And so my Asian tour of Washington, D.C. begins!! Honestly, it's not really beginning because a number of the restaurants I have reviewed to date have been Asian, but don't give me grief on a technicality. One type of cuisine I have not reviewed yet though is Vietnamese. While it is not my favorite Asian cuisine, I am a huge fan of Pho something I came to discover a few years ago. So when I heard a new Pho restaurant had opened in Cleveland Park (one of my favorite neighborhoods in Washington D.C.), I had to check it out.
Nam Viet is definitely a no nonsense type of place! The service is speedy. If you are trying to catch up with an old friend for hours on end, I would not recommend it. If you are, however, trying to grab a quick dinner after work, then Nam Viet is your jack pot!
One of the hardest things to decide at Nam Viet is which Pho to get. To be honest, I didn't even really look at the rest of the menu because I had my heart and stomach set on Pho. There did appear to be a lovely selection of grilled food numbers, but the Pho selection was awesome. After quite a bit of internal debate, I decide to get the shrimp and pork Pho with yellow noodles. I was torn between that one and the wonton Pho, which my friend Andrea happened to get.
Now for those of you who get Pho, you know that it is served with bean sprouts and lime. I never really have explored these sides with my Pho and I definitely think I need to in the future.
I really enjoyed my Pho, but I felt the flavor of the broth to be a little too light. When I asked a colleague of mine, who happens to be a Vietnamese food expert, how the broth is supposed to taste, she said, "it should be light, but also unctuous with flavor." I would say the Pho at Nam Viet could have used a touch more flavor (adding hoison sauce into it helped), but all in all it was very good. The noodles were delicious, the pork scrumptious and the shrimp perfectly cooked.
For a cold night, I would definitely recommend Nam Viet. It's super cheap, too! Nam Viet you get 3.75 dumplings out of 5.
www.namviet1.com
1 comment:
I love Pho! Perfect on a cold winter evening. I haven't been to many places in the DC-area for it, but I loved Pho 75 in Courthouse (next to Ray's Hell Burger). Sounds like the same atmosphere - in and out, and cheap (but delicious). They are only open until 8. Let me know if you go!
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