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I last went to Pho 85 in Oakton for pho and mentioned how my nephew enjoyed the bbh from a previous trip. I finally got the bbh and was overall pretty satisfied.

Pluses include a very hot in temperature broth. The photo looks like it’s lacking protein, but there was roughly 6 slices of beef shank in there and they were super tender. Then there were two types of cha and the congealed blood cubes. Also, if I see sliced banana blossom in the accoutrement dish, I’m a happy camper.

Now the not so good. The pork hock wasn’t as tender. But other than that this bowl was solid.

Went to Ambrosia tonight since my plans of roaming inside the Warner Theatre didn’t pan out. This is the standard beef pho and priced identical to their bbh. The free range chicken is the least expensive and if the goal is opulence, there’s a Wagyu bowl.

The dac biet comes with flank, fatty brisket, tendon and even a piece of short rib. Not the Dino rib that’s seen at other shops, but the easier to tackle kalbi tang cut. It comes with a very clean 24 hour bone broth, but is kinda sweet as well. The noodles however, are extra wide and very enjoyable to slurp.

Service is more attentive than most places, but there was a slight hiccup of delivering the beverage. I’d return for their other items. But better yet, I’d go to their sister shop, Present, in Falls Church as the menu is identical without having to metro in.

Ordered a small so I could make room for the agar agar drink. I got the number 5, which contains eye round, flank, tendon and tripe. There was a good amount of flank and eye round, but only one morsel of tripe and one sliver of tendon. It sure made me wish I ordered a number 13 or 14 instead. Otherwise the bowl was good as it can get.

Had to circle back and forth between Fairfax and Centreville today. So decided to stay in the area for pho. I ordered the eye round and tripe bowl. Really appreciate the green onions being cut on the bias. Noodle texture was superb, but broth seemed to have a heavy handed dose of rock sugar. They even have pickled garlic slivers as part of the condiments.

Today the noodles had a nice bounce to them. This is lemongrass pho bowl as a base and I added the giblets and young chicken eggs. Plenty of leftovers for lunch.

Got the To the Moon, which has oxtail and filet mignon. This pic doesn’t seem like it, but they’re very generous with the meat.

With the re-opening of Viet Foods, I had to get one of my favorite noodle soups, bun thang. This hits the spot every time as I love the chicken broth and how everything is julienned. Not sure how authentic Viet Food’s version is, but having read beetle juice is the key ingredient, I don’t think I’ve ever had it in its purest form growing up. Anyone who wants to try this soup, it’s the number E18 on the menu.

I went down a pho rabbit hole and tried out the “Les Pho” at Nue. The Irodori Wagyu was buttery and the noodles were awesome. The pickled garlic was the best I’ve had to date.

But I wouldn’t recommend trying this because while the bowl was executed well, it was at best the size of a small-medium rice bowl. Three slurps and you’re down to broth. So hard to justify the money for this spendy bowl.

Didn’t try the homemade fish sauce but the nuoc beo was very fragrant. For the effort they put into artisanal this and that, it was flat out weird they gave sriracha and hoisin in sauce packets.