I'd driven past Pho Lena dozens of times and always thought I had to get in there to check it out. It's a small, stand alone family restaurant located a block down Spenard Avenue from the REI/Tidal Wave strip mall.
It had all the right ingredients for a great dining experience: housed in an old, run down shack in a not quite gentrified part of town and usually busy. I finally made it in a couple months ago and I've been back a half dozen times since. Pho Lena may be my new favorite restaurant.
Pho Lena is a Laotian restaurant with a sprawling menu. The way I describe Laotian food is that it is northeastern Thai food with some Vietnamese and French influences that is the result of the years Laos was a French colony. You have thai curries, but you also have clear soups and baguettes with pate. It's fairly ecclectic, and the menu reflects that ranging complexity. I actually think they could shorten the down a bit.
My favorite item on the menu is their Lao style BBQ wings. It is the closest thing I've seen to good Southeast Asian street food in the US. The wings are and brassy and are a step above the neutered drummettes with Frank's Hot Sauce most other restaurants serve.
The curries are outstanding. All the appetizers are made in house and I've tried them all and would order any of them again. The stuffed wings are especially nice, as are the banh mi (those bagette sandwiches we can thank the French for). Their Pho can go toe to toe with any other I've tried in Anchorage.
Also pictured here are the fried spicy pork spare ribs, which are really pan fried with a bunch of fresh green beans and Thai eggplant. And please note the sticky rice. This is my favorite type of rice, common to northern Thailand and Laos but rarely available elsewhere. Pho Lena is the only place I've seen it available around town. That alone is reason enough for me to come back.
Pho Lena has delicious, interesting, authentic food for low prices. The little shack on Spenard Avenue has become my fall back setting for Anchorage dining.
