CA, Simi Valley, Pho So 1

Pho So 1
2837 Cochran Street, Ste E, Simi Valley, CA 93065 phone:( 805) 306-1868

Just off the Ronald Reagan Freeway at the eastern end of Simi Valley is a Vietnamese restaurant serving excellent bowls of noodles. I have not eaten a lot of Vietnamese food before, in fact my only experience was from a lunchtime eatery on the edge of Market Square in Houston. A place I’d visited two or three times before it closed.

Pho So 1 is bright and clean and airy. A fairly large place in the corner of a strip center. We arrived at 12;30 pm and were seated straight away and within five minutes orders had been placed and water delivered to the table. I relied on my companion diner to order and ended up with a large bowl of soft noodles, with rare sliced beef, flank steak and tripe. She had a small bowl of soft noodles with prawns which looked much better. We also had two side plates one of crispy noodles and sprigs of mint and the second with egg rolls stuffed with meat and vegetables.

The noodles and broth were excellent, the lean beef was very good but the fatty flank steak and tripe were not to my liking. The crispy noodles were also good when added to the broth. The egg rolls were thick and packed full of indeterminate filling, but the taste was OK, especially when dipped in sweet sauce.

I need to return to the restaurant to check out other items on the menu. I think if I studied the menu a little more and chose more wisely, then I would enjoy the broth fillings a little more.

The meal was good value. $22.15 for two including a 15% tip.

CA, Simi Valley, Elephant Bar and Restaurant

One of the pleasures visiting the Moorpark, CA office is the availability of wine by the glass in most of the restaurants in the area. Casual dining restaurants like the Elephant Bar (www.elephantbar.com) in Simi valley have 20 or more wines by the glass with prices ranging from $5.25 for Beringer White Zinfandel or Mondavi Woodbridge Chardonnay or Cabernet to $6.95 for Kendall Jackson’s Vintner Reserve Merlot or Cabernet. At the Elephant Bar all but two of the wines – a Pinot Grigio from Ca’vit ($5.25 per glass) and Reislong from Chateau Ste Michelle ($5.95) are from California. The house wines are Vendange at $4.75 per glass. Portions are generous, moderate prices do not mean small servings at the Elephant Bar.

A really nice surprise was splits of Domaine Chandon for $6.50. One of the nicer pleasures in life is to relax after a 12 or 13 hour day with a glass of sparkling wine and watch the world go by.

While checking out the wine list I ate the Shrimp Adventure Platter. This was a combination of large coconut fried shrimp, teriyaki glazed shrimp and breaded fried shrimp served French fried potatoes and a mish-mash of overcooked vegetables and two dipping sauces. The best part was the Teriyaki shrimp, the other shrimp were completely overwhelmed by the breading.

Service was excellent. Amanda was attentive without being overbearing. The food arrived hot, the drinks were served expeditiously and the bill presented promptly

CA, Simi Valley, The Courtyard Hotel

Simi Valley’s main claim to fame is that it is the home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Whatever your politics the library is worth a visit if only to feast your eyes on the magnificent view across the valley from the gardens and to walk through the Boeing 707 Reagan used as Air Force One.

The Courtyard hotel in Simi Valley is conveniently located at the Madera Road exit off the Ronald Reagan highway (CA 118) in a shopping center that includes a Wal*Mart, Bev Mo liquor store, Home Depot and casual dining or fast food at Applebees, Subway, Fune Sushi, Garlic Jims Famous Gourmet Pizza, Panda Wok Chinese, Panda Express Chinese and It’s a Grind Coffee or across the road a Taco Bell, Chili’s or Marie Calendars Pies.

The rooms are comfortable and reasonably large. Each room contains one or two beds, a couch to watch TV and a desk with high speed internet. The beds are comfortable and the sheets soft, but sometimes the towels don’t quite reach the same standards. Each room has it’s own air conditioner / heater that can be a little noisy when the fan is working on high.The staff are friendly, competent and helpful. Breakfast is not included in the room price, the selections include both hot and cold buffet items and at night there is a cash bar serving bottled beer, wine by the glass and mixed drinks during the week. Behind the hotel in a small garden between the hotel and the Wal*Mart is a small swimming pool and Jacuzzi tub. Overall rates are reasonable for the business traveler at $170 - $200 a night.