Golden Deli in San Gabriel has been open since the ’80s, and there are still lines trailing out the front door of this family-run restaurant six days a week (it looks like a sneaker drop in a SGV strip mall). That’s what happens when you’re a staple on every phở guide in the greater LA area—deservedly so—and also serve excellent chả giò with fried wrappers that crackle under your teeth like honeycomb. The menu at Golden Deli is more than 100 items long, but everyone, from whole families to couples in matching PacSun hoodies, can be found steaming their faces over basil-laced phở and munching on fried egg rolls. Golden Deli’s comforting pho broth is so light it’s nearly translucent, with little puddles of fat floating at the surface. The blistered, cigar-sized chả giò are a must-order, too. You can get them solo, over cold vermicelli, or, if with a group, as part of a finger food platter with grilled pork and squeaky shrimp loaf. On weekends, you might spend as much time in line as you do eating at Golden Deli, which, in theory, sounds ridiculous. (Tip: wait times at their second location in Temple City are usually half as long.) But waiting for Golden Deli’s phở beats traffic on the way to Little Saigon, especially when we know a bowl here will be as dependably excellent, just as it was a dozen times before.