brianna@sfreporter.com
Oh, hey, dear Fork Frenz (TM), it is us‚ The Fork.
Do you ever get hungry, but you and your version of La Forkette can’t pick something for whatever reason, so you just point your car in a direction and say something like, “Eh, we’ll find something if we just head that way?” We do that all the time, and it’s usually a terrible idea. But every so often it works out, like one recent evening when we passed Midtown Vietnamese eatery Pho Ava and both shouted, “Yeah!” La Forkette loves her some pho and we love us a bánh mì sando, and we mainly wondered why we haven’t been going there all the time, weekly—more than weekly—as we entered.
The sister restaurant to Casa Solana’s Pho Kim, Pho Ava is a fabulously affordable boite, but a comfortable one for those of us who see white tablecloths and tense up on account of there’s probably something sticky on our hands at all times. This is to say that Pho Ava strikes a balance between super-good food and casual atmosphere quite nicely—anyone could be comfortable there. And so we were.
This was on a rainy day, too, which we both admittedly love, but which often comes with a chance to eat something real nice and comforting. Something warm. Something soft. Or liquid-y. We’re talking about pho and bánh mì, baby, which is precisely what we ordered. Now, keep in mind that Pho Ava has tons of stuff on the menu and you might like, oh, say, vermicelli or spring rolls or chicken wings. You can do all that.
We knew what we wanted, though. For La Forkette: veggie pho ($13.75), a piquant and gorgeous combo of carrots and broccoli and bok choy and broth so colorful, so beautiful, so fresh, so for-real. For us: that damn sandwich we were talking about earlier—the number 53; grilled pork, shaved carrots, cilantro and jalapeño served on the freshest, softest, squeeziest and warmest French bread of your life ($6.50, which seems absurdly cheap but we’re not complaining).
And so it was, and it was good, children. Like, it was just, like, very good, you know what we mean? The pork was grilled just right, the cilantro added texture and contrast and the jalapeño? Well, it was hot, little buddies. We love spicy food (remember just recently when we were whining about not being able to eat chile as regularly as we’d like?), but this particular batch of jalapeños was somehow the hottest we’ve come across in all our years coming across jalapeños. The funny thing is that we don’t even particularly like them (chile exists in abundance in our town, so...), but in the context of this grilled pork sammie? Sign us up. Still, some 30 minutes after our first bite, while still at Pho Ava since La Forkette eats soup at the pace of some kind of snail-sloth hybrid, the spiciness had become a nigh-unbearable lingering horror show. We don’t blame the restaurant and we totally know what we’re getting into jalapeño-wise, but still we needed to cool our mouth off or we would surely have died.
The answer lay next door at The Paleta Bar, where paletas (that’s like a frozen treat pop for all you nerds who don’t know) come by the armful and the options for gussying them up come in steps. See, first you pick your paleta from flavors like taro and banana and avocado and coconut and coffee and Oreo and Snickers and bubble gum and lots more. Then you can have it dipped in dark, white or milk chocolate or even powdered chile and Chamoy. Note here that you can choose two for a little half-and-half dippery. From there, you can add other things like cereal and sprinkles and M&Ms and pecans and lots more. Lastly, you can add fruit like strawberry and pineapple and watermelon—even cucumber. If we’d not been in the seventh mouth-burning circle or hell, perhaps we’d have chosen more carefully, but cut to us a little while later scarfing down a Snickers paleta half-dipped in white chocolate ($5.88, and that’s before tax; and it also feels very reasonable), and baby, we’d not only fixed our jalapeño-mouth, we’d just had one of the tastiest treats of our entire life.
So, yeah. Y’all should go to Pho Ava and The Paleta Bar one after another. That’s just, like, a pretty good evening right there, trust us.
This guy and his pals really like pho, too.
Also
- Nooooo! According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, pizza joint Pizza Etc. is slated to leave its longtime home in the DeVargas Center in September, and we’re gutted over the news! You can stuff your “In New York...” stuff in a sack, too, mister, because not only are co-owners Javier Araiza and Sergio Baray both super-nice dudes, the quality (and often locally sourced) ingredients make for tasty pies that never make us feel all shamey and sweaty when we eat ‘em. Apparently another still-unnamed tenant will take over the space when the time comes, but the whole Pizza Etc. leaving thing is just another example of the slow trudge toward the kinds of change that breaks locals’ hearts. Don’t get us wrong, we like that there’s change in this world, but this particular one stings. There is no word on whether Pizza Etc. will open someplace else, so you should get in while the getting’s good.
