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Song Phat has their grand opening signs up so I went for a quick lunch today. Vietnamese noodle house & grill menu with a few additions. I tried the grilled meat wrapped in grape leaf and the papaya salad with grilled shrimp. The meatballs were tasty enough but a bit large so the ratio of crispy to center was a little low. The papaya salad was good loaded with red pepper for a hot kick. The grilled shrimp were ok. They ahve only been open a few days and I hope they keep working on the execution to raise it a touch. As it is, the best Wheaton Vietnamese choice and a good spot for fresh, spicy food right now. -
Vietnamese restaurant Muối Tiêu is opening today at 7006 Carroll Ave. in Takoma Park, taking over the former location of Mark’s Kitchen: https://www.sourceofthespring.com/takoma-park-news/2814187/muoi-tieu-restaurant-opening-in-takoma-park-today/ -
I ventured into Eden Center and promised myself to try a couple of small places inside the Eden Center. Hai Ky Mi Gia specializes in soup noodle. You get a choice of toppings (shrimp, mixed seafood, roast duck, roast quail, or pork), shrimp cracker, Chinese chives, tiny bits of rendered pork fat, and lettuce over yellow noodle or rice noodle, with the soup either laddle on top of the noodles or served on the side. The usual condiments of bean sprouts, hot sauce, and lime are available on the side. The result is a bowl of delicious warm Vietnamese Ramen that costs around $7.50. Nha Trang specialized in Nem Nuong Nihn Hoa ($7 for 4 rolls), these are summer rolls with lettuce, mint, grilled pork sausage, and crispy fried wonton wrapper served with a strange sauce that I can't decipher (bits of garlic, pork, and peanut in a sweet sauce).
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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? -
Work overwhelms, phone is ringing, lovesick suitors bore to tears, girl escapes to Eden (Center.) Choosing a place to sit down at Eden Center is like picking a perfect shade of green paint: the problem is that there's only two thousand of them. Weaving through too-dark, too-dingy, too-loud, too-karaoke-infested, we landed at Four Sisters - a bright and welcoming spot smack in the middle of Little Viet Nam known as the Eden Center. The menu is exhaustive as many of these places are. Phorsaking pho, we went for the following: Green Papaya Salad - tart and crisp, full of cilantro and lime. Could have done without a wilted shrimp, but hey, can't have it all. Beef in lime juice appetizer - thin, flavorful slices and again full of cilantro and lime. Personally, these are two of my favorites, so I don't mind the repetition. Pork rice crepes - this dish takes a bit of engineering to be enjoyed fully. Take a slice of pork, lay a small soft crepe stuffed with more pork on top, add a chopstickful of diced carrots, and drizzle with fish sauce. Pray to archangels and cherubs that the whole contraption doesn't collapse. Carefully lift by chopsticks toward mouth. Otherwise it's a bit bland. Short ribs with caramelized onions - yum, so simple, take meat, add heat and a few spices, and a perfect comfort dish materializes. Afterwards, we poked around various bakeries and produce stores to ooh and ahh and open eyes so very wide. I got a bunch of superspringy baby bok choy, some almond cookies and some fish sauce. Also got to marvel at a kinky fantastic miraculous display of every pig part known to man - hearts, kidneys, uteri, tongues, etc. Warning: don't bring the easily shocked and the tender-hearted, they ruin the fun. ("Go back to saving the world," I mumble, administering a mental kick to their vulnerable soft bottoms.) All in all, a fantastic time was had by all and a great distraction when you want to escape from the office and when Cosi just don't beckon any more. -
They've been open for about 10 days, according to a sign in the parking garage. Someone who works in another business in the building told me that the owner originally wanted to call the restaurant "Black Pearl," but there were issues with using that name. I was hoping it would be a good alternative for lunch as I work nearby, but the menu seems a little too steep for my budget. -
Did we really not have a thread on this place? I just read this on Todd Kliman's June 4th chat: It's always useful to calibrate your palate to your favorite critic's, so if you think this sandwich at Bí¡nh Mi DC Sandwich is perhaps the best sandwich, of any type, in the entire DC area, then you've got your critic. -
