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Recently went to newly opened Lotus Cafe in DTSS, and thought it was pretty good. Since my Vietnamese cuisine knowledge isn't very much at all I wanted to know what others thought? When we went we tried the summer rolls, combo of grilled, skewered meat (this one was one of my favorites), chicken pho (this broth was FANTASTIC, but again maybe that's cause I haven't had a lot of pho), curry chicken and cashew chicken. We weren't the most daring at ordering but it was our first time there and so stayed safe. Has anyone else been? What did you think? Am I alone in being a Lotus Cafe lover? -
A thread to discuss the glories of Pho! I'd like to kick it off with a mention of Pho that I had recently found in an unlikely place, then wrote about, and shamelessly cross-posted, right down to the emoticons. On Monday The Froggy Bottom Pub of all places has the best Pho I've yet tasted. Granted, that's not that much Pho to compare against: I haven't been to 4 Sisters yet for example, but this was good stuff, I'm sure, by any standards. Apparently they do a brisk trade (Or just don't make enough!), as they were sold out by the time I got there last week with the friend who told me about it, and this past Monday they had but one bowl left, which the friend and I split along with an order of pork egg rolls. Sounds like they have one meat, which I'm pretty sure was round eye. So, Froggy's Pho had everything going that a good bowl of Pho should, and is available all day Monday. Added bonus: fun absurdity of going at it sticks and bowls amidst a packed and somewhat rowdy house of Monday 'half price pizza and pitcher special night' -goers. Not that they have the wrong idea nessesarily: Froggy has good pizza! --- [The following posts have been split into separate threads. The posts that were split concentrate on single Pho houses; anything comparative, e.g., comparing Pho Hot with Pho 75, is left in this thread.] Pho Hot (MartyL) Pho 88 (youngfood) Pho Hong Anh (squidsdc) Pho Thang Long (jparrott) Pho Bistro (cigarnv) Saigon Bistro (squidsdc) Pho Hiep Hoa (JPW) Pho N More (Ericandblueboy) Pho Hoa Binh (ALB) Pho 75 (jparrott) Pho Capital (Sundae in the Park) Pho Tay Ho (RWBooneJr.) Pho 50 (The Delicious) Pho Sate (The Hersch) Pho An (DonRocks) Vinh Loi (NolaCaine)
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Pho 75 in Rosslyn. Metro to Courthouse, about a 10-15 minute walk downhill. Have a small bowl, then a steak at Ray's, then pay your respect's to Dremo's before it closes with a few pints to wash it down. Hops are a digestif, natch. -
On the advice of my Vietnamese barber, who knows a thing or two about Vietnamese food, I tried Pho 495 today for lunch. Emblazoned on the menu is "Best Vietnamese Noodle Soup in Northern Virginia' (or words to that effect) and I am inclined to accept that assertion. I had the No. 1 beef combo with added meatballs, and I was very impressed. This was a deeply rich and hearty broth, easily simmered for a very long time based on how much deep flavor and complexity it displayed. It was loaded with all the basic bits and pieces -- tripe, tendon, cartilage, beef pieces and the added meatballs. I can't say that I've had any better at all the various places I've tasted pho in northern Virginia, and I'm not stretching the truth. Too bad we're nearing the kind of weather where I tend to avoid hot soups, but I know I'll be back often in the autumn, or the next time we have a raw, rainy day. 7215 Commerce Street, Springfield www.pho495.com -
Happy to report that Pho Binh's location in the Heights offers "The Original" banh mi (off menu, but advertised on signs around the restaurant & on the cash register), which is essentially a cold-cut and paté sandwich. Grabbed one the other day for lunch. You're going to have a hard time finding a better way of spending $5.50 for lunch elsewhere in the city. Fantastic on its own, the flavors popped that much more with an easy shake of fish sauce and a thin line of Sriracha. I can also vouch for the lemongrass beef banh mi and the pork/spring roll bun. I am slightly embarrassed that I have yet to try the pho, especially considering the possibility of the roasted bone marrow add-on. Soon...soon. -
