New Vietnamese Restaurant Appears To Be Coming To Ellicott City, Replacing Wild Cajun

Last day for the Wild Cajun in Ellicott City. Tomorrow it becomes Viet Pearl. #HoCoFood @HowChowBlog pic.twitter.com/tU0CjZCAMf
— Lanny (@Lanny) November 30, 2014

 A new Vietnamese restaurant appears to be coming to Ellicott City.  See above that Lanny posted a photo on Twitter of a Viet Pearl sign covering up Wild Cajun.

Wild Cajun had been a relatively new Louisiana-style restaurant in the Lotte shopping center at Rte 29 and Rte 40 in Ellicott City.  I hadn't been, but I have to say that I'd love good Vietnamese food.  We get pho from An Loi and Pho Dat Trahn in Columbia.  But they are both more about comfort food than exceptional.

Does anyone know the story of Viet Pearl?  Has anyone tried the Vietnamese food there?

New Phubs Bringing Bahn Mi And Vietnamese Near Arundel Mills; We're Taking Over The Next County

Sandwiches at Phubs in Hanover

HowChow -- and the new Phubs restaurant -- are going to take over Anne Arundel, or at least the close sections.

Reader THC talked up the new Vietnamese restaurant in Hanover just of Rte 100 east of the BW Parkway.  It apparently Phubs opened recently, and she and her sidekicks, the Hubs and Stormageddon, found a casual spot focused on subs and soups with a Vietnamese style.

This isn't my normal stomping ground, but THC provided a full report -- and I know many people slide over towards Arundel Mills for work for fun.  Cafe Au Lait in Ellicott City sells the bahn mi sandwiches, but a good bahn mi is worth a serious drove.  Here is TMC's report:

A few weeks back when the Hubs and I saw the coming soon sign for Phubs we were stoked about a pho place being so close to our house.  We vowed to return immediately upon them opening. 

There is very comfortable looking outside seating (four tables). The interior of the restaurant has a clean minimalistic vibe.  A bamboo half wall separates the ordering counter from the dining room and the bamboo theme continues on a grand scale on the long wall in the dining room with a gigantic graphic of vibrant green bamboo.  There are a few high counter seats that face the parking lot as well as booths and tables. 

The menu is a good size without being overwhelming for someone unfamiliar with the cuisine.  I was pleased to see that there were plenty of options for vegetarians, vegans, gluten free folk, and of course unapologetic carnivores.

Oh? An Loi Has Different Pho? Let's Go.

An Loi's pho with kimchi

Variation is the spice of life -- just be clear about out how much spice you want.

Vietnamese soup makes for a great dinner -- either a casual dinner out or great get-well takeout for home.  The standard pho -- which is pronounced "fugh" despite the bad "fo" puns above -- is a beef stock served with several beef options and an array of Thai basil, sprouts and sliced hot peppers that you can use to personalize the dish.

An Loi and Pho Dat Thanh in Columbia both do a fine pho.  I can't claim they match the amazing Vietnamese food that you could get in Northern Virginia.  But I enjoy my basic bowl with thin-sliced brisket and eye-round steak (#P4), and you can't beat dinner entrees at $7.

Two soups -- one with fried chicken

With several weeks of colds this fall, we filled several prescriptions at An Loi, and we went beyond the generic drugs.  Pho with kim chi (#P11) came first.  That can't be traditional Vietnamese, but the flavors paired nicely.  The sour spice of Korean cabbage contrasted with the stock, but it didn't take over.

Then we left the pho page all together for other Vietnamese soups.  Bun bo hue (#H8) comes with vermicelli noodles -- thicker than the regular rice versions.  Spicy soup.  Nose-clearing, virus-killing spicy.  It was exactly what I needed.

Mrs. HowChow mixed up and ordered hu tieu hoac mi ga xoi mo (#H3) -- a soup flavored with minced pork and served with crisp fried chicken on the side.  Cool variation.  Not chicken as special as you can get.  But still proof that you should work around An Loi's menu as well.

Anything else you like at An Loi or Pho Dat Thanh?  Mrs. HowChow likes the lemon grass chicken with noodle (#B6), although the spiciness can vary day-to-day.  Thai and Vietnamese are both great cuisines, and we have good places.  I'm still looking for the great dishes though.  (Updated: I fixed both mis-spellings. I think.)

Banh Mi Has Come To Howard County

The new banh mi in Ellicott City

Vietnamese sandwiches have made their first entry into Howard County with banh mi on the menu at a cafe just off Rte 40.

Cafe au Lait is a relatively new counter-service shop doing breakfast and lunch with sandwiches and a soup of the day.  Lulu V turned me onto banh mi with a comment, and the '34 Act Gourmet and I were eating them less than three hours later.