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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I was down at the GRB Convention Center this afternoon to pick up my bib for the marathon tomorrow, and stopped into Huynh for what was meant to be a quick lunch. I never thought about it until today, but Vietnamese food is an excellent choice for "carb-loading" before a race. Lots of rice/rice noodle dishes, and limited amounts of fat. Clearly many of my running compatriots had thought about such things before, as the restaurant was packed, with a 30 minute wait. The 4-year old and I shared orders of banh uot thit nuong and banh uot tom chay, rice paper wraps filled with grilled pork and crushed dried shrimp respectively. The pork wrap is served as a wrap with herbs and lettuce along for the ride, while the crushed shrimp is more of a loosely folded affair, topped with crisp fried onions. Light and carby. I wanted rice, but the boy demanded noodles, so we settled on bun tom nuong (rice vermicelli with grilled shrimp). As long as the protein is well-grilled, bun is pretty hard to screw up, but the well-seasoned, snappy-but-moist shrimp served atop our tangle of noodles kicks up Huynh's version a couple notches above the standard. Of course, while preparing for a marathon in the hot and humid Houston weather, one shouldn't neglect electrolyte replenishment, and the chanh muoi (salty lemonade) made with pickled lemons (or limes?) hit the spot. Let the rest of the country gorge themselves on plates of pasta. In Houston, we'll stick with Huynh.- 1 reply
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I just realized this little gem of a Vietnamese place did not have its own listing in the Dining Guide, just a few passing mentions in other categories. Because the establishments that dot this plaza apparently are all closing as part of a construction project, I figured now was a good time to pay tribute. Coming in the door, the first thing you see is the bakery. A wide assortment of cakes and sweets are on display, and a book of cake decorations is available to order from. To the right are prepared foods, and I scored some rolls with pork sausage and a fine dipping sauce from the table. The case and the refrigerator have a goodly assortment of pork buns and jars of various vegetables and pickles. To the left is the seating area, with a nice looking buffet of about 8 options, including Don't favorite everything meatballs, pork cutlets, pig belly in sauce and a few other tempting delights. I noticed that most of the diners were indigenous, always a good sign, and a noticed quite a few polished-off bowls of pho with some deeply brown broth left in the bottom of one bowl. I had the combination banh mi, which for $2.75 included ham, head cheese and pate, along with maybe the least industrial bun I've had with banh mi in memory. This was an overall better combination banh mi than the dozen or more I've eaten at DC Sandwich. The aforementioned pork spring rolls were 3 to a pack, loaded with vermicelli, lettuce, shredded veggies and disks of pork sausage, with a tangy-sweet peanut dipping sauce. The pack was about $4.50, and the total with the banh mi and tax was $7.61. I'm stuffed to the gills. Out of fear that it may close or relocated sometime soon, I will put it in my near term rotation and make sure it gets a steady flow of revenue. But as long as it's open, there is absolutely no need to run to Falls Church for my banh mi fix. -
Kliman breaks the story that the ground floor of what I always thought was an unobtrusively handsome building will become the site of K&K's next adventure,"inspired by the cuisines of SE Asia." "Southeast Asia" is a pretty broad swath of territory, and the phrase bringing "modern techniques & execution to these traditional dishes," is pretty unhelpful, so I hungrily await further details. As I recall, Karoum once cheffed at Asia Nora -- whether this is relevant, I have no idea (and I never liked that place, anyway). But this sounds more noodle-y. Adam at the bar is always a good sign. -
I have a bit of an obsession with restaurants inside of grocery stores, mainly due to the convenience of being able to get food and groceries in one trip. I first tried I Love Pho (stylized with a heart emoji), inside the Laurel Super Best, for this reason. After many takeout meals from here, however, I feel strongly that their Bun Thit Nuong is worth a trip on its own. The grilled pork is fantastic every time, nicely charred but still tender and flavorful even after the trip home. Rounding out the dish are the usual vermicelli, lettuce, sprouts, Thai basil, cucumber, carrots, radish, peanuts, and a solid nuoc cham. All of the elements blend together wonderfully (chewy, crunchy, sweet, sour, caramelized, smoky), but all highlighting the meat as the star of the dish. The rest of the menu ranges from slightly below average to solid. The rice that came with the grilled pork chop entree was so bad the one time I tried it (dry and stale) that I've been put off from ordering any of their other rice dishes since. The pork chop itself was good, however, and they also do a pretty good Bun Bo Hue (spicy beef noodles) and Bo Kho (vietnamese beef stew). The Pho itself was not great, but in fairness I was pretty sick that day and the soup didn't stay hot on the way home in cold weather. I'm curious whether the soup dishes are improved much by dining in. Prices are in the $8-10 range for entrees. They also do banh mi, spring/summer rolls, and bubble tea.- 1 reply
