Pho 79

Pho 79
Pho 79's previous Garden Grove storefront in 2026
Interactive map of Pho 79
Restaurant information
Established1982
Head chefLieu Tran
Food typeVietnamese
RatingStarStarStarStarHalf star
Location8894 Bolsa Avenue, Westminster, Orange County, California, 92683, United States
Coordinates33°44′37″N 117°58′29″W / 33.7435°N 117.9746°W / 33.7435; -117.9746
Websitepho79.com

Pho 79 is a Vietnamese restaurant in Westminster, California. It opened in 1982 at Garden Grove, California before relocating in 2026. In 2019 it was named one of America's Classics by the James Beard Foundation. It has a Bib Gourmand designation from Michelin.[1]

History

The restaurant was opened by Thọ Trần and Liễu Trần in 1982 in the Garden Grove neighborhood which would become part of Little Saigon, where they had settled after escaping political persecution in Vietnam as boat people[2][3][4] and employed multiple extended family members and new immigrants.[5][6][7] The driving force behind the opening of the restaurant was Nguyen Thi Dao, the family matriarch.[4] The restaurant was named for the year many of the family arrived in the United States, 1979.[4] The restaurant was one of the first in the area to serve pho and according to the Beard announcement, "helped pave the way for Southern California's Little Saigon to become the dynamic hub of Vietnamese cuisine" in the area.[8][3][9] The New York Times said the restaurant was a pillar of the Little Saigon neighborhood.[10]

According to Gustavo Arellano writing for Thrillist, it was one of the first Vietnamese restaurants in the United States.[6]

The restaurant announced its relocation to the neighboring city of Westminster in May 2026.[11]

Menu item number 33, 79 super bowl, at Pho 79

The restaurant focuses on the Vietnamese noodle soup dish, pho. Noodles in their beef-broth soup base are topped with brisket, meatballs, oxtails, round steak or tripe. The Beard Foundation called their oxtail "justifably legendary"; the Orange County Register said they were best known for it.[2][3] The Los Angeles Times called it "famously rich in oxtail essence".[12] The Infatuation said their pho was "deeper in flavor than any other pho you'll find in Southern California".[13]

Recognition

In 2019 the restaurant was named one of America's Classics by the James Beard Foundation.[2] In 2021 the restaurant received a Bib Gourmand designation from Michelin.[1][14]

When the Beard Foundation called to tell them they had won, the owners were not sure what the award was, and had never heard of the foundation's namesake.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Phở 79". Michelin Guide. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Announcing the 2019 America's Classics Winners". www.jamesbeard.org. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 "Pho 79 is the first Orange County restaurant to win a prestigious James Beard Foundation award". Orange County Register. January 30, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "How A Garden Grove Strip Mall Restaurant Won One Of The Country's Most Prestigious Food Awards". LAist. May 7, 2019. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  5. ↑ Stern, Steven (June 8, 2011). "Based on an Old Family Recipe". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  6. 1 2 "The Myth of Mom-and-Pop Restaurants". Thrillist. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  7. ↑ Tran, Diep (Fall 2017). "Cheap Eats, Cheap Labor, Hidden Costs". Southern Foodways Alliance. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  8. ↑ Kang, Matthew (January 28, 2019). "Longtime Garden Grove pho restaurant receives prestigious James Beard award". Eater LA. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  9. ↑ Gude, Michelle (February 8, 2022). "The 13 Absolute Best Pho In The US". Mashed. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  10. ↑ Kwun, Aileen (January 21, 2023). "Redefining the 'New' in Lunar New Year". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  11. ↑ Pimentel, Joseph (May 14, 2026). "Michelin-Rated Phở 79 to Move to Westminster". Orange County Business Journal. Archived from the original on July 19, 2026. Retrieved July 19, 2026.
  12. ↑ Addison, Bill (April 24, 2021). "Next time, order the oxtails". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Pho 79". The Infatuation. August 22, 2022. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Garden Grove Area Restaurant Michelin-Recognized As Affordable And Delightful Eatery". Los Alamitos-Seal Beach, CA Patch. September 27, 2021. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.

Further reading

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