Cheap Eats: Phở 99 Vietnamese Restaurant

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Phở 99 Vietnamese Restaurant's phở / COOPER LEVEY-BAKER

Phở 99 Vietnamese Restaurant's phở / COOPER LEVEY-BAKER

Phở 99 Vietnamese Restaurant
5191 Clark Road, Sarasota
922-1888
Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tues.-Sun.
This is the umpteenth entry in a weekly column dedicated to eats that are cheap. If you have an idea for a place to feature in Cheap Eats, comment below, email me at cheapeatssrq@gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter: @LeveyBaker.

Phở 99 Vietnamese Restaurant / COOPER LEVEY-BAKER

Phở 99 Vietnamese Restaurant / COOPER LEVEY-BAKER

Call it a phở-splosion, a sudden surge in the number of local Vietnamese restaurants. In addition to established joints like Pho Cali, Miss Saigon and Lê Ánh's, we suddenly have Phở Sàigòn, Pho 101, Demi's Noodle HousePhở 99 and probably like five other broth spots I'm forgetting about.

Personally, I'm bout it. Few dishes make me happier than bún, the grilled meat, veggie and rice vermicelli combos served by most Vietnamese restaurants, and few dishes are more comforting than a giant vat of phở stuffed with noodles, meat and offal.

I haven't yet taste-tested all the new spots, but I'm eager to accept the challenge of doing so. I'm starting at Phở 99, which opened recently in what was once a Starbucks on Clark Road, not too far from I-75. The restaurant isn't the only one of its kind. A sibling eatery opened in Franklin Park, New Jersey, in 2008, later earning a "good" rating from The New York Times.

The inside of the Sarasota location is dominated by calming grays, with 11 tables plus a long marble counter lined with seats. The space still has an in-the-works feel. The decor seems a little under-done, and while more than a few tables are occupied, the vibe seems too quiet for what should be a bustling lunch destination.

It's also not the most comfortable place to dine. For some reason, I keep encountering restaurant counters that fail to provide space underneath for human legs. To reach my food at the Phở 99 bar, I have to splay my legs out in an obtuse V and lean way over. Restauranteurs, please consider your customers' lower extremities.

I'm feeling a bit grouchy in this seat, but once the food starts coming out I'm all smiles. I take my phở phở-lly loaded, so I'm going with 99's extravagant combo soup, which includes all the regular stuff plus tripe (cow stomach lining) and beef tendon. That'll run you $11.95, while other more basic soups cost $9.95

Phở 99 Vietnamese Restaurant's bún thịt nướng / COOPER LEVEY-BAKER

Phở 99 Vietnamese Restaurant's bún thịt nướng / COOPER LEVEY-BAKER

Of course, the most important ingredient in any phở is the broth. Luckily, 99's is phở-ndamentally sound, dark and rich but not too thick, with a subtle sweetness that differentiates it from others I've tried. The noodles resting at the bottom of the bowl have stayed nicely al dente. The sliced beef has grown overcooked, but the rest of the fillings remain satisfying. The tripe has kept its elasticity; the "beef balls" are dense but still moist. Dotted with Phở 99's chunky chili sauce and hoisin and stirred up with sprouts, lime juice, a bit of jalapeño and a fistful of mint leaves, this soup tastes phở-nomenal.

The bún ($9.50-$11.95) is good, too, although maybe a step down from the high of that broth. The pork in the bún thịt nướng ($9.50) could use a little more caramelization, but the classic mix of rice noodles with peanuts, scallions, veggies and more remains appealing.

Phở 99 also serves a mix of interesting drinks like avocado and jackfruit shakes ($4.50), plus the super-sweet, super-strong coffee ($4.25) common to Vietnamese places. A taro boba tea ($4.50) looks beautiful in the glass—soft lavender dotted with dark tapioca pearls—and it tastes starchy and gluteny, with a nice milky flavor and a light, pleasant texture. My drink disappears in a hurry.

I'm not sure exactly why our local phở industry has blown up the way it has, but I'm thankful. Phở 99 may represent only the opening stop in what will become my long, strange tour of the region's new Vietnamese restaurants, but it was a memorable one.

Last modified: October 5, 2015
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