Bun Bo Hue

Pho had it's run for some time now... But it's time for the pouch to revisit an oldie but goodie. It seems like most places have forgotten about this spicy noodle bowl because the pho trend has lasted so long and still going on because of the tourists. I have actually met people still to this day that has never heard of pho. I hardly see anyone order the bun bo hue, let alone know what the fuck it is. When people hear spicy and blood cakes, they automatically go in to a fetal position and timidly ask for the safety net of a simple bowl of pho. It was just too much to handle in their minds. Le Fat had it on their menu originally and I had a boner for like 2 weeks straight waiting to get some of that in the pouch but it all went limp like an animal balloon 3 days later after some kid's birthday party when I didn't see it on the menu. I was frantically searching for it and to my dismay they took it off the menu because it might scare off some people... So, I went on a hunt to find a decent bowl of bun bo hue on Buford Hwy. Can one be found in this one horse town? Let's strap one on and go for a ride... Wait, that didn't come out right, but the chicks would be totally ok with that..

Nam Phuong.

Mostly everything on their menu is pretty kickass... Time to see what they're up on their version of BBH. You have to ask for extra spicy every time no matter where you're at, well at least I do, this place was no different. It came out looking pretty intense but after a few spoonfuls of the broth, the pouch determined that it was pretty mild overall. The goodies in there were great though, but coulda used some more blood cubes. It's a decent bowl of BBH if you're jonsing for one. I would order it again if I was desperate but prolly not here because all their other stuff is so good.

Pho 24.

This place might look authentic and full of ex-pats from the outside.. That is until you walk in and look around. Is there a midwest farmers convention in town? There was not one goddamn slant in the joint except for the staff. Fuck it, I'm here on a mission... BBH, extra extra spicy, pweez. The little boy server's eyes popped wide open and said, you sure you want extwa spicy? Listen motherfucker, did I stutter you little prick? Just make that shit as hot as you can and no questions asked. Another short stocky server came out with the bowl on a tray because he didn't want to touch it. Super spicy he says... I say, thank you, Gimli. First look, meh... Looks like they just spooned in chili paste you find on the table. Few spoonfuls to test the waters... Barely noticeable but a small tingle. The bowl does contain a good amount of goodies, but not enough noodles, though. Ate like 1/4 of it and the server comes over and says, very spicy huh? I said, nah not really but a good try. He starts telling the entire staff that I said it wasn't spicy. What kinda Asians are these in here? They must have been in 'Merica too long... Their cuisine and tastes have been Gwai-lo'd. I would not come back here for this again... Or anything else.

Pho Delight.

This joint is nowhere near Buford Hwy or civilization for that matter. It's like in Lilburn? Ok, let's just call it upstate Georgia. But what a surprise this joint turned out to be. It's a real mom & pop shop, way out in nowhere. Are there even Asians in this area? I guess it's really a build it and they will come kinda joint. I had a bunch of dishes here before and they are good. So, it's time to bring on the BBH. This spicy beef noodle soup came with lotsa goodies inside. This version was pretty "authentic" homestyle with all the fun stuff like pig's blood, hock, all the offal junk... All the things that would make a Buckhead douchebag puke. It wasn't spicy enough but then again I didn't ask for extra super spicy because I wanted to see how they would do it normally since everything I had here was pretty tasty. I thought about loading it up with all the table condiments but then again I also didn't want to bastardize all their hard work by dumping a shitload of Sriracha, chili oil and Sambal Oelek in it either. So, I stuck with it as is and glad I did. Sometimes, a bowl of semi-spicy funky noodle soup is great as it was intended. But then again, it came up short on my serious bowl of BBH list as well.

Pho Dai Loi 2.

I have not been back here for many moons... I guess mostly because it's one of the more pedestrian joints that's infested by the outlanders for ages. If you're getting your car fixed next door, it's totally fine to grab a quick bowl of pho and get the fok out when your car is done. But since I was on the BBH tour, I might as well stop in and see what else they have been fucking up here lately. So, I tell the impatient old man server who literally says "do you know what you want" right when I just sat down to fuck off for a few minzies, I needed to survey the layout and demographics. Jesus, there's more gringos in here than El Azteca. The middle age server comes back and I tell him, I need this extremely spicy... He says, BBH is spicy already. No dude, I want it super super spicy. He goes like every other Asian server, "Ok Ok Ok, I get you spicy, NO PROBLEM". Famous last fucking words... The bowl came out thin like rusty pipe water and you can almost see the bottom of the bowl. Look at the pic. Un-fucking-believeable... Not a speck of spicy stain in the bowl. Seriously, What. Da. Fuck. is this, bro? It had the stuff in it like a BBH but why does the broth look like water down Yoohoo? It was totally flavorless with a spicy level of -12. Their Vietnamese iced coffee was spicier. The good part of this was they gave you a good amount of blood cubes, the bad part was the noodles were all clumped together like Crystal Gayle's shower drain. This will be the last time I come back here.

I try to stop by Quan Ba 9 but they closed down permanently and Chateau Saigon does not offer BBH under their new management. Quoc Huong doesn't offer it anymore, so says them the last time I was there. Lee's is only good for their banh mi nowadays. I am fucking spent from this tour, my bowels are on strike... So, didn't make it up to K-town in upstate GA... But stay tuned for BBH tour #2 which will be from places up there.