Pho 88

So following on the heels of the trend of Chinatown restos to try to renovate and look ultra-chic in order to attract more customers, is Pho 88. It used to be a hole, though a good one. Now it's all sleek granite and leather, ooh la la look. One thing that really pegs you off that it's working for them is that the Asian clientele are in the minority, which, of course, SHOULD be the first sign that the restaurant isn't as good as it could be.
Case in point: Food was quite disappointing; ungenerous proportions, not very well seasoned. Service was appalling, even by Chinatown standards: my friend's bean sprouts for her pho were actually offered to be taken away, and very nearly were, even though she hadn't gotten to them yet! Furthermore, our sauce caddy was actually taken away from us before we had finished eating to be put on a white person's table! Finally (even though I don't think this is a huge point, it was for my dining companion), they were quite disturbed by the English 80s pop music as the background noise in the restaurant; clearly meant for their target market, but very offputting.
Though the ambience is quite nice, the food was not that good, the service was terrible, and, I guess, the music's bad. We decided that the white people can have this one; we'll continue going to our regular haunts...