DC Noodles, Formerly Simply Home, 14th and U Street - Reopen (And Larger) After Eighteen Months of Construction

[cjsadler]

First time here since they reconfigured the restaurant half of the store from take-out counter into a modern sit-down space. The Sautéed Chicken with Asian Pumpkin and Basil ($13) was very satisfying. They still do delivery and take-out, and I'll definitely be putting them high on my list of options the next time I'm looking for something quick.

[sacrilicious]

Recently had dinner here for the first time and the space is really quite nice. I had some kind of girly "martini," spring rolls, and pad thai, all of which were fine. My friend had one of the shrimp dishes, can't remember which one now, and loved it.

My only complaint is that the menu is different from what is on the website - and the prices are a few dollars higher than listed (which were already on the high side for Thai restaurants - $12-18 entrees).

It was utterly dead on a Sunday night - just my three people at tables, including my friend and myself. They were doing a decent takeout business though.

[Tujague]

Bob and I tried out this place on Friday Night when our top choices around U and 14th were jammed. Outside of one table with about eight people dining together, there were only two or three couples eating here so we got in right away. Service was polite and mostly efficient. Started with a nice tofu garden roll. Bob went for the Chicken with Asian Pumpkin and Basil, which was a bit spicy for his rather mild tastes, but that he liked. I had the crispy orange cashew chicken (OK, OK, we weren't real adventurous), and while it was a decent-sized portion, I found the orange sauce (well, really tangerine) to be at once both bitter and cloying. I give them credit for going for something fresher than the typical sticky dark sauce, but this wasn't particularly pleasant eating. Attractive plating is one of this place's strengths (the entree included a sort of a triangular pyramid of rice with black sesame seeds). They told me the store side is closing down, and the restaurant will expand over there--given the small crowd last night, I wonder how they are planning to fill the seats. Good enough to give it another shot--less noisy and crammed than Rice, but in this area, I prefer Regent Thai.

[DonRocks]

Simply Home has reopened as DC Noodles.

[chiefdc]

Believe it or not, I've actually heard (second-hand) very good things about this place. If nothing else, it fills a niche.

[Tujague]

Checked out DC Noodles last Friday night. I am no expert whatsoever on noodle joints, or Asian soups, but I suspect that those who are would find much to pick apart here. But for novices like myself, it was an enjoyable dinner. Started with small pumpkin empanadas, which I think were a holdover from Simply Home's menu--tasty but a bit out of place here. I had the clear broth with thin rice noodles, chicken, and chicken meatballs--perhaps a tad salty, but on a colder evening it would be nice comfort food. Bob had the soy broth with pork, which was sweeter, and more savory, with some large slices of pork. My glass of Barbera was nice and fruity. At $12 per bowl, the soups were hearty and well priced (wok and seafood dishes are a few bucks more), the staff was friendly, the vibe casual trendy--I imagine we'll return.

[sandynva]

Has anyone else been? I was excited to hear that they have vegetarian noodle soups, so was thinking about dropping by tonight.

[sandynva]

like the earlier poster, i'm not anything of an expert on noodle joints, but i enjoyed my takeout from dc noodles last night. I've always wanted to have pho but haven't found a place offering a vegetarian version, so i was happy to recieve my rice noodles in spicy broth with lots of veggies and herbs on the side for me to add in. and the noodles/veggies were thoughtfully packaged in a separate container than the broth, so they didn't get too soggy on the way home. my only quibble was that though i ordered the "spicy" broth, the broth i recieved, though pleasant, had no discernable heat.

[Tujague]

Went here for post-happy hour meal Friday. Decided to see how they did with pad thai ($12), and it was just so so--not overly sweet like most DC Thai places, but not much brightness to the flavor either. Bob had Udon noodle soup, which I think was in the soy broth--my taste didn't impress me, but it was okay. Compared to my first visit, I think I like the idea of this place more than I like what's actually being put out from the kitchen. It's okay, I would be willing to go back, but I think it's not much better than average, based on this latest visit.

[DPop]

It's okay, I would be willing to go back, but I think it's not much better than average, based on this latest visit.

I call this place 'Bangkok Joe's - U Street'. It has the same dumbed-down flavor profiles, the same pumped up prices on very simple items, and I feel the same disappointment every time I leave.

[turbogrrl]

I call this place 'Bangkok Joe's - U Street'. It has the same dumbed-down flavor profiles, the same pumped up prices on very simple items, and I feel the same disappointment every time I leave.

I was disappointed the one time I ate in. However, I do like their drunken noodles, and it's very reliable and predictable for delivery. I probably won't dine in again any time soon (the drinks seemed tempting but none of them were worth it), but I will definitely keep ordering drunken noodles to show up at my door.

[synaesthesia]

I call this place 'Bangkok Joe's - U Street'. It has the same dumbed-down flavor profiles, the same pumped up prices on very simple items, and I feel the same disappointment every time I leave.

I think that's a real insult to Bangkok Joe's from what I've had there. At least ingredient-wise, Joe's is far more respectable. $12 for insipid barely "spicy" broth, tough out-of-the-pack overly thin egg noodles, weirdly shredded beef, sugar snap peas (?!) was a waste. My money would have been better spent down the street at Taco Bell.

[goodeats]

PoP reports temporarily closing for a year due to construction. (I heard this wrecked havoc in Adams Morgan and caused massive traffic jams for this morning commute. I feel for the businesses at 14th & U St right now.)

[qwertyy]

PoP reports temporarily closing for a year due to construction. (I heard this wrecked havoc in Adams Morgan and caused massive traffic jams for this morning commute. I feel for the businesses at 14th & U St right now.)

I've heard the same from Adams Morgan business owners. They really got hit hard by the construction. Apparently the BID opened up small loans for them, but they took a ton of work and a ton of time for businesses to secure.

[qwertyy]

(I heard this wreaked havoc in Adams Morgan and caused massive traffic jams for this morning commute. I feel for the businesses at 14th & U St right now.)

WAMU reports

[Barbara]

I've heard the same from Adams Morgan business owners. They really got hit hard by the construction. Apparently the BID opened up small loans for them, but they took a ton of work and a ton of time for businesses to secure.

There was actually supposed to be a fund to offset some business losses, but it got axed because of budget considerations. One of the permanent effects of this is that all the buses which originally went down 18th Street were diverted to Columbia Road, and now that has become permanent. Except that Metro hasn't alloted any more time in the schedules, given the extra distance. It's just amazing how this has been a colossal screw-up for a ridiculously long time. I'm just happy that those insane "back-in" angled parking spaces are gone. I have long wanted to slap a whole bunch of people for that stupidity.