Restaurant in Modesto’s Roseburg Square opening soon. Here’s what to expect
I have to be honest, readers. I judged a book by its cover and I was wrong.
As a Ripon resident, Manteca and Modesto are pretty much equidistant. So I frequent both cities to shop and eat, and I knew about Pho Island in Manteca long before I found out another location is opening in Modesto.
I had never visited the Manteca restaurant, despite loving Vietnamese food, because I thought it was a large chain, based on the logo and name. I typically prefer supporting our region’s small businesses.
But Pho Island is not a large chain. The Modesto restaurant has replaced Cora at Roseburg Square and is the third location of the locally owned business. The original Pho Island is in Stockton.
With that information, I made a visit to Manteca as an unspoken apology and to help prepare you all for what’s to come in Modesto.
How is the food at Pho Island?
To state the obvious, Pho Island sells pho. But that’s not all. Other traditional Vietnamese dishes, such as vermicelli, banh mi sandwiches and hàu nướng (grilled oysters) are on the menu.
When I went to the Manteca location Tuesday, Jan. 27, I decided to try something other than the restaurant’s most-loved dish. I ordered the grilled Korean short rib rice plate with pork egg rolls.
First and foremost, I suggest paying the extra $2 to substitute the white rice with garlic rice. It’s worth it.
I’m a tough critic of short ribs at restaurants because my favorite recipe is my own. But Pho Island taught me that my recipe has yet to be perfected.
The short ribs had a ton of flavor and were not dry. Even the chicken broth that is served on the side when dining in was flavorful.
It’s a good sign that an egg roll will be nice and crunchy when all around you, you can hear people biting into them — even over the sound of loud music.
I love when light salads come with lunch and dinner plates as a nice, fresh palate cleanser. I especially love them when they’re topped with Vietnamese dressing.
That style of dressing, however, can sometimes be heavy on fish sauce. If there is fish sauce in Pho Island’s dressing, I didn’t detect it.
My only qualm with Pho Island after the one plate I tried is that it doesn’t sell dressing by the gallon.
Pho Island to celebrate grand opening
A grand opening event is planned for Sunday, Feb. 1. The entire menu will be 40% off that day. A 30% discount will be applied Monday and Tuesday.
The restaurant, at 825 W. Roseburg Ave., will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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