A brand new wing: Pho Saigon, Amherst

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These cats have come up with a great new way to sell chicken wings in Buffalo - they’ve got chops. So to speak.

My review of Pho Saigon (1551 Niagara Falls Blvd. Amherst, in the Burlington Coat plaza) made it into the News on Friday.

I’ve been back a few times since I wrote the piece, and I have to say that those chicken wings have been a consistent treat for people experiencing the place for the first time.

I also have to add a special plug for the “Hot & Sour Soup with Catfish,” canh chua ca, which I thought was a real standout dish. No, it won’t transport you back to the rice paddies of the Mekong Delta or anything mystical.

You can’t see the tender catfish slices lurking in its depths.

It’s just a terrific introduction to the Vietnamese joy in dishes that range across your palate with sweet, salty, spicy, rich flavors. The spicy broth is laced with pineapple. The catfish steaks in its depth are topped with crunchy fried shallots. It’s accompanied by a saucer of funky-sweet fish sauce laced with dried chili shrapnel.

I had fancier dishes there too - testament to the broadness of Pho Saigon’s menu - but was simply satisfied, not wowed. A crispy duck with mango sported nicely crisped skin, but it wasn’t a dish I’ve longed for again.

Crispy duck with mango and peanut sauce - a dish that would have turned my head at many places is an also-ran here.

Who’d have thought I could acquire a hankering for catfish soup, and chicken wings without a hint of Frank’s? Score one for Pho Saigon.

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Filed under appetizers, poultry, restaurants, seafood, soup