Great lunch today at Nam Eatery in the Heights. This is a clean (both in terms of sanitation and in decor), brightly lit joint with an unfortunate "umsa-umsa" dance music soundtrack playing. We had just finished a school tour with the 3-year old, and despite the hot & humid weather, he opted for the child's-sized pho with meatballs and a homemade passion fruit limeade. The pho was a great size (I would love to be able to order that size so I could sample other dishes), and comes out bare, ready to be dressed at the "pho vegetables" station up front (complete with hoisin and a few different chili and sauce options). I'd give the broth a 7/10. Light and clear, but with a reasonable depth of flavor. I look forward to comparing and contrasting with other places around town. The limeade was delicious, and I'll have to dig deeper into the long list of fruit teas and smoothies they offer. My banh mi with house paté and 2 over easy fried eggs was great, made even better with a schmear of smoky chili paste taken from the sauce selection. The baguette was appropriately light and crispy. I originally ordered the "combination," with steamed pork roll and cold cuts, but they no longer serve it because "no one ever ordered it." For shame, Houstonians. For shame. Cristina's "shaking tofu" vermicelli bowl was fantastic, with nicely fried cubes of tofu, sautéed onion and halved garlic cloves, along with the typical vegetable accompaniments. The fish sauce accompaniment was delicious, though a little less acidic than I'm used to. Not a complaint, just an observation. A shared shrimp "spring roll" was a fresh, herb-packed roll I've more often seen called a "summer roll," served with the standard peanut sauce for dipping. Nothing life-changing here, but a fine rendition. Given its proximity to our new house, Nam will assuredly be in the rotation, and I look forward to further exploring the menu. (Also, bring back the combination banh mi! I'll order it.)
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FWIW, Pho 88 in Falls Church, which was referenced in the above posts but never got its own thread, has now closed. -
A lady I know has been touting this place for weeks, so we went tonight. It's a few doors down from Dino. The d�cor is plastic but the food is worth a trip. We had Crispy Spring Rolls (truly crunchy), Hue Spicy Beef Soup (needed a couple of hits from the spices on the table), Fried Quail (delicate and delicious), and Grilled Pork Hanoi (nice). She had a VN beer, "33," never heard of it. What happened in VN in 1933? And why do they have the name of the restaurant backwards? -
Pho Nom Nom, out Rockville Pike is a bit of a drive but so worth it. Best Pho around! -
ArlNow reports that Pho Deluxe is planning to open on Sunday, July 5, 2015. Address is 2300 Clarendon Blvd (in Courthouse Plaza).- 6 replies
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Our go to Pho 88 is somehow closed on Tuesday (!), so we gave Pho 50 a try. While they provided an uneven takeout meal last night, if we ordered more judiciously, we could have ended up with all hits. Of course, you need to limit yourself to only a couple items on the menu, but it's a small selection anyway. I really liked the broth that formed the base of the soup. It was aromatic and flavorful, with a some good cooked in spice, so I didn't even feel the need to add rooster sauce. Toss in an ample portion of basil, cilantro, plum sauce, sprouts, and noodles to get a full-flavored pho and a filling meal. I got my order with the meatballs, which were terrible. Unidentifiable and inedible meat compacted into a tasteless, hard and yet somehow also spongy ball. Given that I didn't want what ended up being plain pho, this was a cruel twist. My wife got the chicken, which looked fine. We also got an order of each of their rolls. One version (spring rolls, I'm assuming) was fried and quite tasty. That was due mostly to the hard frying and the taste of the oil they use, as opposed to the ingredients in the roll. Whatever, tasty is tasty. The other was their soft roll in the clear wrapping, which didn't appear fresh and were bland. You're only tasting the dipping sauce at that point, and even for me (a sauce hound!) that wasn't enough.
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I just realized that I should add this-An excellent Vietnamese restaurant in old town Fairfax (right next to Havabite Eatery, old school Italian/Greek/homey, also very good). We went here last Sunday w/ a group of 6, since it was cloudy & cool, we went for pho. 1 beef, 3 chicken, loads of spring rolls (don't judge) & chicken & veg for my Mom who is doing a whole 30 (& driving me mad w/ her queries about the miniscule amount of sugar in sauce?). i think this is the 3rd or 4th time I've eaten here & it is wonderful-great food, great service. This is the first time we ended our meal w/ sticky rice pudding topped w/ coconut cream & sesame seeds, & mango slices (gratis). It was the perfect choice for a celebratory lunch & I look forward to more meals here.
