It's a well-known phenomenon that once a person becomes a superstar, they only need one name. There is the artist who was formerly known as just Prince, before he became The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, and then funny, unpronouncable squiggly line. There is Madonna. There are the soccer players Raul and Pele. And then there's yours truly, Munch.

And at one time, there was Lucy Nguyen who was better known just as Lucy. Lucy peddled the famous Vietnamese sandwich banh mi, Vietnamese equivalent of the Primanti Bros., in front of My Ngoc for a handful of years. On Munch's jaunts through the Strip, Munch occasionally picked up one of these hoagies -- a chewy French baguette stuffed with pork, pickled vegetables and jalapenos (this was not for the faint of heart).

Pho Van is at 2120 Penn Ave. Call them at 412-281-7999.

But the place that anchored the famous Lucy, My Ngoc, pulled a Prince. After it was My Ngoc, it was Que Huong. Lucy was replaced by a man who serves equally delicious banh mi. And by the time Munch arrived earlier this week, it had morphed once again into Pho Van, even though a temporary sign announcing the grand opening of Que Huong still hung above the restaurant, covering the My Ngoc sign, which was still visible.

The menu was similarly puzzling, containing 27 items: 22 "Appertizers" and five "Drink," yes "Drink," singular. OK, so maybe they need a copy editor. Munch knows a few. (They also offer some standard Chinese-American fare. But we stuck to the Vietnamese food.)

Munch rolled large this time, with Colorful Footwear Friend of Munch, on this day donning blue oxfords, and Father of CFFOM, Short Intern Friend of Munch and Tall Intern Friend of Munch. And Munch worried a little that dinner would break the budget.

The valiant FOM's started off with a couple of, um, appertizers. First the Cha Gio ($3 for two) or crispy spring rolls and Goi Cuon ($3 for two), fresh spring rolls with shrimp, pork, noodles and herbs. The crispy springs rolls came out fried to absolute perfection and were stuffed with pork, shrimp and crunchy vegetables. It was perhaps the best deep-fried spring roll to ever pass Munch's lips. The fresh rolls were almost as delicious, filled with fragrant Asian herbs and served with a salty sweet chili and hoisin sauce.

Intrigued, Munch ordered the Banh Cuon Cha Lua ($6.99) (it's a mouthful), which was described as a "steamed rice crepe." Munch expected the French variety, but out came a semi-gelatinous, sort of noodle-y formation with what looked like lunch meat -- yes lunch meat -- sliced in crescent moons on top. The whole table hazarded a guess: was it Spam? Turkey? Munch dug in and was pleasantly surprised. The lunch meat-looking stuff was actually scrumptious steamed pork, served on top of the starchy goodness of the rice crepe. Topping it all off was deep-fried garlic, which provided a surprising crunch.

Next came noodles, and lots of them, along with a dizzying array of accompanying sauces and herbs. There was the Bun Bo Xao Xa ($7), rice noodles topped with herbs, vegetables and sliced lemongrass beef and served with a vinegar-based dressing. There was the Banh Tam Bi Nuoc Dua ($7.50) (say it five times fast), thick rice noodles cooked slightly al dente (how do you say al dente in Vietnamese?) and topped with coconut milk, and finally, the Pho Dac Biet ($8.50), beef noodle soup with several parts of the cow.

All were delicious, a perfect symphony of flavors. Father of CFFOM commented on the subtlety of the herbs and spices of the Pho Dac Biet, calling it "really rewarding." (You might say it was ... pho-nomenal?) And the soup -- topped with crunchy bean sprouts and anise-flavored holy basil leaves -- proved refreshing despite the stifling heat outside. It contained the perfect amount of tripe, which is to say, not too much of it.

The Intern Friends of Munch, who are paid mostly in office doughnuts and butter cream-frosted retirement cakes, happily chowed down. It was TIFOM's first encounter with Vietnamese food, and she said she was impressed, if not a little frightened at least initially by the fleshy-colored mystery meat that turned out, to her great relief, to be pork. The Banh Tam Bi Nuoc Dua (it's exhausting just to type), served with a heavenly reduced coconut sauce, was a particular hit with SIFOM.

The waiter, unfortunately, forgot one dish, though what was delivered proved to be enough for five. Then came the most shocking part: the check. All this food tallied up to $38.22. Since spelling (and drinking), not math, is the journalist's strong suit, nobody had the arithmetic skills (Do you carry the zero? And then take the derivative?) to double-check the bill anyhow.

Now Munch realizes that with the Munchdom comes a great deal of power and Munch tries to wield it sparingly, and with benevolence. But Munch feels like this is a time to whip out the Jedi Mind Tricks: eat here. Pho Van serves amazing, delicious, economical food with a menu the 'Burgh has never seen the likes of, and given the slow pace of business Munch saw, it's at risk for going away. So eat here. Yes, the service is slow and the ambience is, well, lacking, but in good company this is not such a bad thing. And your patience, palate and wallet are certainly rewarded.

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