The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Mama Pho fare
Vietnamese eatery one of only a few in northwestern Connecticut
WINSTED — The choice of places to dine in Winsted just expanded with the recent opening of Mama Pho at 108 Main St. on Aug. 29. The Vietnamese eatery opened in the formerly empty space inhabited years ago by the Louis Diner across the street from the Cumberland Farms convenience store.
The restaurant’s opening took some by surprise following its two-month renovation. But, as the Vietnamese proverb, goes “Có chí làm quan, có gan làm giàu,” or “Fortune favors the brave.” Owner and chef Tony Hang, 27, said of the opening of the 69-seat restaurant, “We have been very, very busy.”
The genesis of Mama Pho began when Hang was visiting Winsted. “We were driving around and there was no place to eat out,” Hang said. “People knew where McDonald’s or Chinese food, there was nothing else. We are the first Vietnamese restaurant in town, and the only one in the area.”
Mama Pho is in rare company of Vietnamese restaurants in western Connecticut, the other nearest being an exotic eatery reportedly closing in Torrington and Pho Vietnam in Danbury. Hang said he didn’t go to cooking school but learned about the intricacies of Vietnamese cooking from his mother, Phan Duong, who assists him with Hang’s other restaurant
Pho Ethan in Wallingford.
“I opened this restaurant because of my mother,” he said, adding that Mama Pho comes from his own mother. “She loves cooking for people and works every day.”
The restaurant opened with much fanfare on Aug. 29, with Winsted town officials assisting in cutting an inaugural red ribbon. Mama Pho’s name comes from “pho,” a Vietnamese soup consisting of broth, rice noodles, and meat, long a popular street food in Vietnam that has become renowned worldwide. The highest compliment one can give to a chef is that pho tastes like a family member’s own, as, according to a November 2017 “Saveur” magazine article, the best pho is “the one they eat at home.” According to an online January 2014 article in “Viet Nam News,” conferences are held to discuss how important pho is in people’s lifestyles. A 2008 Viet World Kitchen blog by Vietnamese-born author of “Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways,” Andrea Nguyen stated that good Vietnamese cuisine can derive from toasted herbs, Thoa Qua (cardamom), and oxtail broth, and embellishment of beef elements.
Giving gustatory pleasure for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, some of Mama Pho’s specialties include such appetizers as shrimp spring rolls, chicken wings, fried calamari, and spicy onion beef rolls. Main courses include several varieties of pho, including Pho Tai (angus flank steak), Pho Tai Nam (steak and brisket), Pho Tai Bo Vien (steak and meatballs), and Pho Hai San (with seafood). Vietnamese crepes, sandwiches, and vermicelli are available.
Because pho is a soup, Hang added that Mama Pho also offers in the summer “phorrito,” which includes several choices of meats, noodles, basil leaves, bean sprouts, scallions (all wrapped up like a burrito) with soup on the side.
Hang said plans for the restaurant for the future include delivery for the whole region as well as online ordering. They will also expand the restaurant’s seating to 86.
Winsted residents are already raving about the food. Lauren DiMauro, executive director of the Winsted grassroots group Friends of Main Street, commented, “We are thrilled to welcome Mama Pho to Winsted. I had the opportunity to meet the owner Tony and his family while touring the Vietnamese restaurant this past week. I am confident they will do a great business here.”
DiMauro added, “The food was delicious and a totally new cuisine for our town. Winsted is on the verge of a rebirth and the fact that Tony chose our town for his second restaurant is confirmation of that.” She commented, “I had the Pho Tai. It was delicious. My sister actually ordered take out today and was amazed. I am confident they will do awesome.”
Mama Pho is located at 108 Main Street in Winsted. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The hours are Monday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Area delivery will be coming soon.