Pho Jula - Decent Lunch Option

J got me out of the house early Monday to see an 11am movie (more on that in another post) then to get a toilet tank flapper and a new ice chopper (the old one broke after a month) and check on garage door blankets.  So, it was home or out for lunch.  It was still officially a holiday and we weren't sure who was open.  Spaghetti got into my head so I drove over to Arctic and International Airport Road to see if Villa Nova were open.  They weren't.

But next door was a Thai-Lao place with Phos.  (Most, if not all, Thai restaurants in Anchorage have Lao connections.  People know Thai food, as Refugee Nation pointed out here a couple of years ago, but they don't know Lao food, or even Laos, so Laos in the US often hide behind a Thai facade.  I just realized the potential confusion there - Laos - La-os - two syllables, the country, and Laos - laoz - one syllable, the people.)

It had that bleak Anchorage strip mall in winter look (not a lot better in the summer)  outside, that we've learned is not necessarily a good indicator of what's inside.

I'd assumed Thai Kitchen would be closed for the New Year holiday since the University is still closed.  But here we were and I didn't want to drive around looking for something else, and we should always be ready to break our routines, so we went in. 

It was a pleasant surprise.  Lunch specials looked like the best deal.  While I think $9.99 is a lot for lunch - I can make a pretty good lunch at home for significantly less - there was a lot of food.  This was going to be a dinner. 

Tom Kha soup, green curry had green beans in it, spring rolls (I ate one already), salad, rice. 

I liked the green curry and soup, though neither had much of a spicy kick.  A good deal, though too much food really.  J took her pad thai leftover home. 




Our waiter, Phas, told us they'd been open about seven months.  That it took a long time and a lot of work to clean the place before they could open.  Phas came to the US at age 5 and has lived a number of places around the US, including living through Katrina near New Orleans.