Mo Pho Noodles

[Jason Perlow]

I don't think KT is going to have any lack of demand for her product in Fort Lee. Koreans and Japanese (I.E. 90 percent of her customers in Fort Lee) are crazy for that kind of food. Saigon R in Englewood succeeds primarily as a result of her excellent food, the place otherwise is highly undesireable as a location and for comfortability factor for diners. Yes, Joe is a huge asset, I agree -- but its mainly because of his great personality -- which for the most part is going to be wasted on the clientele in Fort Lee if he moves there.

[jhlurie]

Also, I believe her Cresskill restaurant was a LONG time ago. She's gained some experience as a restauranteer since then.

Demand is a big factor. Fort Lee has killed a lot of restaurants, it's true, but it's also let a lot of them--with the right formula--succeed. I'm not going to second guess KT--really the most I can do is tell people the food is good and let them go or not as they please.

Also, it's not like Joe isn't available to her. If his advice is important, he's only a phone call away. If the argument is that it's just his mere physical presence which causes the magic to occur... that's a strange argument.

[menton1]

Joe is more than a great personality-- KT acknowledged that she owes the success of the restaurant to him, back in the burgeoning days. Joe knows how to space reservations, and knows all the little nuances that diners appreciate; lots of napkins for the appetizers (had to ask for more at Mo Pho) fast water refills (had to ask at Mo Pho) keeps you updated if he feels you are waiting too long for your food, and always apologizes-- also it's his doing that the recitation of the specials always includes the price-- something Egers have railed about at most other restaurants not providing prices of specials. And so on....

Joe wouldn't be wasted at Mo Pho, but his personality probably would be!

Hope he stays at Saigon!

[Jason Perlow]

Joe is already doing a lot of work over at Mo Pho, he is frequently there making sure the place is stocked up correctly and the deliveries are occuring and working with the suppliers... that's 90 percent of managing the place right there.

[menton1]

And, as far as Air conditioning goes, remember, Autumn is just around the corner!! (Arrgh!)

[Jason Perlow]

New menu item: The "Crazy Mo' Pho"

This is a king-sized bowl of Pho with 5 toppings.

This one has rare beef, chicken, shrimp, beef balls, and ribs.

[Rachel Perlow]

Jay Leno made fun of Mo'Pho's name during the headlines portion of a recent episode of The Tonight Show. Here he is holding the Mo'Pho menue with his comment, I suppose it was funnier taken in context. He apparently suggested that the owners of the restaurant, being immigrants, didn't know the full meaning of the name. The joke's on Jay, as far as I'm concerned. We're working on getting a downloadable clip of the segment.

[menton1]

Jay must be desperate for a laugh...

Edited December 8, 2004 by menton1 (log)

[tommy]

Jay must be desperate for a laugh...

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this stuff is usually sent in by viewers, and i don't doubt sometimes by people interested in getting the particular product's name out. not to suggest that this is the case with Mo Pho, but obviously it was sent in by someone who thought the name was funny. and we all do. jay's "punch line", however, isn't nearly as funny as most of us could have come up with. perhaps we should have a thread on possible punch lines for jay.

[hillbill]

Jay must be desperate for a laugh...

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this stuff is usually sent in by viewers, and i don't doubt sometimes by people interested in getting the particular product's name out. not to suggest that this is the case with Mo Pho, but obviously it was sent in by someone who thought the name was funny. and we all do. jay's "punch line", however, isn't nearly as funny as most of us could have come up with. perhaps we should have a thread on possible punch lines for jay.

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Perhaps we should take up a collection to buy Jay a funny bone.

[Rachel Perlow]

I know that KT didn't send it in. In fact, they only found out about it when a friend of her son called at midnight to tell them about what he had just seen. KT was watching Letterman at the time!

[tommy]

it occurs to me that it's very likely that a very small percentage of jay's audience has any idea what pho is to begin with. the joke was probably a bigger flop than we think.

[pbrodsky]

I don't think it COULD be a bigger flop than we think.