Pho Cong Ly

My vietnamese wife really likes this one. My problem with them has been 1- they bought some cheap dishes that you could wipe with your napkin and the paint would come off, dishes were not properly washed, as the paint came right off on your napkin (or food, if you let it). These dishes should never have been used to begin with, they were meant to be decorative or something, not meant to be used in a restaurant. 2 - they store stuff inside their ice machine, so your cubes are getting mixed with whatever they are keeping in there, take a peek when you pay, if you dare. 3 - they keep their back door wide open, no screen on it, allowing insects to come in, same as the guys next door, its the way they do it in the old country. 4 - waitress picks up stuff off the floor and keeps serving customers (sweet lady though). 5 - two people will order, food for one will come out when it is ready, leaving the other person to wait for his food, when you request your food to come out at the same time, they consider this to be an odd request. I think many of these places have the same underlying issue, they learned the business in a different country and they do not follow western standards. Good food, but very questionable sanitation techniques, would be in trouble if our city did a proper job of checking these issues out, which it does not. Pros: food is fine Cons: they need to learn about western standards in service and sanitation more

Service is pretty bad although the last few times I've eaten there, it has improved somewhat. Anyway, I thought that ordering to-go would solve the bad service issue, but they serve the customers who are seated first (even if they came in later than you) so you end up waiting forever. So you're pretty much screwed either way. Food is good but it's not like you can't get it at another Vietnamese restaurant. Like most Vietnamese restaurants, the value for food is great. Will probably call in my order half an hour in advance next time. Pros: Cheap more