Yeah folks, in NYC today to sit in with Susan and Derek but at home it’s Pho Peace Wednesday. Click the link above or read the article here. Who would have thought… Pho in Meigs County?
Me that’s who… and some of the best Pho you’re gonna find.
Stop on by, Wednesday or Thursday, 1100 to 1500.
Yummy!!!
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A restaurant with a unique cuisine has opened at Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch in Meigs County, and the food just happens to be Kaukonen’s favorite.
Jorma Kaukonen’s Pho Peace Restaurant is now operating in the ranch’s Beatrice Love Kitchen on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Unlike the Kitchen’s regular diners, who are Fur Peace guitar camp attendants or event ticket holders, the restaurant is open to the public.
So what is pho? Pronounced “fuh,” it’s a Vietnamese soup that usually consists of broth, rice noodles, herbs and meat, usually either beef or chicken. It’s served with a side of bean sprouts, basil and often a hot pepper that can be added into the soup.
Vanessa Kaukonen, Jorma’s wife who is owner and CEO of the operation, confirmed that pho is her husband’s favorite food. He seeks out different restaurants serving pho in every major city where he tours.
One of his favorite pho restaurants is a place in Arlington, Virginia, called Pho Golden Cow. After he took Vanessa to the restaurant to dine last May, she came up with the idea of opening their own pho restaurant.
They brought home a menu from Pho Golden Cow for their kitchen’s chef, Justin Berry, to read and use to develop his own take on the soup. Vanessa said that Berry’s pho blew her and Jorma away with its taste.
For Vanessa and many other folks who appreciate good pho, the broth’s taste is what makes the soup.
“I’d put my pho up against any big-city pho restaurant,” she said.
The menu is simple, offering authentic beef and chicken pho dishes, a vegetarian pho served with tofu meatballs, pickled vegetables, ice chai tea and a smoothie bar.
The restaurant uses local ingredients, such as Dexter Run meatballs and King Family chicken, to make the dishes. Vanessa said the restaurant provides a “delicious, healthy, local and fresh meal” for its patrons.
Vanessa said that for years she wanted to open a restaurant, but with the management of the ranch she didn’t have time to commit to a full seven-day schedule. After eating at Pho Golden Cow, she said she began thinking about how the restaurant could work.
The two-day, limited hours of the restaurant work around the guitar-camp schedule. Vanessa said that most people aren’t going to drive 15-20 minutes outside of Athens for dinner, which is why the restaurant isn’t open later. Yet, considering how crowded Athens gets during the school year around lunch time, the restaurant’s short distance and quick service works well for Athens-area-based patrons on their lunch break.
Customers can also rent the entire restaurant out for parties up to 30 people who can pay per bowl of pho.
The restaurant’s location provides a setting for customers to enjoy the country scenery along with the meal, Vanessa said. They also can check out the grounds of the Fur Peace Ranch and the Psylodelic Gallery, an art gallery that is currently featuring the work of the late Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead leader and member of the Rock ’n Roll Hall of Fame.
Customers might also get a chance to dine with Vanessa’s famous musician husband, Jorma, also a member of the Hall of Fame by virtue of his work with the Jefferson Airplane.
Vanessa Kaukonen said she couldn’t do anything without her staff. “My staff makes me shine, no doubt about it,” she said.
The Fur Peace Ranch is located at 39495 St. Clair Road. The mailing address is Pomeroy, though the ranch is actually several miles northwest of that Meigs County town, off of U.S. Rt. 33 East from Athens.
Had Pho yesterday in Little Saigon here in Chicago. Next time you are in town we can hit the Pho joints. Happy New Year to you, Vanessa and the kids. Michael Foley
Here’s Jorma opening @ Beacon. Amazing how he was able to play solo acoustic in such a large venue – and of course – everyone loved it. Standing ovation!
http://liveforlivemusic.com/wp-content/uploads/cc_resize/DSC_6393-0x934.jpg
Actually, johno, the way to do it is get it from the bowl to your mouth. How you spice it up is up to you, it’s your bowl. If you haven’t eaten it before, then you’ll experiment some to find the way you like it. I only relayed the way I’ve eaten it, and on occasion seen it eaten. If you like wonton, then pho will blow you away. Enjoy.@johno
Thanks Carey – I knew there’s a way to do it.
@carey georgas <
http://liveforlivemusic.com/news/watch-tedeschi-trucks-band-scorch-elizabeth-reed-luther-dickinson/
Thank goodness for the Net, for those of us not fortunate enough to see it in person. The Captain along with the hardest working, most down to earth band touring today. TTB. Not to mention the best rock n’ blues voice around, Miss Susan Tedeschi.
O.K., but really:
H&E doesn’t “go get stoned”. He told me that he stopped smoking , the week before 9/11.
If 9/11 wasn’t enough to make him toke one up — he might say it — but he don’t do it.
Self-regulation, for whatever reason, is a good thing.
Wherever Jorma adds his talents; that’s a good place to be!
@Ham n Eggs
@Ham n Eggs
LOL yeah the Tedeschi Trucks encore w Jorma was pretty cool to see.
I love Rollin and Tumblin, man that must have been something. Would make me want to say let’s go get stoned
Peace
Love All Ways
Oh, and if you don’t add the sauces to the broth, use them on the side to dip the meat in.@johno
Put the basil, peppers, bean sprouts and any other greens in the bowl with the broth and meat, add hoisin and siracha, or not, and get after it. By the way, johno, I found some good pho in Waikiki at a place called Old Saigon. I usually add the sauces to my broth, but this stuff was so light and tasty that I didn’t want to throw any “ketchup” on it. Good stuff. @johno
I never heard of pho before last month. It looks like wonton soup with strips of beef – looks delicious. And I’m sure the FPR version outstanding. Now I’m getting hungry. How far are you from Stony Brook.
How do you eat pho with all the sides? Anybody know? So when I get to the restaurant I know what I’m doing.
Nice to see Maurice The Magnificent Maitre D working the front room of the Love Kitchen!…and was that Sammy Piazza whippin’ up a platter of Ga xao gu’ng in the back room?…now if we can only get Jack to tone down the bamboo zither
( with wah-wah pedal! )music during dinner service, I think you got a culinary winner over there, Captain!
Great post from Jorma and quotes from Vanessa.
Today is also “World Teachers’ Day”.
Happy World Teachers’ Day to the teachers who post here on the comments section.
There are at least two that I know of. One of them is ham’neggs.
Mrs. ham’neggs is also a teacher. I sent a “Happy World Teachers’ Day” to h&e,
he didn’t know about this Day, celebrating the work of teachers.
He and Mrs. ham’neggs are busy. Teaching.
They don’t seek admiration, don’t think that they are special.
I admire them very much.
My cousin befriended 2 Vietnamese women back around 1990. When I went to visit their traditional hospitality led to them producing these bowls of vegetables and broth. You could see the green veggies etc were not any can of Campbell’s soup and this was a main source of nourishment for them.
Right on!
Looking forward to the show tonight at the Beacon. Will be special to see you open the show and then join them for a bit. Last night’s Tedeschi Trucks Band show was really great with Dave Mason and Eric Krasno contributing. Can’t wait to see you jamming with Derek tonight!