I just had way too much fun coming up with the title for this entry.  I could have written the entire entry giggling over all the potential titles alone.  But I would risk having it just be awkward as you, the reader, impatiently tolerated my cracking myself up.  Maybe I’ll just have to eat more pho so I can use the other titles in the future.

And now for the pho at hand.  I love noodle soups: pho, ramen, etc.  They can be tricky to eat, but for the most part, they are just so darn delicious- and excellent comfort food.  Here’s my beef (brisket) with pho.  Or at least all the pho places I’ve visited recently.  They all provide a supply of napkins, condiments, and eating utensils at the table.  This includes a supply of cheap, thick, plastic chopsticks.

These chopsticks are simply not ideal for consuming noodle soups.  There’s no sense of precision or traction, which is pretty much the point of using chopsticks (granted, for those who have become proficient in using them). You grab a bunch of noodles and immediately some or all of the noodles start their slippery retreat back into the broth. 

Now to be fair, it had been a while since I’d had pho, so I dutifully went out to do some research to confirm my stance.  At first, I actually had a fairly decent time consuming the noodles.  I started re-thinking this entry… until, that is, a renegade noodle bee-lined it out of my chopsticks and swan-dived back into the broth.  This then resulted in a spectacular splash which proceeded rather cartoonishly to squirt me squarely in the right eye.   My eating partner laughed hysterically at me.  When I had recovered from the assault, I harrumphed and exclaimed, “See! That’s what I’m talking about!!!”

I realized afterwards that this problem is actually worse when eating udon noodles.  Udon noodles are thicker, heavier, and more slippery than pho noodles.  That combination is a serious risk for renegade noodles. 

I have actually asked for takeout chopsticks before so that I could use a pair of utensils with a higher coefficient of friction on them.  I’m sure there must be various chopstick designs that include a variety of grips for both the hand end and the food end.  In fact, I own a set of wooden chopsticks with etched ridges in the tips.  If I served noodle soups to someone, I would certainly consider offering them a set of chopsticks with some grip to them.  Now if only a restaurant could do the same – that would be a place I’d consider visiting often!