Pho Nho – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Foodies are a passionate–some would say even snobbish–lot. The most passionate among them are sticklers for authenticity and provenance of ingredients and preparation methods.  The plebeian among us who don’t know quite as much had better not represent inaccuracies as truths (much as politicians do) or even use culinary terms incorrectly lest we be excoriated.  Tieghan Gerard, a well-intentioned blogger, learned just how passionate savvy foodies can be. Tieghan, the creator of the popular food blog Half Baked Harvest found herself in hot water when she had the audacity to misrepresent a quick noodle soup recipe. More specifically, she dubbed her recipe “chicken pho,” a faux pas on may levels and for many reasons.  Readers were quick to point out…

Viet Cốm – Albuquerque, New Mexico

The name on the signage is Viet Cốm, not Viet dot com.  The difference is more than semantic.  In Vietnamese the term “Cốm” (with an accent denoting a high rising pitch when vocalized) translates from Vietnamese to a green sticky rice or green rice flakes. Cốm is a delicacy made only in autumn and cherished by all Vietnamese.  You learn a lot when you visit a Vietnamese restaurant and are interested enough to ask a lot of questions.  If Misty Do is your server, ask her about the family restaurant and you’ll learn quite a bit. We learned, for example, that the family owned and operated eatery opened in June, 2020, just a couple of months after the Cabrona Virus…