IN VAN NUYS, VIETNAMESE VALUE.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

In addition to its being an incredible value, the Vietnamese food of Pho So 1 provides fun for the whole family.

Expanding from its successful run locally in Reseda and elsewhere, a new fourth location is doing capacity business in Van Nuys.

The other Pho So 1 locations are in Alhambra and Las Vegas.

For those unfamiliar with Vietnamese fare, pho is the name for a variety of beef noodle soup offerings.

Here they have 23 options priced from $3.85 to $4.25, each being a meal-size portion. Diners choose single beef items or combinations of rare steak, flank steak cooked rare or well done, brisket cooked rare or well, and tendon and tripe.

The noodle types vary somewhat. Egg and rice noodles appear to be prevalent.

And for those that shy away from it, there's more than just beef here.

If you order chao huyet heo ($3.95), for example, you'll get a bowl big enough for two or more filled with broth, pieces of chicken and a load of thin, glasslike rice noodles. Accompanying the soup is a dish containing bean sprouts and cilantro to add texture and flavor.

Rarely do diners receive a single plate or bowl of food per order.

When you request a menu item at this casual cafe, be prepared for cups of dipping sauces, especially the traditional fish sauce (nuoc mam), and bowls filled with bean sprouts, cucumber, basil, mint and lettuce leaves.

Often you'll receive a stack of those extremely thin rice crepes appropriately called rice paper.

With them, diners can wrap ingredients inside and then wrap the whole thing in lettuce or stuff the lettuce inside the crepe with whatever other ingredient is handy.

If you order any of the dishes numbered 100 through 103, a flaming griddle contraption allows you to do your own tabletop cooking.

No. 102 was our choice, which brought forth a platter of thin-sliced raw beef and raw shrimp that had been marinated with lemongrass and sprinkled with peanuts and green onion.

This was, of course, in addition to dipping sauces and leafy accompaniments.

Cooking the shrimp at the table turned out to be especially gratifying.

Its marinade imparted great flavor. Each shrimp, sensibly butterflied, could be plucked from the top of the griddle, immediately devoured enjoyably hot, smoky and crunchy.

Decisions must be made. Should the shrimp be wrapped in rice paper or not, dipped in sauce or not, paired with the cooked beef or not, or combined with lettuce or other leafy goodies?

It really doesn't matter. The fact is it tastes darn good.

And you're having a total foodie adventure.

Need a boost? Bottles of hoisin and red chile sauce on each table provide even more options for sweet or spicy flavoring.

You are the chef. You can't blame the cooking on anyone but yourself.

Sear your thin-sliced beef or cook it until it has smoky carbon marks on its well-cooked surface.

It's a beef fancier's paradise.

The featured meal here at Pho So 1, as at most Vietnamese cafes, is the seven courses of beef ($11.99).

It begins with beef salad, follows with a bowl of beef soup with rice noodles, then raw slices of beef ready for tabletop cooking fondue-style using a hot vinegar sauce.

They'll bring forth a platter of spheres and sausage shapes of ground beef in various forms, and also beef that's skewered, grilled, even steamed.

A Vietnamese-style pasta and pork (or more beef, if you wish) dish with rice vermicelli noodles worth trying is called bun cha gio thit nuong ($4.50)

This comes with those delicious rice-paper eggrolls.

Have you ever heard of Vietnamese ham?

It's a processed cold cut that's nothing like domestic ham. It's served in thickish slices and is quite nice.

Note that it comes on a dish titled banh cuon nhan thit cha lua with delicate, tiny, rice spring rolls filled with minced, seasoned pork ($4).

Now, if you really want to make your meal here a true Southeast Asian culinary happening, pick the durian shake ($1.75) for dessert.

Durian is an unusual, very ripe-smelling fruit that tastes delicious, but can be a bit too much on the nose. In fact, leaving durian in a hotel room in Singapore is against the law.

However, here in Van Nuys, durian just adds to the adventure.

PHO SO 1

Where: 6450 Sepulveda Blvd., Van Nuys.

When: Open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks from 9 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. daily.

Recommended items: Seven courses of beef, rice noodle soup with chicken, charbroiled pork and egg roll with rice vermicelli and vegetable, special pork rice paper roll with Vietnamese-style ham, beef and shrimp marinated with lemongrass and cooked with table-top griddle, durian shake.

How much: Everything under $12, most dishes under $5. Beer. MC, V.

Wine list: No wines. Domestic and imported beers.

Reservations: Taken. Call [phone].

Our rating: Three and one half stars for food; Three stars for service; Four stars for value.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2) Chefs Dung Tran, top left, and Michael Trang stand behind restaurant owners Kieu Tan Truoc, left, and Denny Tran at Pho So 1 in Van Nuys, where diners can order the seven courses of beef house specialty. Bottom right, if you order the seven courses of beef, be prepared to cook the meat to your own taste, fondue-style, right at the table.

(3) Steamed shrimp rolled in rice paper with peanut sauce is one of the offerings at Pho So 1.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer