cilantro added a little crisp crunch to the tasty parcel and also added good color to the presentation of the meal.
The ONLY thing I regret while eating this cross cuisine masterpiece was asking for double the jalapeños. They certainly delivered more of a punch than I was expecting. All in all, the Phorito was a hit. As one of my favorite TV personalities Andrew Zimmern puts it, “If it looks good, eat it!”