Karthik thinks we are going to pigeon hole ourselves into being Vietnamese restaurant reviewers instead of general restaurant reviewers, but our default comfort food has become Vietnamese so we can’t help it (for now)! My addiction prompted me to buy an online deal for the new Pho DC on 19th and L NW. This is the second branch of Pho DC – the other one is in Chinatown.
Karthik and I were disappointed with this place compared to the other Vietnamese places we have been to in the area (our favorites are Pho Viet in DC and Lotus Cafe in MD). We are glad we had a coupon. We paid $20 for 2 drinks (coconut water and a mango martini), 2 appetizers (cheesy asparagus and garden rolls), and 2 entrees (tofu vermicelli and vegetarian pho).
- Cheesy Asparagus = one stalk of asparagus wrapped in cheese and deep fried. Interesting concept, but very greasy. Karthik thought you can’t go wrong with fried cheese.
- Garden Roll = loaded it up with tofu and vermicelli. They served it with a really good tomato-based sauce – they were out of peanut sauce. Wasn’t the best Garden Roll, about average.
- Vermicelli with Tofu and Vegetables = basically plain vermicelli, fried tofu, cucumbers, and carrots in a bowl with soy sauce. We were really hoping this would have more taste to it, but it was too plain. Perhaps a good stir-fry at home will give it the kick we like.
- Vegetarian Pho = we have definitely had much better broth. Its the broth that makes the Pho and this was kinda bland. They had a good amount of vegetables. They didn’t serve the usual bean sprouts, mint, etc. on the side. Karthik was disappointed that there wasn’t a bottle of sriracha and bottle of hoisin on the table. But they did serve it in a small serving dish and so were able to spice up the Pho.
The verdict: Nice environment, very accommodating staff, but the food was not exciting at all.
VegOut World 