Phở 301 restaurant review

I don’t usually go out to restaurants unless I am invited. I eat a lot at home. Lately, I have gotten some nice cash flow in my bank account to take my family and friends out ($1,500 in the checking account, baby!). Phở 301 just opened a few weeks ago – newly renovated and ready for business. I took Brother-in-Black, housemate MD and three out-of-control rascals on the first visit. Yesterday, long-time friend ThP and I went out for late lunch. He was very hungry, and I was tired, so this so-called review will be very rough.

Phở (pronounced “faah”) is a popular Vietnamese noodle soup. Phở 301 has eight styles of beef noodle soups: the regular beef noodle soup, soup with well-done brisket, or well-done flank, or fat brisket with tripe, with soft tendon (yum!), or combinations of the eight kinds. Additionally, you can have chicken noodle soup or shrimp. It is garnished with many spices that include: meat, marrowbone, salt, pepper, fish sauce, onions, shallots, anise, cloves, coriander, lemons, chilli, sweet basil, bean sprouts, chili sauce and hoisen sauce. What makes phở exceptionally great is the broth. On a separate small bowl, I tend to mix the hoisen sauce with the chili sauce, and then add a spoonful to my dish as I finish my bowl. Phở is nutritious. It has fresh, natural ingredients. You can eat it in the morning, lunch or dinner. When I am down with a cold or flu, I prefer phở over chicken noodle soup. Then after that meal, I sleep like no tomorrow. It’s an over-indulgence.

The restaurant’s atmosphere is casual. I enjoy the traditional Viet paintings on the walls. There’s a touch of modernity with the fake tropical fish wall tank and the 50-inch plasma TV. Phở 301 is located in Langley Park, MD on University Blvd E. Despite the Phở 75 restaurant right across the street, 301 triumph in cleanliness. Make sure you bring cash because they don’t have a credit card machine. Each table is equipped with a load full of chopsticks and soup spoons. The utensils are clean, but I always wipe them again with a napkin. Oh, try the tropical fruit smoothie with tapioca. Remember to chew the tapioca balls -- don’t laugh at me ThP! I can’t believe ThP tried to make me say grace. Thanx for the humor and the criticism, ThP.

Final word on Phở 301:

Broth (flavor, fragrance, clarity): ***
Meat (tenderness, quality) : ***
Noodles (texture, clumpiness) : ****
Vegetables (variety, freshness) : ***
Overall: ***1/2 out of 5 stars -- leaving room for improvements :-)

Pros: Comfort food
Inexpensive
Fast service
Waiters are friendly – some are single, ladies :-), speak English well
Clean
Cons: Parking, crowded on the weekends
Random loud arguments in the back that migrate to the front desk
Plasma TV can be a distraction
Cash only
No vegetarian dish (you can request it, but the broth is made from meat and marrowbone)