Esther Davidowitz, NorthJersey.com Published 6:18 a.m. ET Jan. 7, 2020
Beef Pho at Ma Mi Eatery, Closter
Pho at Ma Mi Eatery in Tenafly (Photo: Ma Mi Eatery)
Owner/chef Joseph Diovisalvo admits he did not attend culinary school. "My mom, who was born in Vietnam, was my own culinary school," said the Cliffside Park resident. He and his mom K. T. Tran together own Simply Vietnamese, a casual Vietnamese restaurant in Tenafly; Diovisalvo ("Not a very Vietnamese name," he quipped. "My father is Italian") went on his own to open Ma Mi. He learned how to make pho, the popular Vietnamese soup that's similar to ramen, from his mom, who learned it from her mom.
"We have not changed anything in 40 years," he said.
To what does he credit the success of his soup? "Time and care," he said. "The broth takes seven hours to cook." The beef pho filled with thinly sliced top-round beef is the restaurant's most popular soup. But consider too the spicy jerk beef that contains shredded beef that has been stir-fried in a spicy marinade.
Go: 546 Durie Ave., Closter; 201-660-7826, mamieatery.com.
