PHO BAGUETTES & MORE @ EAST BOROUGH - COSTA MESA (THE CAMP)

East Borough
Address: 2937 Bristol St Costa Mesa, CA 92626


Yesterday at noon, Keita and I brought our hungry stomachs to The Camp in Costa Mesa. I was worried that there would be no parking...and indeed there wasn't...LUCKILY THOUGH, There is free valet parking until 2pm! How did I never know about this?!  We walked around The Camp trying to decide on what to eat. After giving much thought, Keita decided he wanted to eat Vietnamese food. Now, I was taken a bit aback by this suggestion because, as a Vietnamese-American who is fortunate enough to have a mother who cooks authentic Vietnamese food, I rarely crave or bother to eat Vietnamese food any place else other than my own home. Especially since the restaurant named East Borough did not even look like an authentic Vietnamese restaurant. Heck, I didn't even see any Vietnamese cooks or workers or even Vietnamese customers (other than myself). Nevertheless, I gave it a shot!  When I looked at the menu, my eyes immediately were drawn to "Pho Baguette". What is this ridiculous combination?! I can't believe someone would put these two together! So, being an adventurous eater, I chose this for my lunch! Keita chose the beef stew baguette and it looked super delish! When the food came out, it was much bigger than I expected. It was basically like a whole baguette (footlong?) for both of us and mine came with the pho soup and Keita's came with the beef stew on the side. I urged him to try the Vietnamese Coffee there because come on... everyone has to try Vietnamese Coffee! The Vietnamese Coffee that they serve here is actually not that sweet at all! You can really taste the coffee as well. I HAD to order Soda Xi Muoi (Plum Soda). It is one of my favorite drinks at any Vietnamese restaurant that I go to and I had high expectations here. I guess they were too high... The Soda Xi Muoi basically tasted like carbonated lemonade. Where is the Plum flavor?!?! I was a bit disappointed but I should have figured...this is probably not a restaurant catered to Vietnamese customers anyways so the flavor and taste probably lacks a bit of authenticity.
Overall though, the food tasted GREAT and I would totally come back here again to introduce my other friends to the PHO BAGUETTE! Heck, I should just tell my mom to make it for me next time! Price-wise though, this place is a bit spensy! Both our orders came out to be around $25.