Chao Vietnamese Street Food

The BFF and I are apparently on a quest to try all the pho, so a new Vietnamese place opens in Fishers? Yes, lunch is planned. Several of you mentioned Chao Vietnamese Street Food on twitter the other day when I asked for new lunch ideas. It’s in a strip mall on 96^th Street. It’s very casual in décor—you order up front and they bring your food out to you, but it is cute. 

I ordered the beef pho and she ordered the veggie pho (each around $10). Ok, it was good pho, but, and I know I have said this before it is rare that one stands out above or below others for me. This one had a decent broth (one of the main important things) and the usual stuff inside—onions and of course, rice noodles.  The usual plate of fresh stuff to add—this one only had basil as the herb (no cilantro), lots of bean sprouts, some jalapeno slices and two nice juicy lime wedges. I had to doctor it up a fair amount with this stuff, as well as some fish sauce and Sriracha. I have come to learn this is just what you do with pho, but I still always wonder if this is how it’s meant to be.  Anyhow, the beef it is was sliced very thin, as it should be, but the pieces were just a little too big to eat in one bite. And I would say there was maybe slightly less of the actual meat than at some places. But overall it was a nice lunch. Pho in winter is a good thing.

My friend liked her veggie version too, although she said she liked other versions with more vegetables in it better. This had the noodles, some tofu and another weird noodle type item that looked a bit like a sponge. Neither of us could identify it for sure. There was also some veg, just not a ton. Again though, she doctored it up in a similar way and enjoyed it.

There were several other items on the menu that looked good. I saw several rice dishes with various kids of meat coming out of the kitchen that I would really like to try. They also have these chao fries topped with lemongrass pork, pickles daikon and carrots and spicy mayo that sound a little magical. There are also Banh Mi sandwiches on offer. I would say the pho ranks in the middle of those I have tried, but I would certainly like to try some of the other dishes. It is also nice to see a place like this in Fishers—and also a place like this in Fishers doing so well (it was doing a very good business by the time we left on a Wednesday). It just goes to show you that Indy people are looking for things other than sandwiches and fast food to eat for lunch. This makes me happy.

Chao Vietnamese Street Food

7854 E. 96^th Street

Fishers, IN 46037

317/622-8820

www.chaovietstreetfood.com