pho: king of cheap eat-outs

Dining at home is economical, and if done properly, a pleasure. Your home prepared meal can be made with superior quality, fresh ingredients and seasoned to your liking. While there is a certain amount of effort involved with preparation, the process can be a satisfying creative outlet or even become a social activity. For this, you will need friends. If you don't have any, I suggest placing an online personal ad. Folks come out of the woodwork for a free meal. It's reasonable to demand that they supply the wine and, of course, be sure to hide your valuables.

Serving at home is rarely the same relaxed activity as being stroked for tips in a restaurant. But at home you can have your water refilled without needing to catch anyone's eye. Also, you avoid the scads of annoying lardasses who might otherwise be seated three feet away. That is not to say that it is uninteresting to hear about a stranger's colonoscopy in the next booth, depending on your entree.

Still, there is a certain je ne sais quoi about eating at a restaurant, particularly if the fare is something you could not or would not want to prepare at home. Some meals are inherently complex or messy. And there are dishes that are more costly to make at home than have out, simply because they require many packages of special ingredients that will never be used and instead will clog the bowels of your pantry and eventually emit a ghastly odor.

One of the most satisfying meals that can be consumed in a restaurant is pho (Vietnamese noodle soup). If you live in a major metropolitan area, there are likely a number of choices available. In Seattle, my recent favorite is Pho Ha, on Aurora Avenue North. They have the best savory broth and the meat quality is in the top quartile. You can get a meal-sized bowl of pho for $5.00, which is the going rate at any number of joints around here. Keep in mind that this is for the small size. The large is an extra dollar and more food than most people can handle.

Pho is superb for lunch or dinner and many places are open until 10 p.m. or later.