STEPH DEROSA: SLOW BURN >>>

Spicy Chicken with salad and rice (S1)
Pho 38th
Price: $6.95
Burn Factor: Two Molotov cocktails

It’s sunny outside and where do I find myself? On my way to the mall. Ugh. I was hoping to make it a quick trip in and back out into the sun. I not only love warm food, but I love warm weather as well.

Before ducking into the corporate mall-o-sphere, Bandito Betty and I wanted a quick lunch near our destination, yet not a corporate-feeling restaurant. Because, as you know, the mall does nothing but bleed non-local dining when it is cut at the core. Thankfully there’s Pho 38th located behind Red Robin off 38th and Steele Street.

Knowing that at Pho 38th I could spice up any dish with a spice rating of either “S” for “spicy” or “SS” for “super spicy” made deciding on what dish to get incredibly difficult. In order to dumb down my decision-making process I opted for a dish that already had the word “spicy” in the title: Spicy Chicken with salad and rice. Forget the fancy names, Pho 38th labels their food like it is. Absolutely no guessing what this dish is made of, and boy do I like it simple like that.

The Spicy Chicken with salad and rice tasted exactly how I would imagine a regular, everyday teriyaki dish from the mall would taste, except this time loaded with red chili sauce. No surprise here. The red chili sauce tasted peppery, fiery, and danced slightly upon what little taste buds I have left after many years of pepper indulgence. The freshness and quality of this dish met itself way above par, but the spice factor simply was not there for me.

Next time I wonder if they’ll let me make it “SSS.” That’s “Super Steph Spicy,” in case you were wondering.

[Pho 38th, 3815 S Steele St # G, Tacoma, 253.475.3700]