Pho Filet

The hospitality might be blunt and to the point here, but the namesake soup is second to none at this longtime pho specialist with outposts in South El Monte and Rosemead (the latter named Pho Filet 2). At Pho Filet, northern-style pho gets pared down to the essentials: an aromatic, soulful broth with depth accrued from long-simmered bones; slightly softer, wide, flat noodles; and your choice of beef cuts. Skip the fresh rolls here, with their tougher than normal skins, but you should still venture beyond Vietnam’s most well-known dish for affordably priced broken rice and vermicelli plates, as well as a solid, fairly hard to find com ga roti—the succulent Cornish game hen atop tomato-enriched red rice is the Vietnamese take on rotisserie chicken.