An Loi - Columbia, MD

An Loi
7104 Minstrel Way, Columbia, MD 21045

My favorite Vietnamese restaurant in the DC/Baltimore area. The Cambodian noodle soupe (N1) on the menu, with egg noodles, is fantastic: chicken broth that's just right with fish balls, shrimp, squid and pork, served with cilantro and jalapeños on the side. The Pho is always excellent. The grilled pork and the beef stuffed grape leaves are some of the best I've had.

One interesting item is the vermicelli noodles with spring rolls. A little odd, but great.

It gets very crowded at lunch so try for the off hours. The service is great and the two sisters that run the place are great people.

Pho Hiep-Hoa - Weaton, MD

I dropped in for a Sunday afternoon bowl. This isn't my favorite but it was convenient.

It's your usual pho place with line after line of long tables. Mostly Vietnamese customers with a small number of Salvadorians and Anglos. The one unique feature of this place is the TV showing Vietnamese music videos. A unique feature but maybe not a good one.

The pho here is just OK. The large #12 I ordered was typical. The brisket was well cooked with very little fat. The eye-of-round (what the hell is that?) was a little too rare for my tastes, but acceptable. Their noodles were A1, though. I hate it when the noodles are just a sticky lump in the bottom of the bowl. These were nice and soft and easy to tackle.

The same strip of shops also includes Max's which is a great place for shawarma and falafel, not to mention the pastrami on rye.