More on Pho in Boston

[jbsegal]

In the DC area, there are many of a type of Pho restaurant that I've yet to find around here...

The places I'm thinking of are ONLY Pho places. They are typically cafeteria-ish seating, with a menu composed ONLY of Pho, with some beverages and maybe deserts.
2-3 sizes, around a dozen combinations of meat, and that's IT.

You come in, and the time between when you sit and when you're served is (yes, with ordering in the middle) about 6 minutes.

They serve only Pho and, because of that, the pho they serve is exemplary.

Around here, the pho places have full menus of Vietnamese food and thus they don't have the, well, Zen of pho inherent in them that the DC places do... when you make one dish, you have to make it well (or be serving a market that doesn't care, but I've yet to see that). When you make many, unless you are working at a level well above your typical inexpensive ethnic food place, you're probably not doing any of them as well as you could.

Is there this sort of Pho place here? Please?

(There's a tonkatsu place in NYC I've been meaning to go to, too.)

Comments

[tisiphone.livejournal.com]

Pho Hua in Chinatown is very close. They do have other menu items I suppose, but it's really all about the pho. You come in, sit down, pick your broth and meats, and five minutes later you've got a great bowl of pho.

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

I've been there a fair number of times... and I like them, but they're not what I'm looking for (in this post. :)

(The Hua in Dorchester's even closer than the one in Chinatown... but still they've lost the path...)

[tamidon.livejournal.com]

This place has gotten a really good rep. Makes me think of the places in DC I've been too, it's even in a strip mall. Large Vietnamese clientele

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

Really? They're promoting themselves on that site as trying to do All Vietnamese Food... a 94 item menu... Hm.

Maybe next time I'm in Lowell, if I'm not going to South East Asian Restaurant, instead...

[frobzwiththingz.livejournal.com]

They do have a full vietnamese menu. their Pho, however, is top notch.

[tamidon.livejournal.com]

I've eaten there once and loved it. It was named #1 by someone, the Globe maybe? for being the best outside of Boston proper, beating the Lowell places.

[frobzwiththingz.livejournal.com]

There used to be a place like that in Allston, a few blocks from the V. Majestic. Alas, neither it or the V is still around.

Best Pho available in the area (IMHO), is not in Chinatown. Two places stand out in my mind for the tastiest pho broth around.

1) Saigon Noodle, in Malden Square. Yes, thats right. Malden Square.
2) As tamidon said, Pho 88 on Drum Hill rd Lowell/Chelmsford. Absolutely the best Bun Bo Hue
anywhere. Order it "with everything"; otherwise if you look too Western
they'll leave out the congealed blood bricks and some other weird stuff
westerners generally don't like.

[roozle.livejournal.com]

second Saigon Nooooodle!

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

Saigon Noodle rocks! Also, in Malden is a Pho place called I think "Pho 99". It's walkable between Saigon Noodle and the T stop. It's more Pho oriented. But Saigon Noodle does have stuff other than just Pho (Their spring rolls knock my socks off) and they have a lot of noodle dishes. But their Pho is really superior.

[dmk.livejournal.com]

Please tell me about the tonkatsu place in NYC! I like the tonkatsu I've had, but can tell it's a mere shadow of the ideal.

[leahseraph.livejournal.com]

Hrm. I can name six places like that within walking distance of where I am in Seattle, but I've never run into it in Boston. Is it a west coast thing?

[avram]

Is DC on the west coast now?

[leahseraph.livejournal.com]

Does DC have a sizable vietnamese population?

[dcseain.livejournal.com]

Yes, the DC area, has quite sizable Vietnamese, Korean, Ethiopian, Salvadorean, and Peruvian populations.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Yeah, one of my friends likes to describe DC as a "Mecca for refugee food". Yum. :)

[dcseain.livejournal.com]

When i lived in Boston, i gave up on finding good SE Asian or Indian food.

[miraclaire.livejournal.com]

Since I often find myself in DC, and am awfully fond of pho, what are your favorites?

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Pho 75, on Wilson Blvd. in Arlington between Courthouse and Rosslyn Metros, is an old standby:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/restaurants/pho-75-arlington,1025667.html

http://www.washingtonian.com/restaurantreviews/874.html

Tyler Cowen, who does a fine DC ethnic food blog, when he's not writing on political economy, says Pho 75 has five locations:

http://www.tylercowensethnicdiningguide.com/2006/03/pho_75_1.php

---

Eden Center is an entire Vietnamese shopping center with a bunch of restaurants. 6795 Wilson Blvd., at Seven Corners in Falls Church.
http://www.edencenter.com/

Enjoy!

[miraclaire.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[netpositive.livejournal.com]

Pho 75, on Wilson Blvd. in Arlington between Courthouse and Rosslyn Metros, is an old standby

Have eaten at both the Wilson Blvd. and Hyattsville 75s, so can heartily endorse both locations for quality [unlike our local/regional burger chain, which can vary a bit from location to location while being consistent at each branch - i.e., one always has very dry fries, another one always cooks the burgers a little too long, etc.].

Have also lunched a couple times at Eden Center places, and the food is usually good, but not as many dedicated Pho places there.

[dcseain.livejournal.com]

Four Sisters Restaurant, in Eden Center, is excellent Southern-style Vietnamese, an their crepes rock! A friend and her family who are from Southern Vietnam - the Southern tip where the people are curly-haired - eat there all the time.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean, but I don't know of a place like that nearby, although frobzwiththingz recommendations are good.

(As I said to you Wednesday night, the quality of Malden's Chinese and Vietnamese food shouldn't really surprise.)

Anyway, I once described the kind of place you're talking about to a friend who's Vietnamese-Chinese-Californian (and now works in the restaurant business as a professional chef) like this:

"You know the kind of pho place which has plastic tables and folding chairs, and has old Vietnamese guys sitting around reading the paper in the hot afternoons? Yeah, that kind of place."

Neither of us knew of a place like that around here.

(Now I want some sparkling limeade, fresh squeezed, with a little side pitcher of sugar syrup.)

[klingonlandlady.livejournal.com]

sigh, yes. I've been to a couple of places in Boston chinatown that were fine for pho... the one facing NEMC o the corner, and there's one up closer to that supermarket that used to be a theatre... you know. right?

[katybeth]

If you're ever out here, there are good Pho places. Can't help with there though.

[prosicated.livejournal.com]

They exist in Philadelphia, too, and I've been missing them (& the piles of ethiopian restaurants & the banh mi stands) like mad since moving here.
I'm watching this entry to see if more answers pop up. Otherwise, maybe there will have to be a pilgrimage to Malden?

[netpositive.livejournal.com]

Hmm, in considering my future living locations I see I will have to take food options into account to some level. Wonder if there are any Vietnamese on that island I'm thinking about. :)

And if you find yourself down in DC ever again, do let us know and we'll do Pho (or anything else you've been missing). *hug*