Pho Nom Nom, Rockville - Pho, Rice Bowls, and Banh Mi in the old Ba Le space

[synaesthesia]

Today the sign said: Phó Nom Nom coming soon

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.

[JPW]

Where is this on the Pike?

[dcs]

Where is this on the Pike?

I think this is what opened in the old Ba Le space at 842-A Rockville Pike across from Wintergreen Plaza.

They're going to be making their bread in-house for the banh mi, but that hasn't started yet.

Do you mean no banh mi yet, or no in-house bread yet?

[synaesthesia]

I think this is what opened in the old Ba Le space at 842-A Rockville Pike across from Wintergreen Plaza.

Do you mean no banh mi yet, or no in-house bread yet?

Yes the old Ba Le space. That whole strip is starting to look really interesting now with the options.

No banh mi are being served yet.

[JPW]

I think this is what opened in the old Ba Le space at 842-A Rockville Pike across from Wintergreen Plaza.

Thanks!

[synaesthesia]

Stopped in for some pho to take out. The broth has a strong aroma of cinnamon, but otherwise has a really nice meaty flavor. Some of the prettiest tendon I've seen in a while.

Banh mi is still at least a month away.

[dcs]

They have started serving the bahn mi. The bread is fine, but not spectacular. It did manage to stay crusty on the ride, however, so it does get some bonus points for that. I had the grilled pork, and if you ask for it spicy, it will indeed be spicy. I spent less than $5.00 for this thing, including tax. I got there a little before noon and nearly all of the tables were filled. While I was standing there the table nearest the register was served what was identified by the waiter as a "spicy beef noodle soup" listed on the menu as bun bo hue. It looked wonderful, with a deep rich brown broth appearance. I think I will have to return for a bowl.

[MMM]

My husband and I stopped in for lunch a few days ago after reading the very nice review in the Gazette. We were pleasantly surprised by the freshness of the food and the attractiveness of the small dining room. I tried the medium pho (should have had small), and it was an excellent rendition. Broth was very tasty and the accompanying bean sprouts were gorgeous. My husband had a different soup with egg noodles and wontons and liked it too. We also tried both the fresh garden roll with shrimp and the crispy fried roll and they too were excellent. We plan to go again and sample more of the menu.

When we arrived around 12:30 all the tables were full. We waited around 10 minutes for a table to open up and were glad we did!

[synaesthesia]

I've had the grilled chicken banh mi and the op la (two fried eggs). You can add pate to any of the banh mi for free. The runny fried egg and pate was pretty darned awesome. The chicken was decent. Though the sandwich is a little on the pricier side of banh mi, it's also quite large - in the 9 inch range.

[DanielK]

Two visits here in the last week. Overall, a decent addition to the area, but nothing worth going out of your way for. Skip the pho, get the spring rolls.

Quick dish rundown:

A1 Chả Giò Thịt Heo 3.50 (Crispy roll with pork, shrimp, mushroom, noodles & vegetables, served with sweet & sour fish sauce)

EXCELLENT spring rolls, perfectly fried, not greasy, tons of flavor, but weak sauce.

A4 Gỏi Cuốn 3.50 (Fresh Garden roll with a choice of pork or chicken, shrimp, lettuce, cilantro, mint & vermicelli wrapped in rice paper, served with peanut sauce)

Standard summer rolls, a little light on the pork, sauce was good.

P1 Tái, Chín, Nạm, Gầu, Gân, Sách – Pho Nom Nom #1 Special

Generous portions of very good meat, but I think the broth is not nearly as good as Pho 75 up the street.

S3 Mì Hoành Thánh 7.95 (Pork & shrimp wontons, served with sweet roast pork and choice of egg noodles or without noodles)

So, it wasn't clear to me from the description that this is soup, but I think this is better than the Pho. Pork was a little bland, but those wontons are fabulous. Noodles a little overcooked.

G2. Sườn Nướng – Grilled pork chop7.95 (Grilled Lemongrass entrees are served with choice of rice or vermicelli noodles and garnished with lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, pickled daikon and carrots, scallions, roasted peanuts and house fish sauce on the side.)

The pork chop was fabulous, but the huge pile of noodles was well overcooked. Pickles were nice.

B3. Café Sửa Nóng hoặc Đá – Vietnamese hot or iced coffee with condensed milk 3.00

Coffee was fine, but needed to be hotter. First time I was ever offered a second pour of hot water into my grounds, though, which was nice.

I'd like to try a bahn mi next, and explore more of the lemongrass grilled meats, probably over rice next time.

[MMM]

It has been a year since we first checked this place out, so we went for lunch a few days ago and I think they are better than ever. We just had pho and crispy spring rolls. The broth in the pho was the best I've had anywhere recently - very flavorful and complex - and all the accompanying sprouts and basil were fresh and beautiful. The spring rolls were excellent.

[coolcreek]

I stopped in last weekend - pho broth is still excellent and the small is large. The place seems to always be busy, despite a perpetual construction zone around the restaurant. There's no sign at the moment, so if you don't know what you're looking for, you'll miss it.  My only complaint is a slippery floor if there's the slightest bit of wet on your shoes. They finally dragged out a well used warning sign after we saw a couple of people slide a bit last Sunday.