Featured Photo: A bowl of spicy vermicelli noodle soup from Southern Phở.
About halfway through my bowl of Bún bò Huế ($6 small, $10 large) during a recent visit to Southern Phở (2100 Benton Road, Suite D, Bossier City), I’m pretty sure that my spirit left my body. As I worked my way toward the bottom of the bowl, the already-spicy soup seemed to get spicier, more rich and delicious with every carefully slurped spoonful. By the end of my lunch hour, I was sweating and delirious, but I was really, really happy. Southern Phở’s Bún bò Huế is a wildly spicy soup filled with tender beef brisket and Vietnamese ham. The spice, as far as I could tell, comes from a lot of chili oil and a lot of fresh lemongrass, as well as sliced jalapeño peppers floating in the broth. There are several menu items marked “spicy” at this restaurant and, from what I can tell so far, they are not playing around with that term.
I’ve been to Southern Phở a few times now and I’ve yet to try any phở. There are just so many interesting options on the menu. There’s a roasted duck and yellow noodle soup ($12), spicy head-on shrimp (in an area where it can be hard to find shrimp cooked head-on, the good folks at Southern Phở have gone all-in, emblazoning their front entrance with gigantic vinyl letters spelling out “HEAD-ON SHRIMP”) and something called Sriracha chicken. There are also some interesting appetizers, including fun-to-eat shrimp wontons ($5) that are simply wonton-wrapped shrimp that have been deep-fried. If you love bubble tea, save room for dessert – several of the bubble teas here are made with real fruit, and they’re delicious.
The only downside here is that it seems as though they are not serving about 30% of the menu at any given time. The waitstaff is friendly enough, though, and happy to suggest replacements for that duck noodle soup that you’ve had your heart set on for months. If you do luck out and get the duck noodle soup, please let me know how it is in the comments.
Southern Phở
2100 Benton Road, Suite D
Bossier City, LA 71111
(318) 716-1918
Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sunday, Noon to 8 p.m.
If you enjoy this kind of unique, local eatery, please check out the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau’s new food guide, Eat Here.
