Pho-reaking delicious!

One of my favorite joints for a simple bowl of pho or Vietnamese food in San Francisco is PPQ Restaurant on 19th Avenue and Irving in the Outer Sunset. You can always locate it as you're walking down Irving St. because it's got a cardboard cut-out of a large cow standing in front! Suh-weet! They straight up tell it like it is. I like that. Honesty.

So, this joint serves up your standard Vietnamese fare, including bowls of pho, vermicelli and rice plates, egg rolls and spring rolls, and other noodle plates. The prices are very reasonable, ranging from $5-$8 for a generous entree, and the atmosphere is casual.

It's pretty fun to go here with large groups, because it's one of those kinds of joints. I also like taking tons of pictures at Vietnamese restaurants because the presentation of the foods is AMAZING and beautiful. Pretty plating and also, because many dishes normally use lots of herbs and vegetables, you have a natural infusion of bright leafy colors. Lots of green! Which is my favoritest of colors, as one can tell by my wardrobe.

Some select pictures of recommended dishes:














Five-spice Chicken with imperial rolls. I've never had this, but apparently, this is one of the signature dishes at PPQ.















I swear, there's actually more to this dish than just peanuts and vermicelli noodles! This is a vegetarian dish with nuts, silver noodles, mint leaves, herbs, and the veggie works! But yes, from the picture, it certainly does look frighteningly too nutty.















When I discover a certain food that I like at a particular restaurant, I tend to become a creature of habit and order that dish over and over again. This is one of my favorite dishes at Vietnamese restaurants, and I often get it because I know it will be stellar wherever I go. Charbroiled pork with egg rolls and chopped peanuts on top of vermicelli with a bowl of fish sauce! The charbroiled pork is cooked to perfection, with just the right amount of charred taste and tenderness. The egg rolls are always perfectly crispy. I've never had a bad egg roll in this dish. It's a safe and tasty choice! MMM! And at PPQ, it's #15! I recommend!

Now, let's sing a song!
T to the
A to the
S T E Y
Food
YOU TASTEY
T to the
A to the
S T E Y
Food
YOU TASTEY

ANYWAY.

Another good thing about PPQ is that it's located on Irving Street, which many consider to be the "New Chinatown." Not nearly as crowded or historical as San Francisco's Chinatown, Irving Street is where the local Chinese-American community go to get their hair cut, to eat out and grab a cup of tapioca (naw, we don't call that stuff "boba"! that's only for the SoCal crowd), to buy their groceries. There's a good mix of cute accessory and stationary shops, grocery stores (Sunset Super on 25th and Irving), Asian and fast-food restaurants, hair and nail salons, many bakeries, and even a Bay Area/Frisco merchandise and clothing store. The local high school kids at Lincoln and Lowell High Schools also come here to hang out and eat afterschool too, so expect to see lots of loud crowds of happy kids.

After you fill yourself up with a hearty lunch at PPQ, you should definitely stroll down Irving and grab yourself some tapioca and walk the calories off.

Walk it off!

Peace, love, and bullet-proof marshmallows!