Are you hungry yet?

Mekong - Richmond, Virginia

I love discovering hidden foodie towns. It's like finding $20 in the pocket of a jacket you rarely wear, or someone in the checkout insisting you go before them. So nice! Keith and I recently took a trip to Richmond, Virginia to see Christmas lights. Unexpectedly, Richmond turned out to be quite fond of great food.

I don't normally like taking the advice of the tourist mag you find in hotel rooms. They're always full of crappy restaurants that charge a boatload of money for less than average food. Because you're a tourist, how are you to know? But, for lack of a tour guide, we opted to research all the suggestions and decide who looked the least deceptive. After reading one food critic say if they could they would eat at Mekong every single day of their life, we had to give it a try.

Dining at Mekong, we hit pay dirt!

Situated in a very nondescript almost shady looking strip mall, we just about rolled right past this beloved Vietnamese restaurant. As we pulled up into the parking lot it was full and clearly getting fuller. A good sign.

Pho-tastic!

My best friend of almost 30 years (PJ) is mixed like me, but her heritage consists of American and Vietnamese. The daughter of of a military vet and a fiery Vietnamese woman, PJ epitomizes the best of both worlds. Loyal and trustworthy, hard-working and a fantastic cook, PJ is one of the people I credit my love of food.

Aside from being the best friend a person could have, one of the best gifts PJ ever gave me was pho. The cure for whatever ails ya, pho will always be my comfort food. Anyone who is a fan of that distinctive creamy meatiness of beef marrow will simply fall head over heels for pho.

We've managed to find a pretty good pho place in Ashburn, Virgina called Pho Bistro. We go so much the owner and staff know us and our order: Pho Gau for me and Pho Bo Vien with a side of Tai for my fiance Keith. Here are a couple of photos from our latest pho fix.