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One of Jorma Kaukonen’s favorite restaurants (on Arlington Blvd., but not quite Arlington, VA). -
It opened last week. They're going to be making their bread in-house for the banh mi, but that hasn't started yet. They have 3 sizes of pho, the largest of which is scarily enormous. I didn't feel up to eating there when I drove by, but did grab an iced Vietnamese coffee. It was very sweet and tasted exactly like coffee-flavored Nips hard candy. I was excited to see they also have salty plum, and lime drinks, as well as che on the menu. -
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I've gone to Pho -N-More in Vienna twice now but I still haven't tried their pho. Instead, I've tried a couple of Thai-ish noodle soups. The first was Tsunami: "minced pork, mixed seafood ball, bean sprout, chinese broccoli, crushed peanut, cilantro n scallion in spicy broth." This tastes suspiciously like floating market noodle soup at Nava Thai - a sour and spicy soup with a brown broth. I'm not saying it's great but it's good to know that I don't have to go to Wheaton for FMNS. Today I tried the Tornado: "a new version of “Pad Thai” minced chicken, tofu, preserved radish, bean sprout, green bean, crushed peanut, cilantro n scallion in spicy broth." It wasn't really spicy, more sweet and sour in a clear broth (a flavor combination that's not my favorite). Both times I also ordered a plate of spicy basil stir fried with mixed veggies - reasonably tasty. Menu -
The previously mentioned Pho Thang Long, next to Micro Center (insert joke here) near I-66/Nutley, is firing on all (almost-as-good-as-Pho-75) cylinders right now. It's a hefty bowl, too, with almost too much meat. Yum.
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I am not a huge fan of pho, but my wife and son are, so we have eaten at Pho and Grill in Olney many times. (They have a restaurant in Gathersburg too, I think). The pho is very good, and a huge bowl (according to my wife and son). I ordered the grilled steak on a salad that was also huge and very good. Summer rolls were excellent, with a nice dipping sauce. Prices are very good. The folks are friendly and efficient. The dining room is pleasant, clean, but nothing fancy. You order at the counter and the food is brought to you (so be sure to leave something in the tip jar.) Last night the place was packed and our meal still showed up quickly. They also do a pretty big carry out business it would appear. Prices are very good. Two orders of rolls, two orders of Pho, the grilled steak, and a bubble tea (also good) came to under $42. -
Eden Center's Facebook page was promoting this restaurant with 7 menu items (no appetizers), claiming it received rave Yelp reviews for its Pho and Bun Bo Hue. Yes, there were 2 Yelp reviews and both were glowing. So I went to check our their Bun Bo Hue. It came with a big plate of herbs, which is a good sign. They seem to use a different type of sliced sausage, so that could've been made in house. The broth was pretty tasty. I didn't think it was necessarily better than Rice Paper or Pho Hai Duong but for people who want to try something new, this place is worth checking. Strangely, they accept credit card but didn't let me tip on the cc slip. There's no tip line. So I left some cash.
