Pho 75

Last night a friend of mine, Justin Trawick, organized a get-to-gether with friends at Pho 75 in Arlington. It's located at 1721 Wilson Blvd in Arlington. It's right next door to the new Ray's Hell Burger, which I am dying to try also. I've been dieting and really trying to watch what I have been eating. I looked up on the internet the calories and fat of Pho. It doesn't seem to be too terribly high, but I definitely know that it depends on the cuts of meat that you order as "toppings" in your Pho.
A quick glance online before I left work about this place told me that it's not fancy and that's cafeteria-like, but that the Pho at Pho 75 is one of the best in the DC area. Since I have never tried Pho before (pronounced FUH - not FOE), I was pretty excited and since our friend Ben was going to be there, I knew that I was going to be dining with a Pho expert.

The write-ups about the establishment was right on the money. It was not fancy, or cozy, nor quaint. It did feel almost like a cafeteria. There were five or six rows of long tables that could be shared by diners. Dark chairs lined the tables. Sitting atop of the tables were reusable chopsticks and soup spoons, along with hot and spicy sauce and plum sauce.

It took a little while to get the server to come over to us to take our order, but once we ordered, the soup came in minutes! Very fast! I ordered the #12 with eye-round and well-done beef brisket. The Pho Soup consists of beeth broth, very thin slices of beef that you can almost see through, onions, long thin white rice noodles, and cilantro. Separately on a small plate, you are given sprigs of fresh basil, bean sprouts, slices of fresh jalapenos, and slices of lime. This allows each person to season their serving to taste. The menu offered several different cuts of meat. Some other possible "toppings" were soft tendon, flank, bible tripe, some fatty cuts, and brisket. Fattier cuts of meat does effect the nutritional value of the meal as some of the fattier meats tend to have a higher fat content. Apparently, as I learned from Ben, it is common to add a hearty helping of hot sauce to the dish as the soup is somewhat bland without condiments, however; I added very little of the hot sauce.

I really liked the Pho very much. I think it was delicious. I definitely plan to try more Pho, especially a variety of meats. Pho really is quite a bargain. The restaurant's walls were adorned with dozens of Washingtonian's Best Bargain Awards. Apparently, it has won Best Bargain awards for the last several years.

On that note, Pho would be a great meal for starving musicians, artists, college students, DC interns, and those struke so hard by today's tough economy. Since it's right in Clarendon along Wilson Blvd., it's metro accessible. Anyone could enjoy some of DC's best Pho for Cheap!

Evening Star Cafe for New Year's Eve

The Evening Star Cafe which is nestled into the quaint Del Ray area of Alexandria had a very special prix fixe menu of four courses for New Year's Eve Dinner.
The restaurant is located at 2000 Mount Vernon Avenue and in addition to the dining room there is a lounge and and upstairs bar where local artists like my favorite, Justin Trawick often plays.