These fill a gap that I wrote about in 2010.  Plus, they were good sandwiches for $8 -- fresh bread filled with meats and a mix of fresh and pickled vegetables.  Between us and the takeout that I got for Mrs. HowChow, we ate all three versions: "banh mi" with sliced ham and pork roll along with a "grilled pork" and "lemongrass chicken."  They had rich flavor and the contrasting bites of Vietnamese food -- sweet and savory, spicy and tart.

Do they have the full zest of banh mi at the Eden Center in Arlington?  No.  The bread isn't a baguette.  It's wider like a good roll, but still with a nice crust.   And the flavors could be dialed up.  More sweet, more savory, more spicy, more tart.  The meats were pretty basic, and that mix of assertive flavors is what makes something really taste Vietnamese.  Next time, I'll ask for extra pickled vegetables to try for extra "banh mi" punch.

Bottom line: Definitely worth a drive to Rte 40 to enjoy lunch.  But still worth driving if you can find a great banh mi.  And still an opening in Howard County if anyone wants to dial up banh mi.  Bon Fresco?  Come on.  It seems perfect.

Cafe Au Lait
3290 N Ridge Rd #105
Ellicott City, MD 21043
(410) 313-8838

NEAR:  Cafe Au Lait is on Ridge Road just north of Rte 40 and just east of Rte 29.  If you're on Rte 40, you just turn north on Ridge Road and look in the second building on the right.  If you're on northbound Rte 29, you take the left fork of the Rte 40 exit ramp as if you're going into the Lotte shopping center and then drive until the ramp ends in a "T" at Ridge Road.  Turn left, then cross over Rte 40.  Cafe Au Lait is in an office building on the left.

A New Picture Of An Loi Pho

Soups -- not pho -- from An Loi Pho

Maybe I'm just ridiculously shallow, but the new menu at An Loi Pho gave me a new picture of the Vietnamese restaurant in Columbia.

I don't truly know it's a new menu.  For the past few years, An Loi had been just for comfort food takeout.  I'd order pho or the lemongrass chicken on nights when we needed some easy and simple.  Most everything tasted the same.  Good, but nothing new and intriguing.

That's until we were flipping through pictures in the An Loi menu last weekend.  We had gone to fight our colds with bowls of soup, and the photos in the menu offered up variations to the northern Vietnamese soup that gives the place its name.

I went with a rice noodle soup heavy on seafood (H1), and Mrs. HowChow went with udon noodles in a broth with shrimp and lean sliced pork (H4).  They're both delicious, and they come with the plate of sprouts, lime, and green herbs that let you doctor your bowl your way -- along with a half dozen condiments like soy sauce, sriracha, and a spicy oil.

Papaya salad

Suddenly, I feel like there are all kinds of options here.  More choice than just which meat you put in pho.  The soups made us happy.  I liked the mix of fish balls, squid, shrimp and pork.  Mrs. HowChow slurped her udon noodles, although she isn't a huge fan of dealing with tail-on shrimp and big pieces of pork in the bowl.

But the soups weren't even our favorite part of the meal.  I took a flyer on papaya salad, and that's a must-eat.  Shredded papaya comes mixed with cellophane noodles, shimp, cilantro and other vegetables.  It's a crisp, light salad full of the salty-sweet-citrus flavors that make Vietnamese so delicious.  They're all set in almost a broth flavored with fish sauce.

Now, I want to go back for more An Loi variation.  Remember the salted plum soda and the "French" coffee with condensed milk.  I don't claim this is Vietnamese that should make people drive from the city, but it's a better local joint than I was giving it credit before.

Cold Drinks: Salted Plum Soda At An Loi

The lesson of salted plum soda is that you don't need to buy a Coke to stay cool this summer.

An Loi Pho in Columbia sells the salted plum soda, and it was one of our first HowChow finds.  Mrs. HowChow ordered one up, and we found that they're light and sweet, wonderful with the grilled meats and noodles dishes that make An Loi one of our places for summer dinner.

In the middle of the day, the sodas are refreshing as well.  They're sweet, sour and salty all at once.  It makes sense.  The plums are preserved, so they muddle salt out into the drink.  That swirls with a touch of sugar and the soda water that they pour over top.

You get a thicker, saltier flavor at the bottom, so you should stir it up.  This is a handmade drink -- something way more genuine than even the Coke Zero that I love.  The takeout version goes great with a summer roll if you want a snack.  That's noodles with a shrimp, a slice of pork and some vegetables wrapped in rice paper.  Light, cool food for our crushing heat.

It's Cold Drink Week at HowChow.  Stay cool without feeding a bill into a soda machine.  Go check out the handmade drinks that will keep you just as cool.

Pho Saigon 54 in Laurel

I love a bowl of pho on a chilly afternoon, and I'm adding to my repertoire with Pho Saigon 54 in Laurel.

