A while back, I announced I was going to be conducting a taste test of one of my favorite comfort foods: pho.

That great Vietnamese soup just like my dearly departed Jewish grandma used to make. Well, not quite. But a decent substitute.

As I mentioned, I usually partake at this restaurant near home in Lancaster, Pa. I was going to see how this fabulously hearty version compared to the real thing in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

It didn’t take long to find a pho place in the neighborhood where I was renting a room. It was right around the corner.

Nothing like pho for breakfast.

And the verdict? Surprisingly, the soup in the homeland was watery and blah.

I even tried some at another place, where Bill Clinton stopped in. It wasn’t any better.

Sorry, Bill. Lancaster wins hands down. Just goes to show …

Re: The headline — why travel? Because then I wouldn’t have gotten to see any of Vietnam. That’s the rest of the feast I’ll be talking about a little later on.

Planet Lippstone is headed for Iceland — with a new computer packed with Windows 8. (I know; what was I thinking).

See ya soon if conditions and computer cooperate. And have A Merry.