The Executive Chef, Will Atley, who is a personal friend of mine had a lot to do with why we chose to dine there for the evening. It was also conveniently close to the new Gaylord Resort at the National Harbour where were were attending our New Year's Gala. However, I will never make that reference again ... Our dinner was one of the best I have ever had. I think I enjoyed it more than CityZen!
Yes, I was a bit spoiled that evening by Will. When we told our server that because there was two individuals in the party and there was four courses, that we would like one of each course and that we would share. Well I guess when Will got wind of this, he decided to give us each our own portion of every course. To say the least, We were delighted by every course, including the amuse bouche that Will brought out personally that was a lobster stuffed mini biscuit, as he described it. For the first course, we each had our own portions of the duck carpaccio and the lobster risotto. The risotto was served atop a quarter lobster which was perfectly cooked and the risotto had a deliciously rich texture. I have never prepared risotto and I don't think I've ever ordered it at other restaurants, so I don't have much experience to judge the risotto, but it was delicious and the texture seemed perfect. The duck which was cut into thin slices was served atop mixed field greens, sweet walnuts, and red onions and was perfectly paired with the vinaigrette. As my husband told the Chef, he thought the duck was not gamey tasting at all, which he said was very good. The spinach gnocchi with the tomato puree was soft and flavorful, however, it was not my favorite of the four courses. My favorite course was the butternut squash stuffed ravioli. I told Will that I don't particularly care for ricotta cheese, but that I thought that the ravioli was divine! I hope that it becomes an addition to the regular autumn menu. My main course was the beef tenderloin which was succulent and juicy. It was served atop mashed potatoes and mushrooms. Ben ordered the trout which I thought was amazing. It was creamy and had lemons and capers. I would definitely order that again if it was featured on the regular menu. There were two desserts. One was a chocolate mousse cake, which I didn't try too much of, since I'm not a huge chocolate lover and the other was a mango fruit tart. Very rich but delicious! Our entire meal was heavenly! The cost of the four course prix fixe menu was only $60 per person or $85 if you had wine pairings with each course. What a bargain! The meal was one of my best yet and for a very reasonable price, especially since it was a special occasion. Kudos to the very talented chef! We are excited to come back again!

October 2007 Washingtonian. I'm Published!!!

Can you believe it?
I was reading my October 2007 issue of the Washingtonian that just came in the mail and quite to my surprise, a portion of my posting on Todd Kliman's online chat on Tuesday's was in the magazine! On page 169 you can see it... It was my July 12, 2007 posting. You can also read it in my archives of my blog.

Here was the orginal coversation:

Alexandria, VA:

Todd, I wanted to follow-up with you about where I went to dinner before Justin Trawick's show at the 9:30 club. I did research Oohhs and Aahhs, but I agree that it would have been a better place for an after show treat. I made a reservation at Etete. The Ethiopian place off of U Street. I think the it was an amazing experience. I remember reading somewhere that you thought the service was very good. I think you described it as family-like... anyways... my experience was pretty awful when it came to service. We had to wait for a long time and most of the time, I just got tired of waiting and I had to get up and find my server. I was not very happy about that. It took so long for the waitress to come over to us, I had to go find her to tell her that we were ready to order and this is after a 30-40 minute wait. Also ... I had a hard time picking something from the menu that didn't have jalapeño or green peppers in it (I'm allergic). But I got the Yefem Tibs as my entree and I loved it. Next time I go back I know to order more things from the menu to try. I will not order, however, the tomato salad. The dressing was such a disappointment. It came right out of the bottle... like a Kraft Italian. I tried the Sambusa (Lentil) and loved it. It reminded me of empanada's a little bit... Do you have another suggestion of where I can try more ethnic foods but won't run into the Green Pepper or jalapeño problem? Thanks. Always a Pleasure. Lisa

Todd Kliman:

Lisa,

Thanks for the update. And I'm glad you had a good time at Etete. It's interesting: I've never had a problem with the service there, but I've also never gone there before trying to make a show.

If you're looking for other good ethnic spots ... shoot, we just published a whole issue of them, essentially, in June's Cheap Eats. One that's in the city and doesn't go in for jalapenos is Malaysia Kopitiam. The food's consistently tasty, and there's a lot to choose from. Give it a go.

And, of course, there are always kabob houses. The area is full of them, and there's a lot that's good.

My favorite is probably Ravi Kabob (either I or II, both in Arlington). You'll run into the "jalapeno problem" if you order the terrific karahi, but if you stick to the skewered meats, you shouldn't have any worries. Fantastic stuff. Really, this is some of the best eating you can do in the entire metro area. And you can afford to do it often.


I highlighted what you see on p. 169 in bold italics.

Pretty Groovy, I think. :D

Todd Kliman the Governor of DC Foodies...

So on Tuesday at 11 a.m., I participated in another chat with Todd Kliman, Editor of the Washingtonian Food Section. I wanted to write in and follow-up with him about my experience on U Street. I didn't get to hit any of his recommendations but I did talk about my visit to Etete. Read below.

