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THE FREE LANCE-STAR
Used to be when I had a hankering for Vietnamese food, I had two choices: Get out the stock pot or gas up the Toyota. But bless the local family that opened up Pho Saigon Restaurant in Spotsylvania. They serve up tasty, authentic Vietnamese cuisine, and I don't have to drive an hour to get it.
The place opened in January, and already locals are lining up at the door to get steaming noodle soup, glistening garden rolls and jet-black coffee laced with creamy condensed milk. Hurried diners beware--this restaurant's quality has caused it to catch on fast--you might have to wait for a table.
First the name: Pho Saigon. "Pho" is Vietnamese for the authentic noodle soup prepared with traditional recipes. Perhaps the best thing about the huge ceramic bowls of steaming rice noodles and veggies is the rich homemade broth laced with star anise flavor.
On my first visit waitress Emily Le, daughter of owners An Tran and William Le, told me that when she was a little girl her mom made her "pho Saigon dac biet"--Hanoi beef noodle soup--to ward off colds and pass on a good dose of caring. And, while all the soups are authentic, she said, this is the most typical.
The huge bowl arrived (they call it small!) with almost boiling broth, silky rice vermicelli, scallions, cilantro and a variety of meats cut in paper thin slices: well-done flank steak, baked brisket with fat intact, gelatinous slices of savory stewed tendon and lacy tripe. It was all topped of with bright pink slices of the leanest round steak. If you want them cooked well-done, just plunge them into the piping hot noodles.
One of the best things about pho is that you get to add what you want from a plate of fresh garnishes: Throw in crispy mung bean sprouts, a fresh sprig of anise-flavored basil or hot pepper slices. Squeeze on lime juice, hoisin sauce or chili sauce.
And don't be shy about how to eat the stuff: Use your fork to twirl the noodles in the spoon. Or lift the noodles and meat with chopsticks while holding the bowl close to your mouth. Or just use your spoon to slurp it all up.
There's no one right way to do it, and the helpful waitresses will be glad to offer suggestions.
Pho Saigon offers all kind of meat choices in the soups. Many Americans will feel most at home with the "pho tai," noodles with plain eye of round or the "pho ga," chicken broth with shredded white meat of chicken.
Don't be scared of the tripe or tendons, though. The wispy strips of tripe are few and taste of lime, and the tendon (again few and far between) has a pleasant beef flavor.
If you're in the mood for noodles but not soup, try the marinated grilled beef, chicken or pork served over room-temperature rice vermicelli. Under the noodles you'll find thin ribbons of fresh lettuce and cucumbers. Sprinkle the whole thing with the sweet amber sauce served on the side (the main ingredient is fish sauce, but it doesn't taste the least bit fishy) and you'll be tempted to lick the bowl.
Pho Saigon serves the same grilled meats on perfectly cooked rice with the same sauce. You can't go wrong with any of these, even if you have the most American of palates.
Start your meal with a garden roll ($2.50), a sort of uncooked cousin to the egg roll. The pearly bundles are lovely, with their translucent rice-paper skin revealing pink shrimp against the deep green leaf lettuce tucked inside. Dip them in the special peanut-studded fish sauce (again, it doesn't taste fishy, but gets its name from a staple of Asian cooking that is comparable to soy sauce.) Other appetizers include deep-fried spring rolls ($2.50), meatball soup ($1.50) and whole braised quail ($7.50.)
Pho Saigon has applied for a license to sell beer and wine but hasn't gotten it yet. I recommend the fresh lime soda--they make it on the premises, and it is so refreshing you might just have to order two.
Diners can also get a nice pot of hot tea, a variety of sodas, coconut juice with chunks of toasted coconut or soy bean milk. The creamy iced chicory-coffee is made with sweetened condensed milk. The hot coffee is fresh drip-brewed at your table over a cup with just a bit of sweetened condensed milk hiding in the bottom. If you're a coffee fan, don't miss either.
Pho Saigon makes fruit daiquiris with no alcohol, and they are delicious. For dessert you might try the exotic jack fruit slush.
The two desserts on the menu are both parfaits ($2.50), but Americans might describe them as more of a drink you eat with a spoon. A parfait glass is filled with coconut milk and ice, then other ingredients are added. The "che Saigon" contains exotic canned fruits such as papaya, lichees and pineapple. The "che bamau" sounds strange to Americans but is quite delicious--once you get over the fact that it is made with three types of beans.
Pho Saigon makes a homemade paste of mung beans, lemon juice and sugar, and diners are meant to mix the yellow paste into the drink, adding creamy texture and bright flavor. You'll also find white and red beans plus thin shards of homemade green (not lime) gelatin. This dessert must be a refreshing afternoon snack on a sultry summer day. Eat around the beans if need be, but try it.
Phone: 540/891-2400
Hours: Open daily: Monday through Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Price range: Appetizers: $1.50 to $7.50; noodle soup: small $4.75, medium $5.25, large $6.25; vermicelli dishes:
$5.50 to $6.95; rice dishes: $5.50 to $6.75; desserts:
$2.50; drinks: $1 to $3.
Atmosphere: A small, busy storefront in a new strip mall. The room is clean and bright with Vietnamese art and
an interesting and beautiful shrine--with offerings to Buddha of cigarettes, coffee and fruit--under the cash register. Wait staff are friendly and conscientious, but they are also very busy most days.
Payment: MasterCard, Visa; no checks accepted.