Over the weekend we walked into the cash-only Than Bros. pho restaurant on Broadway, ordered a small bowl, and were charged $5.42, a price increase as yet unreflected on their online menu. We don't remember the specific passage in Revelations where the high price of pho is called out, but we're sure it's there. A friend of ours was just reminiscing about the days of the $3.87 small bowl with tears in his eyes. At these prices, we're likely to start expecting broth instead of that watery brownish stuff we use as a base for the plum sauce. Tomorrow night we're going to hear Paul Krugman speak at Town Hall on "The Return of Depression Economics"--we'll ask what pho used to cost in '33 and report back. more ›

Seattlest has been obsessed with soups lately (it's not quite cold enough for stew). Today we tucked into Than Bros. chicken pho (small, $4.75). Tuesday it was Von's Three Meat Soup (a hearty, verging-on-stew bowlful, $6.95). more ›