Alexandria, VA:

Todd, I wanted to follow-up with you about where I went to dinner before Justin Trawick's show at the 9:30 club. I did research Oohhs and Aahhs, but I agree that it would have been a better place for an after show treat. I made a reservation at Etete. The Ethiopian place off of U Street. I think the it was an amazing experience. I remember reading somewhere that you thought the service was very good. I think you described it as family-like... anyways... my experience was pretty awful when it came to service. We had to wait for a long time and most of the time, I just got tired of waiting and I had to get up and find my server. I was not very happy about that. It took so long for the waitress to come over to us, I had to go find her to tell her that we were ready to order and this is after a 30-40 minute wait. Also ... I had a hard time picking something from the menu that didn't have jalapeño or green peppers in it (I'm allergic). But I got the Yefem Tibs as my entree and I loved it. Next time I go back I know to order more things from the menu to try. I will not order, however, the tomato salad. The dressing was such a disappointment. It came right out of the bottle... like a Kraft Italian. I tried the Sambusa (Lentil) and loved it. It reminded me of empanada's a little bit... Do you have another suggestion of where I can try more ethnic foods but won't run into the Green Pepper or jalapeño problem? Thanks. Always a Pleasure. Lisa

Todd Kliman:

Lisa,

Thanks for the update. And I'm glad you had a good time at Etete. It's interesting: I've never had a problem with the service there, but I've also never gone there before trying to make a show.

If you're looking for other good ethnic spots ... shoot, we just published a whole issue of them, essentially, in June's Cheap Eats. One that's in the city and doesn't go in for jalapenos is Malaysia Kopitiam. The food's consistently tasty, and there's a lot to choose from. Give it a go.

And, of course, there are always kabob houses. The area is full of them, and there's a lot that's good.

My favorite is probably Ravi Kabob (either I or II, both in Arlington). You'll run into the "jalapeno problem" if you order the terrific karahi, but if you stick to the skewered meats, you shouldn't have any worries. Fantastic stuff. Really, this is some of the best eating you can do in the entire metro area. And you can afford to do it often.

Todd Kliman's Chat (Tuesday's 11 a.m.)

So every Tuesday at 11 a.m. Todd Kliman, the Food Editor of the Washingtonian Magazine has an online chat.
He begins the chat every week with some comments about a few local places that he wants to highlight. In addition, people can write in about questions that they have about restaurants, etc. I participate every week. I actually have an alert set up in Outlook to remind every week. Ha ha ha. Anyways ... this was my comment this week. And of course, I loved Todd's reply. See below.

Alexandria, VA:

Hey Todd, One of my really good friends, Justin Trawick is playing at the 9:30 Club on Friday. Before the show, I wanted to get some "real" food, so I made a reservation at the Tabaq Bistro for me and my husband. I have never been there and I know that it is not on the 100's Very Best list. I have heard great things about the atmosphere, but how's the food? Can you tell me what I should expect or what I should definitely not miss? Thanks, Lisa

Todd Kliman:
How to Build a Life with a Lemonade Stand. Neat sound.

(Sorry, folks. I've been grooving to the music on Justin's website for the last few minutes -- www.justintrawick.com ... And no, I'd never heard of him before popping open this question. Kinda reminds me a little of G Love and Special Sauce, if just a touch folkier.)

Lemonade, Special Sauce ... and back to food.

I'm no fan of Tabaq, although I do like the terrific view upstairs -- it gives you a great sweep of the city.

If it's good eats you're after -- and not just a place to drink and catch up and find yourself among a crowd -- then I'd rather send you to Coppi's Organic or Etete, also on U St. Or to Oohhs & Aahhs, which has just started serving chicken and waffles from midnight to 4 a.m. It'd make a great post-show "snack."

Link to Todd's Chat: http://www.washingtonian.com/chats/restaurants/4412.html?msg=1