And Broth is a pho stand located inside the Glendora Public Market, off Arrow and Sunflower. They have a bunch of speciality phos, including their "house" bowl which includes a big 'ol beef rib and they have one with bone marrow. However, on this trip, I was here to try to their Pho Brisket on Rye, a sandwich inspired by the sandwiches at Katz deli.
It basically revisits a (not-oft asked) question: "can you replicate the tastes of a soup in a sandwich?" and while I can't say I can think of many other examples (I'm sure they exist), the answer in this case is: not really.
Before we get there: this has half a pound of brisket and the meat itself is good: tender, flavorful. The pickled red onions were fine. I found the rest of the herbs and greens to be a weak link however: those herbs work in pho because it's swimming in hot broth and melding into the overall flavors in the soup but in a sandwich, I thought they distracted from the other flavors rather than complementing them.
The rye was also fine but the problem is that this is a rather soggy sandwich. That's partly by intent as they pair this with a small bowl of pho broth, so it's supposed to be like a French dip. The difference is that in L.A. French/pastrami dips are usually served on horizontal rolls that are easier to hold and they're also not overpacked with chopped vegetables, making them easier to dip. The pho brisket sandwich is served square and cut into horizontal halves, which makes them exceedingly difficult to dip without a bunch of ingredients falling out, into the broth. Meanwhile, the liquid that the brisket was likely braised in ends up making the bottom of the sandwich cold and wet, so it doesn't feel good in your hand.
All in all, I applaud the idea but the execution just didn't work for me. And more to the point: if you had given me this sandwich blind, I don't think I would have said, "this reminds me of pho." Rating: 6/10.
I also got it with a small side of seasoned fries which were fine but nothing to write home about. I will say: I did really like the pho broth they served on the side and I'd be down to come back here to try their actual pho in the future.
by soulsides
8 Comments
Shout out to donut man!
I’ve had this sandwich and they skimped on the meat, i recall it being a one and done, over priced. Looks like they loaded you up with more brisket which is good.
Thank you for the write up – it looks pretty bomb tho! I can see it being 6/10 due to herbs broth etc – good write up!
I feel like a pho sandwich sounds good in theory but isn’t that good in reality otherwise Vietnamese people would’ve done it long ago. Everything about pho is related to the broth. The meat on its own isn’t that good – it’s basically boiled beef. I get that they offer a dipping broth but that just sounds like a bad workaround.
This looks amazing and I would love to try it
Mid
Their pho is actually really good, too. But, my favorite is their Lomo Saltado.
There’s a lot of good Peruvian joints in Covina, and I think & Broth’s Lolo Saltado is better than Misky Misky and Mr. Pollo.
Portions are also bigger.
10/10