It's outside Howard County, but so perfect if you're making repeated trips to Ikea in College Park.  Along with the list of things that I had forgotten at Ikea, I carried Momomom's comment about what you want in high quality pho:

I want really nice garnishes of cilantro and Thai basil, sprouts that are crisp with no brown edges, generous wedges of lime, some sliced jalapennos, sriracha and hunan sauce bottles. I want HOT broth that is meaty but not greasy. I want all dente rice noodles nested in a circle. I want various meat options even though I always get the plain round steak. I want the spoon and the chopsticks must be nice...not break apart wooden ones. I like an option with vegetables instead of meat. I like fast service ... that seems the norm for pho. Predictable and always the same over and over again.

That's Pho Saigon 54 in a paragraph.  This is one of those simple, shopping center restaurants like An Loi or Pho Dat Trahn in Columbia that offer Vietnamese soup, noodles, and those delicious summer rolls.  We really liked the pho.  Hot soup, fresh herbs, terrific noodles that filled us up.  Pho Saigon is clean, fast and offers all the sauces, hot peppers and sprouts to personalize your own bowl.  Certainly as good as the Howard County spots.  I thought the brother and meat were excellent here, but I'll need to see if one of these three actually excels.

Pho is perfect for a chilly spring day.  You leave warm and full, but not so stuffed that you need a nap.  You can still do your errands, assemble your television stand, or whatever else needs to get done.

Momomon -- Why do you want the noodles in a circle?  They were.  I just wondered why!  [Update: Check out Perrik's comments below for an answer and for other pho recommendations.]

Pho Saigon 54
13600 Baltimore Ave #306
Laurel, MD 20707
301-490-5858

NEAR:  Pho Saigon is in a shopping center at U.S. 1 and Contee Road in Laurel.  That's south of Rt 198.  Pho Saigon is in an outbuilding next to the Starbucks.

 

Next Vietnamese Question: Where Bahn Mi?

Where are the closest bahn mi -- the spectacular Vietnamese sandwiches that mix a tasty meat with fresh and pickled vegetables?

French bread.  Barbecued pork, lemongrass chicken, pate, or some other savory base.  Topped with cilantro, cucumbers, pickled radish, hot peppers.   These sandwiches were some of my favorite treats when I lived in Northern Virginia.  We stopped at Ba Le in Rockville on the way home from the Container Store, and it made us both crave them again.

Ba Le is a hole in the wall.  It's counter service with sandwiches, pho, and some other basics.  We loved the $2 glasses of young coconut milk, and we split three sandwiches.   Does anyone offer a bahn mi around here?  Any Vietnamese places?  Anywhere else?  The Chinese takeout across from the Columbia Halal Meat in Elkridge advertises bahn mi in its neon sign, but they say that was a former owner.

My plan is a "Bon Fresco bahn mi."  They don't sell bahn mi now, but Bon Fresco and the bahn mi both thrive on great baguettes and high quality ingredients.  The Columbia restaurant just needs to add lemongrass pork or Chinese sausage to the Italian cold cuts that they do so well.  I'll stand in line.  I'll start a Facebook group.  I'll do whatever we need.  Hell, I picked a opening date for the Columbia Wegmans.  Why can't I propose a sandwich for Bon Frescho?  I need bahn mi.

Until I can buy bahn mi, I'm going to try to use some recipes that I found on the local Fat Kinds LIke Ranch blog.  Christy links the the Battle of the Bahn Mi site -- and also to Andrea Nguyen's Viet World Kitchen.

Pho Redux: What Do I Want In My Bowl?

Could I ask a basic question?  What am I looking for when I search out great pho?

I recently posted about Pho 89 in Laurel and made plans to try Pho Saigon 54 after reading good reviews.  People added spectacular comments about Saigon 54 and other places like Pho Nam on Rte 40 in Catonsville, Pho Real in Burtonsville or Pho Hiep Hoa in Wheaton.

We are going to warm ourselves with some Vietnamese soup, especially because I read a recent Chowhound string about pho that talked up Pho Saigon in Catonsville.  We know that An Loi in Columbia isn't the last word on Vietnamese food, and that string has some nice distinctions between the pho from different regions of Vietnam.  It made me wonder what I should be looking for -- what flavors, what garnishes, what makes a great pho -- other than just soup that I think tastes good.

Pho 89 In Laurel (And A Plan For Pho Saigon 54)

Winter is our season of pho, and we're trying to branch out because we know that An Loi isn't the last word on Vietnamese food.

Last month, we started a shopping trip by stopping at Pho 89 in Laurel.  Alex from the Technology & MSG blog had commented about Pho 89 -- and posted about it previously.  I'm so aware that longtime Columbia folks bemoan the fact that An Loi's original owners sold the place, so I'm willing to try somewhere new.