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I'm on a mission to eat at every restaurant in Eden Center. Today I went to Hai Duong, which according to Eden Center's website and Tyler Cowen, specializes in - Sizzling Fish Filet in Northern Style. I don't know if this is the same as Cha Ca La Vong or just something very similar. In this case, I was given a purplish sauce (I believe it's shrimp paste), peanuts, sliced onions, a plate of herbs (minty smelling), lettuce, rice noodle and then a sesame rice cracker. A little later a sizzling fish filet with lots of dill showed up. With Cha Ca La Vong, all the herbs are cooked tableside along with the fish. In this case, I wasn't quite sure what to do. I wrapped some noodles, herbs, fish and dill in lettuce, and dipped the whole thing into the shrimp paste. It was really good. The fish was moist and flavorful. I even liked their shrimp paste (I thought the version at Present was kinda gross). Tyler Cowen says to put everything on top of the cracker. I saw some older ladies eating them like lettuce wraps - so I went with that. I would love some tips on how to eat this. I probably should've asked my waiter. -
Huong Viet is better than Four Sisters, you wouldn't be going for the service or the atmosphere. It's divey but delicious. Love the lotus root salad with pork and shrimp, their caramel fish and some of the noodle soups. -
Last week, I got this tweet from Jonathan Copeland: Although I had largely forgotten about it, somewhere in the recesses of my brain, it resided, because I was thirty-minutes early for an appointment in Falls Church today, and - <blink> - I remembered. I didn't remember who sent it, and I didn't remember the name of the restaurant; merely that someone I trusted had mentioned good Banh Mi in Eden Center - I pulled in. I wasn't at all sure which restaurant it was, and there has been *so much* changeover in this shopping center in the past six months that Saigon West is borderline unrecognizable. I waffled a bit, then headed into Banh Ta, and as soon as I walked in, I thought to myself, 'This *must* be the place.' Banh Ta is a tiny little pillbox boutique, just a few stores down from the outstanding Thanh Son Tofu, which has the best tofu I've found in the DC area. Despite being just a counter, it's very upscale looking, with market goods and an atmosphere that reminds me of a smaller version of the incredible Phu Quy Deli Delight. If you haven't been to Thanh Son Tofu or Phu Quy Deli Delight: GO! I ordered a #1, Pork Belly (Bah Mi Thit ??, $4), the ?? being on the sign in the first link in the previous paragraph, and absolutely indecipherable by me and my illiterate Vietnamese (my apologies to native speakers - any guidance will be much appreciated). It's no secret that I haven't exactly been blown away by DC-area Banh Mi - in fact, the only ones I've had that I even consider "good" have been somewhat Americanized (Dickson Wine Bar and the underrated and under-appreciated Ba Bay). Until today, that is. Thanks to Jonathan's recommendation, I've now had what I believe to be the first authentic Banh Mi that I can say, with my European-influenced palate, and with an absolutely clear conscience, is *really, really good*! You don't even need a second one to fill up on, as the size is ample, so both qualitatively and quantitatively, we have ourselves a front runner in the local Banh Mi wars - you could say, if you valued bad puns more than honorable use of language, that this Banh Mi, won me. These three storefronts in Eden Center are less than 100 yards away from each other, and justify a special excursion to experience. I am - *finally* - sold on the merits of this sandwich, and I suspect that in Vietnam, it gets even better than this. Absolutely initialized in Italic in the East Falls Church section of the Virginia Dining Guide, and I'm very much looking forward to a repeat visit, thanks to the recommendation of Jonathan Copeland.
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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
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Crawfish season is just getting underway here in Houston, and today's visit to Cajun Kitchen marked our first batch. We opted for the "Fatass Number 1" combination. 3 pounds of crawfish (still pretty small this early in the season), a half-pound of head-on shrimp, and a generous section of snow crab legs, plus some potatoes and corn. Market price was $56 today, including the $2 upcharge for the "Kitchen Special" spicing on the boil (which appears to include orange slices, generous amounts of garlic and ginger, onions and peppers. Totally fair, I think, given the amount of seafood you get, but YMMV. We got "medium" spice on the boil, planning to share with the boys, but be forewarned that "medium" is pretty damn spicy. The shrimp and crab are clearly added after the crawfish are tossed in the spice, and were mild enough to share with kids. Aside from the boiled seafood, the garlic noodles and Viet-spiced chicken wings were winners with the whole table. The noodles are fairly thick, tossed in a garlic sauce, and topped with ample amounts of sweet lump blue crab meat and crispy fried shallots. The wings veer toward the sweet side, with a nice backbone of funky fish sauce. There are big screen TVs all around the dining room, and cheap domestic beers available...This could be a great place to spend an afternoon watching a baseball game come Spring.