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Are there two Pho places in Columbia Heights, or did they change their name to Pho Viet? Two stars from Tom Sietsema. -
There's a part of Bailey's Crossroads that's so far west on Columbia Pike that it's almost in Lake Barcroft - the "Welcome to Bailey's Crossroads" sign is further east on Columbia Pike - but there's an interesting little pocket of ethnic restaurants here, one of which is tucked a half-block off of Columbia PIke, on Courtland Street: the tiny Vietnamese restaurant, Phở Ngọc Hưng. Although this looks like a Phở house, it both is and it isn't: When you walk in, it has the typical setup, with Sriracha, plum sauce, napkins, and white plastic spoons on each table, but the menu is much more extensive. This is usually a giveaway that the soup is going to take a back seat to the rest of the items (Phở-only houses have a tendency to make better soup). However, this restaurant is somewhat unique, in several ways: * The Phở here is better than average, with a very beefy broth with the AITB (All-Important-Telltale-Bubbles) floating on top of the bowl. * The soup uses a lot of aromatics, but seems not to depend on a starter mix for its base. * There are seven beers on offer. * This is the only restaurant I've come across with a "Super Bowl" ($10.95); most places only have small and large. * There is precisely one dessert on offer: tiramisu, of all things. * Both the Phở and the other Vietnamese dishes seem to be better than average here. * Since there are other entrees served here, the quality of the beef itself in the soup is much higher than the norm. I waited a surprisingly long time for my order to be taken (usually, you're approached within 15 seconds), but once it was, the service was very friendly - English language might be a barrier here, so be patient with the service staff. A large bowl of #17 Phở Tái Nạm Gầu ($8.50) had a broth that was thick and unctuous, with surprisingly high-quality beef, and aromatic spices (most likely star anise) that were present on the nose but didn't carry over onto the palate. A judicious application of Sriracha and plum sauce helped add a little kick (it's rare when I add no sauces at all, but it happens at the very best of places; this is just below that). Having a pretty good feeling about the food here, I decided to get an order to-go for later in the day: a #56 Cơm Gà Xào Sả ớt ($9.95), Stir-Fried Chili Lemongrass Chicken - and this is critical - with Thigh instead of Breast (you have your choice). The thigh meat here is exceptional, and although the dish looks like a standard Chinese Chicken and Broccoli carryout, it's anything but - dressed in a light-bodied brown sauce spiked with chili and lemongrass, it's medium-spicy at most, and both the broccoli and the chicken had received full penetration, making it a really simple, but tasty entree. The rice (which I just dumped on the bottom) was unnecessary, but came in handy even later in the day. Most people think Bailey's Crossroads ends with Full Kee, but don't forget this little hamlet of ethnicity, about a half-mile west on Columbia Pike - it's an interesting pocket, and for the adventurous eater, worth a look.
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Lunch today at Pho Cong Ly, had a specialicious coupon to use, & the bonus was they have vegetarian pho- my daughter Elizabeth has been sorely missing pho since she decided to become a pescetarian. She liked her pho, I thought it was interesting, looked more like beef pho, tasted a little sweet, & a bit too much like broccoli for me- it had chunks of fried tofu, broccoli, carrots, onions, & not enough noodles for E. I had pho ga (our 2 friends had the same)- standard pho, broth was a little less complex than Le Bledo, but fresh sprouts, jalapenoes, basil (I brought home practically 2 plants), & lime, & the spring rolls were good, very crispy, a little greasy. Tom ate all my leftover pho & a spring roll & said I put an awful lot of basil in it....- 2 replies
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My favorite pho shop in the VA area- Pho Ha Tay. It's in the guitar center plaza between 50 and Wilson Blvd, behind the Benigans, across the street from the Eden Center. Me and my special lady friend go there whenever we hit up the Target. It's right next to the Quiznos. If you aren't looking for it, you will miss it- which is a shame, because it has some great Pho. The owner makes it all himself with his family, and they use no MSG. They only make Pho, and they have six vats of it in the back cooking at any time. Instead of using a mix, they actually use the meat bones and spice it themselves. The Broth is very tasty, and the meat is pretty good. Nice chunks of tendon, plenty of fat on the fatty brisket, and the skirt flank has a nice crunch. The price is like Pho at other Pho joints and they bring it out in rapid fashion. If you are looking for lots of fancy stuff, then pass on this place. But if you want some great Pho, stop here and give it a try. -
Friends and I went to Eden Kitchen this past Friday night. The portions were nicely-sized for the price, but found the taste was along the lines of some of the heavier-handed kitchens in Eden Center. I guess I'm spoiled by Rice Paper. They have a very extensive menu, which is nice. Little man seemed to enjoy his pho and egg rolls. -
I can't compare Pho 88 to the other contenders, but I can say without a doubt that Pho 88 has quickly reached the top of my Beltsville area dining guide and deserves its own thread! --- [How's that! -
I have. (Picking up a hungry 18-year-old after tennis practice at Woodson can result in the need for quick meals - I was here in the Spring of 2015, and don't remember loving it.) To the best of my knowledge, this is a standalone Pho house - there's another Pho Duong in Centreville, and a Pho Hai Duong in Annandale, and I don't think either are under the same ownership. If we have any Vietnamese speakers here, perhaps you could tell us what these words mean, and help us sort through this?
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