By Abigayl Martin

REXBURG — When Wayne Vitali looked at the restaurant selection in Rexburg, Idaho, he didn’t see a lot of diversity. He grew up in Southern California, where he was exposed to cuisines from throughout the world, such as Indian, Korean and Italian, right in his backyard

“Food in Rexburg has always been lacking,” Vitali said. 

During his five years living in Rexburg, Vitali realized he couldn’t live without Pho, one of his favorite meals growing up. Pho is a soup dish originating in Vietnam. This longing inspired Vitali to open the Kingdom of Pho in March of this year. 

According to the Kingdom of Pho website, Every bowl of the beef bone broth comes with a plentiful helping of rice noodles, white onions, and green onions. Sides include cilantro, Thai basil, bean sprouts, lime, and (upon request) jalapeños. Vitali says Pho is one of his favorites because it’s healthy and made from scratch, but is also filling and energetic. 

While the restaurant is best known for its Pho, the restaurant has other options for those with less adventurous pallets such as rice bowls, Bahn Mi (a Vietnamese sandwich), bao (steamed buns with barbecue pork) and shrimp and pork dumplings. 

Preparing Pho is an all-day process for Vitali. The most time-consuming aspect is the broth. Every day, Vitali goes to the local butcher to retrieve beef bone, the source of the broth’s flavor. Vitali adds spices such as cinnamon bark, cloves, cardamom and fennel to give the broth its signature taste. 

The entire process takes about eight hours, but Vitali says its worth it to provide the people of Rexburg with good food. 

“Eating is the thing you do most on a regular basis,” Vitali said. “If it’s not enjoyable, well then you’re day is going to suck.” 

Vitali and his wife hope to bring other types of healthy and tasty food to Rexburg and diversify Rexburg’s restaurant scene. 

You can learn more about the Kingdom of Pho (including its menu) at its website.