I'm visiting Spokane from Salem, OR, and we are used to being disappointed in pho everywhere we go outside of our favorite place back home. In fact, after traveling the country and trying countless places, I've mostly given up finding a place better than we have in Salem. However, a friend that lives here in Spokane said that we HAD to try Pho Thinh and we trust her judgement. So, reluctantly, we caved and decided to go.

From the moment we walked in, we were greeted by a very nice man who welcomed us. We received the menus and seconds later we were uttering numerous oohs and aahs. The nice man took our order and before we knew it, our appetizer had arrived. I could tell immediately that everything was homemade, even the fish sauce.

When my pho arrived, I anticipated the yumminess while also expecting the same disappointment I'd felt many times previous. Let me tell you, there was no disappointment. None whatsoever. We had just had pho at our favorite place back home before we headed to Spokane, so the flavor was still relatively fresh in my mind. At first, I found myself trying to compare to see which one was better. After trying the broth by itself, the individual bites of steak, and all of the combined flavors together, I eventually came to the conclusion that it was equally as delicious, even if not the same. What I'm saying is, there's no clear winner. They are both delicious in their own way yet definitely different.

So, all that is to say that you should absolutely drop everything and go to Pho Thinh RIGHT NOW. Anytime I travel somewhere, I like to try as much local food as I possibly can... However, in this case, I just want to go to Pho Thinh and nowhere else.