Three Sisters Food To Go — Restaurant in Spokane

The building is a run down place that looks like it was an old Burger King back in the 70's... The counter was walled up and nothing else done. We went in for lunch and tried the lunch special menu. The food seemed like last nights reheated stuff from the weekend. ( It was Sunday. ) It was dry and stringy chicken smothered in gravey for the almond chicken. The sweet and sour was the same cut up chicken patty with different sauce. The chow main, for some reason had a slight seafood aroma that skewed the taste a bit. It was "okay"....The fried rice was soft but tasted bland so I poured some left over egg flour soup on it to doctor it up. ( Hot & sour was not an option available for lunch. ) We requested hot tea and got a chipped tea pot with one green tea bag. There was an extra charge. $30 w/ tip. ( She worked hard and was pleasant. ) To be fair other reviews said the Pho was good. Traditional Asian though.....Not so much. My wife does not want to go back. It was our 1st. visit on a whim. The good news was....Everything else that day by comparison was a step up so.....( The bar was pretty low. ) Our mood was...

This review is limited to their version of my favorite of all the Vietnamese beef broth based soups: Bún bò Huế. I grew up in Southern California near many vibrant Asian communities. One of my favorite to visit was Little Saigon in Santa Ana. That is THE place to get a bowl of bún bò with ALL (pig blood curd, pork knuckle, etc.) the fixings swimming in a complex spicy, salty broth. Three Sisters served up what was by a wide margin the best bún bò I've had in Spokane. Most local restaurants treat their bún bò as an afterthought by adding chili oil to their phở broth. Not Three Sisters! The nuoc mam and fermented shrimp paste provide the umami notes that amplify the lemongrass infused beef broth. Most Americans tend to focus on the noodles and protein but it should be the broth that is tasted first and only then adjusted with the various add-ins. I would have been happy with a bowl of the broth...it's a that good. They are also one of the few Vietnamese restaurants in town to serve this dish with the correct noodle. I can't wait to try other dishes...

Update: Aug 2021, they improved and have great and more consistent good pho dac biet and bun bo hue. Those are the two dishes I always get.

Rarely do their pho taste bad, but they do have their days.

Old:

Coming from a Vietnamese, who goes to every single restaurant in town multiple times. This place, as of May 2021, has the best pho in Spokane. Lee Brother’s pho used to be the best, but the old cook left and quality has went down a notch. Personally, the best food here are the pho dac biet, Bun Bo Hue (Vietnamese Spicy beef noodles), roasted pork banh mi, and special vermicelli noodle. The second level would be their roast pork vermicelli, combo rice (egg, pork, bi), special seafood soup noodle, and chow fun ( Hủ tiếu xào ).

If you like fried rice, chow fun, chow mein and other Chinese dishes. I would recommend Black Straw (Aka the Best Boba place). They have one of the best Chinese...