Last weekend, feeling a bit ambitious AND a bit stir crazy, my honey and I decided to go for a drive and explore the Vietnamese food scene beyond Fairfield county. Our dear friend “Google” revealed East Hartford as home to one of the highly rated Vietnamese restaurants in Connecticut called Le’s Vietnamese Restaurant. So off we went.

It was a long drive but we kept our eye on the prize. And the whole drive up there, we discussed what we are going to order and in which order we will eat it. A hearty bowl of Pho was a given! But then we also had our eye on some Nem Nuong Cuon and Chå Giò (our favorite Vietnamese appetizers).

We got to the restaurant. We found a great parking spot nearby. We SPRINTED from the car to the restaurant entrance. We felt dismay! It turns out that they are closed on Sundays! Dang it! Our hearts were set on Pho!!!

Luckily we remembered passing a teeny-tiny Pho place a mile back. And it looked like it was open. So we trekked back to it. Aaah! PHO 501! A family-owned, family-run restaurant. A sight for sore eyes.

There were tons of people there. That’s got to be a good sign right? As soon as we sat down an older gentleman (the dad) came up to take our order. I said, we’d like to see a menu first. To which he replied (in a very abrupt tone, I might add), “No menu…. just 2 soups. Chicken or beef. Which do you want?”. I was so confused! “What about appetizers? Do you have any spring rolls?”, I asked. He replied, “No! Spring rolls only on weekdays….. Beef or chicken soup… which do you want”.

I was floored….. or shall I say, PHO-loored! I couldn’t decide if i should laugh or yell. You just don’t hear of such a thing these days. Specially not in the U.S. of A.!

Apparently, this teeny-tiny, nondescript, but clearly very popular restaurant has been around for over 20 years. And they have always offered just one main item on the menu each day. A different Pho flavor each day. On weekdays they graciously offer spring rolls as well. I guess we were very lucky to walk-in on a day when there were not one but two Pho choices. But as we settled in and enjoyed our bowl of soup - we started noticing the owners telling all new guests that the Beef Pho was all gone, and the only remaining choice was Chicken! I was amazed to see that not one person complained or showed any signs of anger or dismay. They just accepted their fate and settled in their seats eagerly waiting for whatever they could get.

Towards the end of the meal, my honey noticed that there was a shrimp option offered on weekends. So we asked a server (one of the sons) about it. He said, “Sure… you can ask to have shrimp added to your soup anytime”. Apparently, the dad did not clarify that while the two broth options were beef or chicken…. shrimp can be added to either. Alrighty then!

This was such a bizarre experience, but we were not upset. We thought it was PHO-nny (Ha! Ha! Get it?)

The simplicity of the whole setup was kind of charming in a way. And their lack of options on the menu showed a deep level of confidence in what they do. What an amazing attitude: “We are going to make one dish a day - and its going to be so damn good… that you won’t care about anything else”! Yeah! I kinda dig that. And one thing is for sure- with such a limited menu, your bill is going to be ridiculously low.

So…. moment of truth.

Was the soup worth it? Damn right it was!
Will we go back there again? Damn straight we will!

PHO 501, East Hartford CT | https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pho-501/147255125297514