Over the past five years, three different significant others have attempted to teach me how to use chopsticks.

One partner even took me to a hip NYC Thai restaurant, hoping to embarrass me into learning over a plate of chicken pad thai. I awkwardly picked at a few noodles, then used the chopsticks to signal the waiter to bring me a take-home box, please. Then, while my SO was at work the next day, I shamefacedly forked up the leftovers.

Thankfully, no such humiliating experience awaited me at Pho, a new Vietnamese restaurant located in a former McDonald’s on U.S. 31-W By-Pass. While you’re welcome to eat your meal traditionally with chopsticks, dinners are served with forks alongside. My uncoordinated self was delighted.

Two co-workers and I arrived just before noon and were seated in a half-full restaurant. We had plenty of time to scrutinize the menu, because it took nearly 10 minutes for a waitress to stop by for our order. I had water and “marinated beef with fried rice, lettuce and tomato,” another co-worker ordered tea with condensed milk (it made her feel “warm and fuzzy inside,” she said) and chicken with broccoli, and the third diner had coffee with sweetened condensed milk and “marinated beef with salad.” For an appetizer, we chose Saigon-style pancakes with pork.

Another 20 minutes went by while we chatted with sources lunching there and looked around at the restaurant’s decor, which I loved. The ceiling is painted to look like a summer sky puffy with clouds, and brightly colored artificial flowers are everywhere. Two walls are made up of banks of windows, which lends it an airy feel. I also liked the geisha dolls lined up on a shelf above the drink station.

We bantered back and forth, daring each other to drink the fish sauce, until our appetizer arrived. It looked like an omelet stuffed with pork, bean sprouts and a few stray shrimp, and it was absolutely delicious. I found a few chopped-up leeks inside, too, which gave it a nice flavor. It came with a little bowl of sweet-and-sour sauce, which complemented the dish nicely.

We didn’t get much time to enjoy it, because our meals followed the appetizer by about a minute. No matter – those marinated beef cubes were amazing. My beef-eating co-worker and I agree: The meat was tender and juicy, done enough to be browned but not overcooked, and flavored wonderfully. The cubes were served on a bed of lettuce, tomatoes and onions, which my coworker tells me were wonderful. (Go figure – this food critic doesn’t like tomatoes or onions.)

The other co-worker suffered a brief letdown when our waitress told her the kitchen was out of broccoli. Ever the sport, she said mixed vegetables were fine, and a short time later was served a plate containing red peppers, mushrooms, chicken, carrots and a green leafy vegetable we didn’t recognize. At first she was dubious of the odiferous concoction, but enjoyed it very much once she started eating.

The menu at Pho is quite extensive, with its offerings divided into several categories: chicken, vegetable, rice dishes, casseroles, pork, beef, seafood, appetizers, vermicelli, pho, pan egg noodles and house special dishes. Pho, in case you’re wondering, is a big ol’ bowl of soup served with pretty much whatever you want. There are 19 varieties listed on the menu.

I truly wish I was brave enough to sample some of the restaurant’s truly Vietnamese cuisine: frog with curry, squid and “crispy fried intestine.” The drink menu also contains some Asian refreshments: salty plum soda, Tsingtao (Chinese beer), an unnamed Japanese beer, and salty lemonade soda.

To further flavor your eats, each table has a tray stocked with fish sauce, soy sauce, three kinds of chili sauce and Hoisin sauce, which my co-worker says is for the pho.

Although Pho has a small offering of desserts, I was craving something crispy, so we swung by the Asian grocery store on Broadway for some Dragonfly Wafer Sticks and my new favorite drink, Boing! guava juice. I’ve placed the strawberry-flavored wafer sticks on my desk, with the “nutrition information” side pressed firmly against the wall. No one needs to see that.

Anyway, slow service aside, we enjoyed our lunch at Pho very much. This was the second time we’d eaten there, and I’m fairly confident the restaurant will join Moe’s, Puerto Vallarta, Buffalo Wild Wings and Kyoto in the weekly Daily News lunch rotation. The food is plentiful, the atmosphere is great, and the price is nice – one can easily fill up for less than $10.

– Tomatoes and onions never did anything to our anonymous restaurant reviewer. Send comments to Managing Editor Mike Alexieff at 783-3235. New restaurants will be given an eight-week grace period.

Pho

1423 US 31-W By-pass

783-4110

Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Price range: $2.50 for appetizers to $18.99 for the combination “meat and seafood fire pot”

Libation situation: Several varieties of beer

Smoking: No