I can't believe I didn't see this thread before. Pho is one of my all time favorite meals.

In SF, I'm a big fan of PPQ out on 19th and Irving, though it varies in quality from night to night. Pho Hoa in the tenderloin has also been good (note - this is not the same Pho Hoa as the San Jose based chain). The SF Chronicle ran a great article on local pho places a few years ago:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...DGRN9HG5P1.DTL

Outside of SF, I love Pho Van in Portland (on SE 82nd). Portlanders tend to have mixed opinions on Pho Van - it has a number of satellite locations around town and is known for serving fairly small portions. Still, I love that it is still family owned and I think the pho broth at the 82nd location is consistently good. It can be difficult to find great pho broth and Pho Van seems to at least be able to keep it consistent.