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Best Bargain Restaurants: Pho D.c.

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Pho D.c.
Washington

At long last, fans of pho who live in the District no longer have to drive to Virginia or Maryland to enjoy Vietnam's meal-sized beef-noodle soup at its best. While in-town Vietnamese restaurants all serve a simplified version of pho, none matched the elaborately garnished versions ladled out by Pho 75 and other Vietnamese soup kitchens, where pho is the only dish on the menu. But with Pho D.C. you get a bonus: Not only does the quality of its soup--available with nearly 20 different garnish combinations--match that served by other pho specialists, but the restaurant also offers a full menu of other Vietnamese specialties whose quality is also notable.

This kitchen's spring rolls are unusually meaty and virtually grease-free, but the best preface to the soup at Pho D.C. is an order of pork rolls--a pair of rice-paper cylinders stuffed with roast pork and crunchy pork cracklings--that may be the best appetizer roll currently on the local Vietnamese circuit.

The rest of the cooking here is so good that a couple might order two bowls of pho and share an entrée. Share either a dish of steamed cod and cellophane noodles in a sweet-salty sauce or the chicken with chili and lemongrass on a first visit, and you're bound to return to discover the rest of this kitchen's fine work.

Pho D.c. , 615 I Street NW, Washington; 202/789-0211. Open Monday through Saturday 10 am to 9 pm and Sunday 11 am to 4 pm. MC, V. MapIt!

QUALITY: ****Excellent; *** Superior; **Very Good; * Good
PRICE RANGE: $$$= Very Expensive; $$ Expensive; $=Moderate; ¢=Inexpensive

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