FLAGSTAFF FEATURE: MPM Pho

Yesterday, Jeremy and I were on a mission (as you can tell my our faces in the picture). For weeks on end now, maybe even a few months, I...

Yesterday, Jeremy and I were on a mission (as you can tell my our faces in the picture). For weeks on end now, maybe even a few months, I'd been craving...drumroll...PHO!

Back in January on a snowy day, we visited Flagstaff's only pho restaurant. Previously, the city had once had two. But one shut down, and once stayed standing. However I'm under the impression, due to the fact that the one left standing has a new name, that they merged. When we visited that snowy night for dinner, I ate—hands down—the best pho of my life. Ever since then, I've been craving it on and off nonstop.

Then on Monday, I was bedridden with a migraine that had started on Sunday night. And luck would have it that I got some sort of stomach bug Monday night after I had felt a bit better from the migraine. So my head and my stomach didn't agree with me...I was really in the mood for brothy food that would make my stomach feel better and wouldn't make me sick. But I'm not a huge fan of soups. Luckily, after spending three hours in physics lab, my wonderful boyfriend agreed that we could go get pho (we were saving pho for later in the month for our monthly date). But, instead, we got it for lunch yesterday and made that our "date" for the month. Now we'll probably have another at-home date night, which is also fine. Oh, did I mention it was also a rainy day? Perfect for warm pho!

So the pho restaurant we went to in Flagstaff is called MPM Pho and, like I said, I feel like the last two pho places combined with this restaurant. It feels new, and it has a super pretty and quaint interior. It's pretty small, but the walls on either side have booth seating on the walls so it makes it feel fairly spacious. The first time we visited, it was during dinner rush and it got pretty loud and crowded. There's enough room between tables though that it didn't feel overly crowded. And despite the noise level, it was still a friendly environment. Jeremy and I are both quiet when we talk, but we were still able to make comfortable conversation and hear one another. The service is also amazing. The people who work at the restaurant are extremely friendly, very nice, and are open to questions or anything, really.

When we got to the restaurant this time, it was completely empty save for the woman who was serving and the cooks in the back. The pho come in pretty deep bowls, and there was a lot of it, so we took about three hours to eat at our leisure. Because of this, people started to come in later in the afternoon. I think just before the big dinner rush hit. It was a bunch of college students, like us, so I'm assuming this place is pretty popular with people our age. The wait the first time we visited MPM Pho was pretty average, considering it was during dinner time. This time, there was very little wait since it was just us. Our appetizers came out and then suddenly, our pho was out on the table not five minutes later.

Overall Rating: 10/10
Overall Pricing: $11-30


We ordered egg rolls as our appetizer. I should mention, the first time we visited, we totaled at about $25 with Jeremy's dish, my dish, and one order of egg rolls. This time, we were a little over $30 due to the fact that we ordered a second serving of egg rolls. This is because there are two of us, and the egg rolls are served in quantities of three. Considering the food is so amazing here and fresh cooked, I didn't mind paying the little extra this time. Especially considering that this is one of the cheapest restaurants we've eaten at, ever.

So, yeah. Keep in mind that egg rolls and spring rolls are odd numbered. Delicious, nonetheless, and totally worth it. They're freshly made. The wait was hardly any at all for our food, but it was a tad bit long—and considering the smell of these egg rolls when they came out to us, I can see why. They were freshly wrapped and made to serve to us, not precooked and set aside then reheated, and not anything frozen. Jeremy and I were starving after our lab, so we opted to order two servings of the egg rolls so we could split them evenly.

And then, out came our delicious pho! Just the smell of it when the server took the top off the bowl...yum! As traditional with pho, there were extra additives on the side for the pho. Spicy peppers, cilantro, basil, limes, and bean sprouts. And for that extra spiciness there was also hoisin and sriracha.

Before I ever, ever add any of this to my pho, though, I also take a few sips or spoonfuls of the broth. Everyone who makes pho has their own special recipe, especially if you're going to a restaurant whose owners are Vietnamese. It's either something they've concocted up themselves, or it's a family recipe passed down. Do the cook some justice and try the broth by itself. Maybe you'll like it so much that you won't want to add any hoisin or srirachi. Or anything, even.

I like additives, though, so after tasting the broth for a few spoonfuls I dug right in. I always add a bit of everything. Mainly because it makes the pho a bit more filling and worthwhile for me. Sometimes, however, I don't add hoisin or srirachi. But yesterday, due to me being sick and it being allergy season, I was feeling the itch for something spicy. So I added just a bit of both, and a few spicy peppers. It helped clear up my sinuses like a charm! I also added a ton of bean sprouts and basically stole all the basil from Jeremy, because those are my two favorite things in pho. Squeeze in a little lime juice and dropped the limes in, add the cilantro, and done! Trust me when I saw I finished the entire bowl this time. To the last drop. The only thing left at the bottom were my limes! I was stuffed full after this lunch, but my stomach was content and I was feeling better. It was so worth feeling like a balloon.

Jeremy isn't much for too many additives in his pho. He likes it simple. He squeezed in some lime juice, dropped the limes in, and then added bean sprouts and cilantro. We both ordered the Pho Tai Nam, which had steak flank as the main meat. The first time we visited, Jeremy tried the yellow chicken curry—and being Indian, discovered that it was a bit too sweet for his liking. I'm interested in trying the curry in the future...but honestly, there's enough places in Flagstaff to get amazing curry, and only one place to get amazing pho. So I'm more interested in trying their other pho types available at MPM Pho. They even have a seafood pho that has shrimp in it, and it looks delicious!

I should also mention that they recently changed their menu, so looking online before visiting may not do much justice for the place. They serve traditional Vietnamese sandwiches and salads, hot noodle dishes, curries, rice dishes, and of course, pho. They also have a vegetarian menu, something that they didn't offer back in January when we visited.

If you're looking for a place to warm your tummy, MPM Pho is top of the list of restaurants in Flagstaff, Arizona to visit. At this point, I'm so in love with the place that I don't even care about trying new Flagstaff restaurants anymore—I just want to keep coming back to try the different pho!

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