Pho real: This Vietnamese restaurant in Augusta serves soup and noodles that lure you back

Before you eat it, know how to pronounce it.

Pho, the national dish of Vietnam, sounds like "fuh." It's borrowed from "feu," the word for fire from Vietnam's French colonial rulers.

Pho Augusta, at 4045 Jimmie Dyess Pkwy., is a superb restaurant to take your taste buds on an Asian vacation.

Augusta's first Vietnamese restaurant didn't open until 1994, when Vietnam Oriental Restaurant opened at 1855 Gordon Hwy.

It's gone – Club Rain occupies the address now – but 30 years later, the distinct flavor of Vietnamese food has gotten much more accessible locally. At one point about a decade ago, two Vietnamese restaurants, Pho Bac and Viet Royal, conspicuously faced each other on either side of Towne Center Drive in Evans.

Neither is in business today. Viet Royal unceremoniously shut down, and in 2023 Pho Bac merged with another competitor, Pho Augusta, which opened in 2020.

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The best Vietnamese food embraces fresh, natural ingredients. Flavors such as lemongrass, cinnamon and mint appear frequently in recipes, including the 12 types of pho on Pho Augusta's menu.

Pho often features thin slices of steak, flank or brisket, but diners can choose other proteins such as chicken, shrimp and tofu. Still, try Pho Augusta's pho chin, or well-done steak soup. Both the steak and the flavorful recipe are well-done.

Diners with gluten allergies shouldn't have much of a problem at Pho Augusta. The noodles and the vermicelli are made from rice, not wheat, lending a lighter feel to entrees.

But there's something for bread lovers, too, Another colonial carryover in Vietnam is the banh mi, a lighter, airy French baguette used as the foundation for epic sandwiches stuffed with meats, savories, vegetables and herbs. Pho Augusta's crisp pork belly sandwich should come with a warning that eating it might be addictive.

Pho Augusta is open from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and from 12:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sundays.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Pho real: This Vietnamese restaurant in Augusta serves soup and noodles that lure you back