Inside Pho Le
Since living in NYC, one thing I miss in terms of cuisine is authentic Vietnamese style rice and noodle dishes. This is one of my favorite ways to ‘eat on the cheap’, and up until recently, Monmouth County has been lacking a cool spot to do this.
This is why I am excited that Pho Le has opened on Broad Street in Red Bank. It’s your traditional style Vietnamese food at very reasonable prices. If you’re the type of person that loves a great noodle dish or a giant bowl of fragrant, flavorful fried rice, try the food at Pho Le.
The menu at Pho Le offers appetizers, entrees, noodle dishes, rich dishes, desserts and more. The menu includes a wide assortment of traditional Vietnamese food items, including, Pho, the restaurant’s namesake, a noodle soup that can be filled with meats, veggies, seafood and more. The menu has also a number of other options including noodle bowls, rice dishes, and Banh Mi, which are sandwiches filled with a everything from pate’ to shredded pork.
What is Vietnamese Style Cooking?
To answer this question, we turned to our favorite source of information, Wikipedia, which defines Vietnamese food as follows:
Assortment of dishes at Pho Le
Vietnamese cuisine is a style of cooking derived from Vietnam with fish sauce, soy sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables all commonly used. Vietnamese recipes utilize a diverse range of herbs, including lemongrass, mint, Vietnamese mint, long coriander and Thai basil leaves. Traditional Vietnamese cooking is greatly admired for freshness of the ingredients and for the healthy eating style.
The most common meats used in Vietnamese cuisine are fish, chicken, pork, beef, and various kinds of seafood. The Vietnamese also have a strong vegetarian tradition influenced by Buddhist and Chinese values.
Check out their entire menu by clicking on the PDF link below:
Best Eats on the Cheap
You can eat real cheap at Pho Le. For example, the vegetarian stir-fry dishes are $8.00 or less but you can also enjoy a ‘meatier’ meal like the ‘Super Bowl’ noodle bowl which includes Grilled pork, shrimp, eggrolls and shredded pork OR chicken for just $10.00. Lunch is even cheaper.
Depending on how you order, you can get away with spending about $20.00 for dinner (not including tax and tip). That will get you a large entree that comes with either noodles, rice and your choice of meat or seafood. It’s not bad when you consider the specialty type of cuisine that is offered in an atmosphere that is anything but plain.
Pho Le is located at 90 Broad Street. They have a decent website that offers some more photos of the interior of the restaurant. www.PhoLeUsa.com
