Date Visited: 22 February 2013
Meal: Dinner
Diners: Me & Wendy
Experience: It was a cold Friday night in Leesburg, and we needed something to warm us up. The obvious answer: Pho!
Pho #1 has been open for about four weeks now, at the southwest corner of the intersection of King Street and Catoctin Circle, around the corner from 7-Eleven. It’s the former location of Bacchus Cafe, and neighbor to Andy’s Subs & Pizza, Wish-Bone Rotisserie, and Chen’s Garden (not yet reviewed). Pho #1 is self-described as an “authentic Vietnamese restaurant.” They specialize in the traditional Vietnamese noodle soup dish called Pho, which puts them in direct competition with Xuan Saigon and Pho Royal here in Leesburg.
For this visit we started out with two standard appetizers, the #A1 Cha Gio - Crispy Egg Rolls, and #A2 Goi Cuon - Fresh Spring Rolls made with rice vermicelli. Both were excellent; the crispy ones were crispy and the fresh ones were fresh!
For our main Pho courses, I selected from the “Adventurer's Choice” part of the menu and got #P8 Pho Tai, Nam, Ve Don - Steak, Flank, Crunch Flank. The part that puts this dish in the Adventurer category is the Crunch Flank, which consists of small pieces of fatty beef flank, and does give the experience of crunchiness. It was different, but I liked it. Wendy chose from the “Beginner” section of the menu and got the #P2 Pho Tai, Nam - Eye Round Steak, Flank Pho. She said, “delicious!”
The usual Pho additions of fresh bean sprouts, Thai basil, jalapeno peppers, and lime slices were served on a separate plate. A simple array of Hoisin sauce, Sriracha sauce, garlic chili sauce, and pepper were on hand at the table (but oddly no soy sauce or salt). There were some interesting desserts in the menu, but our server said they didn’t have any at this time, as they are re-doing their dessert offerings.
The restaurant is clean and simply decorated, retaining the same basic layout inherited from Bacchus Cafe. It is a family-run business; the sons are the main servers, Mom does the “authentic” part of the cooking, and Dad keeps everything running smoothly. Standard background Muzak plays as you are attended to throughout the meal. We felt we received very good value for the meal, and look forward to return and try some of the more adventurous menu items. Give ‘em a try!
Location: 9-E Catoctin Cir. SW, Leesburg, VA, 20175, 703-777-1800
Web site: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pho-1/507248915986511?fref=ts
Total bill: $25.38 + $10 tip = $35.38
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