Ramen and pho are the soups du jour—the go-to broths for millennials, with a growing fan base among, well, everyone else. Since moving to Utah, Texan Adrian Duran, whose day job is working with Mexican food at Rico’s, has been systematically sampling pho restaurants in Salt Lake City and beyond.
“My number one criterion is the broth,” he says. “It has to be deep, with a resonance in the mouth that only comes from long cooking. I think oxtail adds a lot to the body of a broth.”
Second to that priority for Duran is the noodles (they should be house-made) and the garnishes (the spicy fresh counterpoint to the deep broth). Ideally, the meat should be cooked by the broth just so it’s still pink.
Pho 28, 428 E. 900 South, SLC, 801-364-9918 This family-run spot offers six versions of pho, including chicken, with the special including beef eye of round, beef balls, brisket, tendon and tripe. Slightly limited in the choice of sauces.
La-Cai Noodle House, 961 S. State St., SLC, 801-322-3590. – Duran thinks the broth here is the best. Besides beef variations, La-Cai makes a vegetarian pho.
Asia Palace 2, 1446 S. State St., SLC, 801-485-1646 – Preferred to Asia Palace 1 and right across the street from Tosh’s Ramen if you want to do a soup comparison. The menu here is a little more Americanized, but the selections are bounteous.
See all of our food and drink coverage here.
