Keep it simple.
If you’re going to do hot dogs, why add jalapeño poppers and pizza and breakfast burritos to the mix? Just do hot dogs, and do them exceptionally well. People will come, and they will return, and word-of-mouth will spread. Just ask Jim Pittenger, a.k.a. “Biker Jim,” who slings dogs on the 16th Street Mall.
Black Pepper Pho, a new Vietnamese place in Boulder, hews close to the spirit of “keep it simple.”
The small restaurant does pho (Vietnamese soup), grilled noodle bowls and banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches), as well as a few appetizers.
That’s it.
They don’t toss in a bunch of stir-fries. They don’t add something from Thailand here, a dish from China there. They stick with classic, simple Vietnamese fare: And the place pulls it off.
Within each category, there is room to play. Traditional phos are heavy with beef, but Black Pepper Pho offers chicken, seafood and vegetarian versions. Vegetarian banh mi? You bet.
The gambits, fortunately, do not detract from the quality, and they don’t drag the menu into a complicated mess. Black Pepper Pho is a simple place for a simple meal, which sounds anticlimactic, but in fact is precisely what Boulder — and most cities — needs.
Douglas Brown: 303-954-1395 or djbrown@denverpost.com
Black Pepper Pho
Vietnamese. 2770 Pearl St., Suite B, Boulder, 303-440-1948. Lunch and dinner daily.
