Pho 515 in Des Moines

My mom's favorite food is pho, a Vietnamese rice noodle soup.  With my grandmother's visit ending, my mom decided to take us out to a pho restaurant for a farewell dinner before seeing Yai off at the airport.

My mom is a pho expert, and she wanted to make sure she got good authentic pho.  We went through the reviews of several of the Des Moines pho restaurants on Trip Advisor and Yelp, and she decided Pho 515 would be our best bet.

I hadn't been to a pho restaurant since we lived in Portland when I was 7 or 8...so, I didn't really have any idea what I was in for.  So, I listened to everyone else order, and then ordered a regular-size bowl of chicken pho ($6.95) and fresh coconut juice with meat ($3.50).  

Mama ordered a large bowl of medium-rare eye round beef pho ($8.50), and my papa and brother went for Vietnamese beef stew ($7.50)  Other family members tried crab rangoon, vegan pho, well done beef flank pho, spring rolls, and bubble tea.

With our pho we got plates with basil, peppers, lime slices, and bean sprouts.  I added some bean sprouts to my pho, and squeezed in some lime (lime was awesome!).

The portion sizes were overwhelmingly generous.  I thought my pho was delicious to start out with. I did have an interesting time trying to eat with chopsticks, but I eventually got the hang of it.  Half-way through the bowl, I was very full and could not finish.

The coconut was as fresh as coconuts in Iowa can get.  Unfortunately though, I was spoiled as a child living on the coast with very fresh, green coconuts we'd buy at a Korean store...so my coconut expectations are a little higher than attainable here in the Midwest.

As for what I heard from other family members, the vegan pho got a rating of very good.  The stew had too much fat.  The red bean bubble tea was "interesting."  The strawberry bubble tea was a winner--sort of like a strawberry shake with jello in it.  The crab rangoon was delicious.  And my mom says the beef pho was perfect--exactly what good pho is supposed to taste like.

The waiters were very attentive, cheerful, and friendly.  The dining area was bright, clean, and tastefully decorated.  It was a very pleasant dining experience.  The restaurant is inside an Asian market, so I looked around and did some shopping.

That was an interesting experience.  There were ducks hanging in the meat department.  One section smelled very strongly of fish, and there were items such as yucca and pickled grapes. 

Perhaps most interesting of all was having a friendly gentleman remark, "It's nice to see another white person in here."  I was speechless for a moment, but quickly regained my senses and proceeded to inform him that I was actually a red-headed Thai girl.  "Half-Thai?" he asked.  "No, 1/4th.  My grandma's Thai." 

I bet I'm the most Scot-Irish-looking Thai he'll ever meet.

Have you ever eaten pho?  What are your favorite Asian foods?