Welcome to the ‘hood, Pho Saigon 8

Opening a restaurant specializing in Vietnamese soup staple pho (pronounced “fuh”) in the middle of a Vegas summer might be considered counterintuitive, but that’s exactly what Spring Mountain standby Pho Saigon 8 did about eight weeks ago. The popular Vietnamese eatery has opened a second location on the opposite side of town at the intersection of Eastern Avenue and I-215 in the former home of the very short-lived American Grill. (It also happens to be in the same shopping center as my local LVAC location, so as soon as I’m done working out I can scarf down a giant bowl of soup, some spring rolls and a Thai iced tea to negate any caloric loss I might have achieved. Goodie.)

Little sister restaurant to one of Vegas’ most reliable spots for pho, the new location – oddly not named Pho Saigon 9, or, for that matter, 7 – has the original menu stocked with 25 different flavors of the healthy soup and other Vietnamese dishes like fresh spring rolls, lemongrass beef and vermicelli noodle bowls. All of this means Henderson residents will likely be making the drive to Chinatown a little less often when the craving for Vietnamese hits. And even though the thermometer is still clocking over 100, a steaming bowl of pho is starting to sound pretty good.