"pho the love of Dartmouth"

Damn, it's about time I clued in... there's phine Vietnamese phood to be had about a 15-minute walk from my house in Austenville. I think I let Liz Feltham's review of Pho Hoang Minh deter me from giving it a chance. She wrote in mid-December '04, not long after it opened, that she feared "should Pho’s remain where it is" [i.e. not the Halifax side of the harbour] "it is destined to become just another Chinese takeout, losing all of the Vietnamese menu’s characteristics."

Perhaps I should have given some attention to the storm of controversy (scroll past the unintentionally hilarious first letter) that erupted in the letters section of The Coast in response to her review. One Dartmouth resident wrote "There are many people who appreciate and patronize Pho’s, right here in Dartmouth. We would like nothing more than for it to be prosperous right where it is. " Based on my visit there tonight, more than a year later, I'd say that's exactly what's happening. There are still 32 Vietnamese items on the menu, and the spring rolls, as Liz promised, were indeed "very, very good."