Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Nguyen.
Hi Chris, we’d love for you to start by telling us about your restaurant.
Manh (Joseph) Nguyen had worked in a steel mill for 30 years as a corporate metallographer. Manh always had a passion for cooking and an affinity for Vietnamese and French cuisine in particular. For years, he would drive several hours to Washington, D.C. for a good bowl of pho, and by the early 2000s, he decided it was time for a career change. In 2002, he opened Superior Pho focusing his passion on Vietnamese pho. His desire to serve Cleveland’s best bowl was unrelenting. There is a story often told among family members about how he messed up an enormous stock pot of pho and dumped the entire thing without hesitation because “it was not right.” He was his own toughest critic.
After serving some local food celebrities, Superior Pho’s name started gaining notoriety among the cohort of Cleveland’s best chefs. Word spread that Manh had a penchant for cooking French food as well as off-menu Vietnamese classics, and he began hosting private dinners for Cleveland restaurant’s top brass. Superior Pho’s reputation was thus cemented into Cleveland’s history.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road has not been smooth. We have dealt with fires, flooding, burglary, lack of staff, and so much more. Volatile costs of inventory have made profitability extremely difficult. Properly pricing menu items through the pandemic had been all but impossible, and it seems as though there are new competitors opening every 6 months.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Superior Pho Vietnamese Restaurant?
We are a Vietnamese Pho restaurant famous for our noodle soups and banh mi sandwiches. We pride ourselves on quality of food, authenticity, speed of service, and consistency. We are most proud of embracing diversity among our staff and our ability to deliver an exceptional experience to our guests.
We want our customers to know that we are so much more than great pho. Our grilled marinated pork dishes and our pork chops are great summery foods and can be enjoyed year-round. Our banh mi sandwiches are top-notch and have been recognized as such in Esquire Magazine, Foodnetwork Magazine, Buzzfeed, and many other publications. We also offer the majority of our menu for catering parties, office luncheons, corporate events, and more.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory was spending warm summer days down by J’s pond in the Cleveland Metroparks. We used to go fishing, canoeing, and shoot BB guns and slingshots down in the forested area surrounding the pond.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.superiorpho.com/
- Instagram: @superiorpho
- Twitter: @superiorpho
Image Credits
Burklehagen