- Local bagel pop-up Out of This World Bagel will bring its bagel excellence to Back Road Pizza this Friday, July 26, and you can get you some, but there’s a catch—you’ll need to do it fast. This edition of The Fork drops at noon on Thursday, July 25, and the window for ordering those hand-rolled and boiled bagels closes at 6 pm on the same day. That’s six hours of time to order bagels (or, obviously, less time if you read this after noon). We’re sorry we didn’t tell you sooner, but we didn’t know! Find more details via Facebook here or just try to get that order in through the first link in this item.
- We were saddened to learn about the recent death of Priscilla Ulibarri, née Chavez—aka the PC of PC’s Restaurant & Lounge, one of Santa Fe’s most beloved and long-running New Mexican restaurants. Your old pal The Fork has been known to get down with PC’s enchiladas for sure, and SFR even dubbed it one of our 25 Faves in our 2019 Restaurant Guide. “Everyone has their New Mexican restaurant standbys,” the piece reads, “but for a surprisingly excellent meal with no frills and a fair price, PC’s is the undoubted reigning Southside champ.” Our condolences to the family. Ulibarri was 81.
- Quick reminder that the New Mexico History Museum is looking for a few good tales from community members about New Mexican restaurants of yore, and all you have to do is call and share yours. Simply dial (623) 335-BITE, and your story could become part of the museum’s upcoming Forks in the Road: Notable New Mexican Restaurants. “This project is part of a multi-year initiative and NMHM which will explore the influences that shaped the state’s diverse food heritage,” a news release reads. The line to share your story will be open through July 31.
You if you pre-order those bagels about which we were just talking.
More Tidbits
- Great news, blood orange fans! A June study from University of Florida researchers published in Food Chemistry Advances found that storing blood oranges in colder environments post-harvest has a way of making their already super-cool health benefits even cooler (so to speak). In very broad strokes, the researchers concluded that cooler storage temps, “significantly impact anthocyanin accumulation, phytochemical content and antioxidant activity in...blood orange.” OK, so, anthocyanins are the pigments that give fruit its color, so in this instance, we’re talking about a more aesthetically pleasing orange, but it’s the phytochemical content that sounds most promising. Those little bad boys are the compounds that can help with inflammation and hormone regulation and even have a positive impact when it comes to heart disease and cancer. Of course, this isn’t The Fork offering medical advice or saying blood oranges are some kind of panacea, but rather telling you about a study that breaks down to “eat some blood oranges and eat even more if they were stored cold when they came off the tree.”
- IHOP (which we are pretty sure stands for International Hate of Pancake-lessness) has released its apparently popular syrup in bottled take-home form, and you’ll likely find it in stores soon if you haven’t already. We get our pancakes from our mom, thank you very much, but if you can’t live without the original or pecan butter-flavored sizzurp, know that your day has come.
- Longtime readers are likely aware of our writerly crush on Eater-dot-com’s Amy McCarthy, and it’s even stronger now thanks to McCarthy’s recent piece, The Walmart Frozen Foods Aisle is a Stoner’s Paradise. Therein, find a compelling case for getting high and going nuts up in that Walmart. If you’d like more stoner-y writings, perhaps you should check out SFR’s monthly Leaf Brief newsletter from writer Heidi Fillingim? It, too, is compelling.
- We’re just checking in here to see if everyone is still good with us limiting our non-local news items to three things per week. And sneaking local things into the non-local section. Does that feel OK? Does that work for you? IS IT OK WITH YOU IF THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS? ARE YOU PROUD OF YOURSELVES? DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE DONE THE RIGHT THINGS?!?!
A totally scientific breakdown of The Fork’s correspondence
In this week’s edition of SFR, learn why udon beats soba at BODY Café from chef Joel Coleman.
Number of Letters Received: 20
*So many diner memories, so little time.
Most Helpful Tip of the Week (a barely edited letter from a reader):
“Do you have to say whatever pops into your head?”
*Yes, dammit. Obviously we do!
Actually Helpful Tip(s):
“Shake Shack is better than you think.”
*We tried Shake Shack for the first time ever not so long ago (the base tier burger), and these words from a reader last year whose name we forgot and whose original email we can’t seem to find rang in our heads. And y’know what? It was indeed better than we thought. Better than In-N-Out. We said what we said. What do you all think?
Pho-ever,
The Fork
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Pho Ava Vietnamese Restaurant
There are only two kinds of people in this world: rare steak and meatball noodle soup people and clay pot stir fry people. We’re both. And we’ll get a banh mi now and then. Actually, this whole menu is tops.
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The Paleta Bar
The Paleta Bar, where paletas (that’s a frozen treat pop for those who don’t know) come by the armful and the options for gussying them up come in steps.
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