Pho'

Dear Ian:
Of the many pleasures that I find in life, I find pho' (pronounced fa) to be very near the top of the list. Most people would look at it and simply say, "That's a big bowl of soup." Me, on the other hand, look at pho' as a miracle of possibilities.

Besides being an inexpensive meal, pho' is your very own customizable meal. In a good pho' restaurant, they will bring you several types of hot sauces, fish oil, beef base, hoisin sauce, sugar, crystallized ginger...and on and on and on and on. Oh! and raw bean sprouts!

With all of the condiments, you can make your soup as hot or as sweet or as salty as you want. Mix and match...hot and sweet....limitless.

The bean sprouts add an extra level of texture, far superior to saltine crackers.

Plus, as an added benefit, you can tell your mom that you want to head out to the Pho' King without worry of a mouthful of soap. When she asks, "Where did you learn that?!!!" You can rest assured that I have your back, when you let her know that Uncle Squid says it all the time.