Pho Bang: Elmhurst, Queens, NY

photo credit Snorlax

My family and I have been going to Pho Bang, which I mentioned briefly here, for years and years- and years.  In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s the first place I ever even had Vietnamese food.  I was about 15 and I’m not really sure how my parents started going here, but we did, and once I got to the age where I never wanted to eat with the family (stupid, stupid me! When you eat with Mom & Dad, THEY pay! haha), I realized quickly that this place was totally cheap enough to eat frequently with friends.  I have a lot of fond (and not-so-fond…) memories of this place, I have been here so often that I used to even have my own waiter (who had a creepy crush on me and basically, when I walked into the restaurant, would practically all but drop everything he was doing to rush over and say hi; I don’t believe he works there anymore). 

Anyway, I’m finally posting about this place because I am now willing to share the love that is good pho and good bun (pronounced booyin, one syllable).  I went here recently with a friend, though neither of us ordered pho, which I find theirs to be excellent, the best I like.  Pho is a deeply flavored beef broth, simmered for hours upon hours and just wonderfully complex yet simple, and on a rainy winter day, excellent for warming you through to the bone.  Rice noodles, slippery and toothsome, accompany some meats placed on top, depending on your order.  I like #28 here, tai nam gan sach with beef balls (I think I got that right?) which basically is a bit of every meat: brisket, omosa, eye of round, and more.  But I didn’t order it this time, and so I won’t tempt you with more descriptions of just how fantastic their pho is, and how it’s only $5 or so, depending on the kind you order.

We started off with an order of summer rolls, which was uncooked rice wrappers filled with shrimp, mint leaves, and vermicelli noodles.

They come with this thin peanutty sauce for dipping. 

Honestly, this is one of the best things I love about this appetizer.  Sometimes, when I’m bored of my bun, I add peanut sauce to it and mix it all up for a new taste to the dish.  But I also love the cool noodles, the refreshing mint, the salty peanutty taste, and the bouncy shrimp.  It’s a great summertime appetizer, since I don’t like deep fried stuff when it’s super hot and sticky out (the spring rolls, Snorlax’s favorite, are deep fried). 

My friend ordered the grilled beef over rice.  It was enjoyed – I’ve enjoyed this style of beef myself many times; it’s rolled around an onion and grilled, coming out very fragrant and tasty. 

My order of bun, with lemongrass beef atop the noodles, was, as expected, delicious.  The red grilled beef succulent and tasty – not the best cut of meat, so I won’t say tender, but still delicious.  The scattering of various pickled veggies within; the “salad” of shredded lettuces, cucumbers, and carrots hiding underneath the noodles, all made better by pouring the “dressing” of fish sauce all over it, then mixing the whole mess together and eating each bite of slightly sour “noodle salad”.  I love bun on a hot summer day, when nothing fully cooked will do to be ingested.  Absolutely delicious.

Yvo says: This has to be one of my favorite go-to places for hot summer days, or cold winter nights… I just love this place and will continue to go here until this is no longer possible.  I have tried many of the dishes but always return to the same few… also excellent for take out, curling up with a movie and just enjoying a nice meal you didn’t have to prepare yourself. 
highly recommended for what it is (don’t expect gourmet trendy chic anything; the service is laughable to be called service; atmosphere is none – the windows look out onto a parking lot so you can watch your car while you eat! but the food is solid)