There’s something about a 40-degree February day in Maine that demands recognition of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

And when I find myself needing recovery from a late night, warmth against the winter wind or a reminder of the alchemical, I usually end up steering in the same direction: down Main Street in Biddeford, nearly to the river, for a bowl of pho.

What could be more simple in description or more alchemical in a bowl than meat, noodles, broth and garnish? But at Que Huong, it’s so much more.

There’s a menu full of appetizers, Vietnamese dishes like bun (vermicelli) and even solid Thai entrees. But I am nearly always there for old reliable No. 18, Pho Xe Lua – a bowl of soup the size of a train.

If you’re not a pho regular, the customization is half the fun. You’ll be served a plate of garnishes: lime, basil, cilantro, bean sprouts, sometimes chilies. And the table is stocked with even more: garlic chili paste, sriracha, hoisin, soy sauce. Add as your fancy dictates, but be warned, the broth here needs very little extra.

Made from beef bones, charred aromatics and a dizzying array of spices, clear pho broth is shockingly deceptive. Only the bubbles give away the richness and depth of flavor. Try the broth alone first. The protein rush will hit you all at once. The xe lua comes chock full of Vietnamese meatballs, tender flank steak and rare eye of round, added just at the last second before your steaming train-bowl is delivered to the table.

All the soups are available with white (rice) or yellow (egg) noodles, but I always get the white and happily alternate slurping broth, crunching sprouts, picking out beef and stuffing myself with noodles. If you’re like me and you add some chile paste and sriracha, the steaming bowl will get spicier and spicier as you eat. I tend to go through about four ice waters a visit.

And by the time I have finished all that food and drink, I usually have a new outlook on the day, at least. Like the right song on the radio or 40 degrees and some sunshine, sometimes a perfect bowl of pho is enough to change your outlook completely.

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