What: Pho with steak eye round and meatballs
Where: Fuzion Five, 285 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs
How much: $11.75
Contact: 760-322-6162; fuzionfive.com
Why: It’s a perfect bowl of food.
Someone once told me that they didn’t like having pho during the summer, because the weather was too hot to eat hot soup.
I don’t remember who told me this, nor do I remember when it was told to me. However, I do remember distinctly thinking: What in the hell is wrong with you?
In my humble opinion, a hot summer day is a fine time for pho. So is a cold winter night. So are all of a day’s 24 hours, 365 days per year.
Pho, when done right, is a perfect bowl of food—and they certainly do pho right at Fuzion Five. This downtown Palm Springs restaurant in recent years has become one of our main go-to takeout/delivery options, and we’ve never gotten a bad bite of food from the place.
For some reason, however, we’d never before dined in at Fuzion Five—until we did so one recent Monday evening. We had a lovely time; the service was great, and I got a delicious Manhattan from Fuzion Five’s full bar.
But, of course, the pho was the star of the show. We both ordered the pho with steak and meatballs, and it was amazing. It all comes down to the broth. According to Fuzion Five’s website, the broth simmers “for over 14 hours with five Vietnamese spices and roasted shallots and ginger.” The result of all that time and love is a whole lot of umami deliciousness.
If, for some reason, pho’s not your jam, two things: 1: What in the hell is wrong with you? 2. Fuzion Five has you covered, offering a menu full of Vietnamese, Lao and other Asian specialties.
In other words, no matter the weather, there’s no excuse to not eat at Fuzion Five.