Growing up, when I was sick, at some point I’d usually find myself slurping down a bowl of chicken noodle soup to cure what ailed me. I’m betting most of you did, too. What’s more healing than chicken soup?
Different iterations of tender chicken bits floating in a bowl of steamy broth is a near-universal comfort food across cultures—in Brazil, it’s Canja de Galinha, a chicken and rice soup. In Thailand, it’s Tom Kha Gai, a creamy coconut milk broth with lemongrass, lime, galangal (a Southeast Asian rhizome similar to ginger), and of course, chicken. And in Vietnam, it’s phở gà.
Kim Phan loves cooking soup. Her family came from Vietnam to the United States in the ’90s and opened the first Crab Hut in San Diego in 2007, a family-style seafood boil concept where bibs are mandatory and joyful feasting is unavoidable. Today, they have two Crab Hut locations and Kingfisher, an upscale Vietnamese-French fusion restaurant with one of the best dry-aged duck entrees in town and a cocktail menu that’s as soaringly ambitious as it is exquisite. So what is it she loves so much about soup?
Phan has two young boys, and has worked in her family’s restaurants for nearly two decades. It’s a hectic schedule, she admits, but one of the most therapeutic parts of her day is when she gets to simmer broth for the next day. And while there are plenty of Vietnamese restaurants around San Diego that offer beef phở (phở bò), she doesn’t see many that serve chicken phở (phở gà), the ultimate comfort food. So, she has to make it for herself.
She’d been looking on and off for a brick-and-mortar location for a phở gà restaurant, but with the economic downturn, she couldn’t justify the cost of investing in a new space. So she decided to launch Phở Gà Go.
Phở Gà Go is a takeout-only pop-up out of Crab Hut in Mira Mesa. Pickups are only Sundays from noon to 3 p.m., Mondays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Tuesdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Pre-orders close at noon the day before pickup, and the small menu reflects both Phan’s memories of visiting family in Vietnam, as well as her preference for northern-style phở, which tends to let the broth shine with a clean, full flavor rather than southern-style, where people add more garnishes like bean sprouts, hoisin, and basil to a more seasoned, slightly sweeter broth.
Every bowl of phở from Phở Gà Go comes in three containers: the broth, the chicken and noodles, and the herbs and bean sprouts. (Phan knows that many Americans are used to adding bean sprouts to their phở, despite it not being the Northern Vietnamese style and not her recommendation. “If they must, they can blanch [them] before they add it to the bowl so it doesn’t dilute the broth.”) Once you get your order home, you should first bring your broth to a boil, then add the chicken, then add the noodles at the very end. If you add the noodles too early, she warns, they’ll get soggy.
Other menu items include Vietnamese egg rolls (Chả giò) made with rice paper and a chicken salad (Gỏi Gà Xé Phai) with banana blossom, pickled lotus stem, lime lime leaves, rau răm (Vietnamese coriander), and lemongrass. Phan says that way she can offer a full family meal with an appetizer, salad, and soups for busy families like hers—the reason she started this in the first place. In fact, she specifically designed the pickup hours for working parents to be able to grab it on their way home.
“I hope that this concept will bring some comfort to the family, the busy mom and dad that are working,” she says. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time, but there was nothing there to push me to follow through with my plan.”
That push came when her family had to close the Crab Hut location in downtown San Diego earlier this year after 15 years in business. It was heartbreaking, but eventually became the catalyst for her to bring this dream to fruition. “Sometimes during hard times, you will actually follow through and [it will] help you achieve your dream,” she says. “This is the perfect time.”
Pick up takeout orders from Phở Gà Go at Crab Hut Mira Mesa, 8280 Mira Mesa Blvd., Suite E. Visit its website to place a preorder.
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Napa Meets La Jolla On Tuesday, November 18 at Lucien
Chef and co-owner Elijah Arizmendi’s passion project Lucien landed in La Jolla earlier this year, bringing a multitude of Michelin talent along for the ride. But the Lucien team hasn’t slowed down since their summer launch, and its next collab dinner features a big name in the Napa Valley wine world—Robert Sinskey Vineyards. On November 18, Arizmendi and RSV estate general manager Phil Abram will walk guests through a six-course tasting menu paired with a curated selection of wines, including a special RSVnapa vs. Bordeaux finale. Claim your seat at the communal table to experience the evening for yourself.
Corner Pizza
Beth’s Bites
- Local seafood joint The Fish Shop has been teasing its next location in Oceanside for some time, but based on a recent hiring call, my fingers are crossed that it’ll be sooner rather than later. (Yes, I can make do with one of the other three locations in the meantime, but I’m antsy for more!)
- Ditto for Corner Pizza. Their Encinitas spot has been in the works for a while as well—when can I get my pepperoni slice on? (Yes, I can make do with one of their other three locations as well. That is completely beside the point.)
- But on a more serious note, things related to the federal government are not looking great right now (to put it mildly). SNAP benefits are up in the air, air travel is super questionable, and people’s paychecks may or may not be hitting their bank accounts. But there are a lot of local businesses stepping up to fill the void left in all this uncertainty, including Cork & Craft, Glass Box, and Zen Modern Asian Bistro. The trio is partnering up with Feeding San Diego now through November 23 to host a community food drive, but with a twist. For every non-perishable food item guests bring in, they’ll receive $1 off their total bill. So say you bring in 10 items—you’d get $10 shaved off your check. There is a 50-item max per party (and you have to claim your discount the same day you bring in your items), but of course nothing is stopping you from bringing in as much as you can spare. Considering more than 400,000 San Diegans rely on CalFresh (California’s version of SNAP), it’s up to communities and people to help fill in the gaps.
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