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Did not see a thread on this new addition to the Eden Center. Went there yesterday for lunch with a group of Chowhounders. We had a delicious meal with a ton of food. We ordered: Grilled shrimp and pork skewers with steamed vermicelli Whole crispy flounder with mango salad and ginger sauce Baby clams baked in clay pot with rice Grilled pork chop and sweet Chinese sausage on broken rice Marinated quails Garden rolls (called steam rice paper rolls on the menu) Baby clams with pork served with rice cracker My favorites were the whole fish, which was a huge, but really good dish. I lived the difference between the crispy, flaky fish and the tangy, sour salad. It was really nice. I also really liked the broken rice dish, the sausage and pork chops on it were marinated well and really tasty. The baked clams in the clay pot were preferable to the rice cracker ones, I think a bit moister, or maybe it was just the sauce with the salty clams and crispy rice. The shrimp were also good. All in all there weren't any misses, although the garden rolls could be skipped they were fine, but normal. It is a very pretty little space, and we really enjoyed the food. It was also nice to hang out with some very nice and cool people from this area with such great food knowledge, always a plus. I know some are on here too, and it is always so nice to put a face with a name.- 43 replies
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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.
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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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Prompted by Tim Carman's partial rave, I checked out this tiny Vietnamese joint on Sherman Avenue. Ordered the bún riêu with shrimp and squid. Unfortunately, I can't recommend. The broth was just bland--no crab and tomato flavor, no funk at all. The noodles weren't anything notable, and the squid and shrimp were frozen and flavorless. Doesn't hold a candle to the soups at, e.g., Mi La Cay in Wheaton, esp. the similar M9 (assuming that remains its menu designation). Also, the soda chanh was meh, at best. I hope it was simply an off-day--the family who runs it seems very nice, and dedicated. -
This place has been open for about a year, across Annandale Road from Anthony's. I stopped in for the first time yesterday for a quick lunch. The website shows it is a chain/franchise, and the Falls Church location is the only one in Virginia. The menu is divided into two sections, European sandwiches and Asian sandwiches. Plus they have a selection of house brand coffee beans, macarons ($1.99 each), a variety of pastries, and a sign that says they make fresh baguettes every hour. The outside signage says open 24-7-365, but signs were posted inside that they're going to a 7 am. - midnight time schedule now. It was a little later than standard lunchtime, but I was the only Caucasian person in the place. A couple of Hispanic blue collar guys picked up orders, and the rest of the clientele was Asian. You order at the counter and there's plenty of seating. The menu was a little confusing, but the gentleman working the counter was very helpful, asking first if I wanted European or Asian, and then if I wanted a hot or cold sandwich. I said hot, and he listed the numbers of the hot sandwiches (the menu board showed the various meats/ingredients per sandwich) to help me narrow it down. I went Asian with a basic pork banh mi and some iced tea. The sandwich came out very quickly, and I thought it was good. The baguette was nicely crusty on the outside and not too spongy on the interior. The ingredients were bright and looked & tasted very fresh. The marinade on the pork was a little sweeter and more forward than at DC 50, and they used a moderate amount of mayo instead of a big glop, which I prefer. The iced tea was made with green tea. For $7.20 all in, a tasty lunch and fairly priced. I think I would give it a slight edge over DC 50 Sandwich on this particular day, mostly due to the very good bread. -
FWIW, Pho 88 in Falls Church, which was referenced in the above posts but never got its own thread, has now closed. -
I stopped going to Eden Center on a daily basis for lunch because the trips were putting too many miles on my leased car (13 miles round trip). Because it's been at least a month since I last went, I walked around to see what's new. I think there are 2 new joints just in Saigon East (the section in btwn the 2 grocery stores). Bay Lo is no more. And in place of H2O is Hoa Vien Quan. Hoa Vien Quan is brightly lit, shiny, and clean. The menu is one laminated page but with a ton of stuff that's not very well organized - several items don't belong under the headings. I tried their cha gio (spring rolls) and banh xeo. Both are excellent, especially because they give you the proper accompaniments. The spring rolls came with 2 pieces of lettuce, basil and pickled carrots. The banh xeo came with 4 pieces of lettuce, lots of herbs, and pickled carrots. I wrapped everything in lettuce and dipped in their fish sauce. I would have to go back to Eden to try more of their food (as I said, big menu).
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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?
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