Pho 89 gave us the warm cozy lunch that we needed.  This is a super-casual place like An Loi.  I ordered a large bowl of pho.  Mrs. HowChow ordered noodles with grilled chicken and a Vietnamese coffee.  They're both good, and I love the self-help meal where I add Thai basil, hot sauce, and bean sprouts to tailor the soup to my mood of the moment.  But I don't know that I'd drive all the way from Howard County -- or drive past An Loi.  Mrs. HowChow loves An Loi's lemongrass chicken, and she wasn't sold on Pho 89.

The comedy moment was Mrs. HowChow having me promise in the future to discourage that Vietnamese coffee.  Delicious.  But the condensed milk is so dense that all the sugar and caffeine couldn't stop her from falling into an afternoon haze.

But I'm still going back to Laurel for pho.  Casting about on Yelp, I realized that there are some very positive reviews of Pho Saigon 54 on U.S. 1 at Contee Road.  I'm no expert on Vietnamese broth, but I have several more cold months to check around.

Any pho experts -- or non-experts -- want to recommend the right places to eat and the right dishes to order?  I have seen the Korean page in An Loi's menu, so I get the idea that it isn't completely traditional Viet.  If you're looking for local Vietnamese, you should also try Pho Dat Thahn on Snowden River Parkway just up from An Loi.  The Chowhounders also bemoan that Pho Dat Thahn's original owners sold too.

Pho 89
3507 Fort Meade Road (Rte 198)

Laurel, MD 20723

(301) 362-2288

NEAR: Pho 89 is on Rte 198 just across the county line into Anne Arundel.  From U.S. 1, you pass the Home Depot and the Laurel Dutch Country Farmers Market.  Then you'll see Pho 89 at the end of a shopping center on the right.  It is across Rte 198 from several car dealers.

Pho Dat Trahn in Columbia

In the last few blocks of Snowden River Parkway, one step on the gas pedal can drive you past an unusual cluster of good, casual restaurants.

Indian joints Akbar and House of India sit in adjoining shopping centers, and their Vietnamese cousins An Loi and Pho Dat Trahn sit just a block apart as well.  An Loi is my perennial favorite with a simple menu of delicious noodles, grilled meats and soups.  Pho Dat Trahn offers those same basics -- plus a wider Vietnamese menu and decor one level dressier than An Loi's vibe of "just-the-food-ma'am."

Pho Dat Trahn pulls off the alchemy of Vietnamese food -- serving dishes full of tasty sauce and grilled meats, but somehow making them light and healthy.  Like An Loi, Pho Dat Trahn serves up the Vietnamese basics -- the beef soup called "pho" and the noodles dishes called "bun."  They're both great options to try this food because they're basically "pick your own adventure."  You're either getting a beef broth with noodles or a bowl of noodles with a piquant

 sauce, and you pick what meat you want on top.

The bun with lemongrass chicken (#H6) has been my favorite dish so far.  Slightly spicier than the An Loi version.  (Make sure you get the small dish of sauce to pour over the noodles.  Our waitress forgot the dish at first, but apologized and grabbed one right away when we asked.)  We also enjoyed the ginger chicken in a clay pot (#J10) -- not actually cooked in 

a clay pot, but covered with the thick, rich sauce that I have had elsewhere -- and the sugar cane  shrimp (#I1).  The shrimp was something new.  Think shrimp shish-kabob.  Shrimp paste formed into thin patties around lemongrass stalks, then grilled and served with rice-paper wrappers, noodles, herbs and a peanut sauce.  We rolled them up like fresh eggrolls.

Like food in Vietnam, the menu flows from these signature, local items through traditional Chinese dishes like chowfun, stirfries and even mapo tofu.  You can really explore because most entrees cost less than $10, and the weekday lunch special lets you pick any three items for $6.25.  Based on only two visits, I will be bypassing the appetizers to order more entrees.  Summer rolls are a spectacular invention -- a light wrapper around vegetables, a slice of pork and shrimp -- but the Pho Dat Trahn roll wasn't as good as the main dishes.  On our last trip, we ordered three entrees and packed up leftovers for lunch.

If you want to know more, check out this 2006 Chowhound post comparing Pho Dat Tran and An Loi and this 2007 Chowhound post about how An Loi and Pho Dat Trahn had been sold by their original owners.  I can't compare before and after.

Pho Dat Trahn

9400 Snowden River Parkway

Columbia, MD  21045

410-381-3839

NEAR: This is on the right if you're driving south on Snowden River.  It's the same shopping center as Akbar with the bright, colorful store names.

Salted Plum and Salted Lemon Sodas at An Loi Pho

An Loi Pho is a small restaurant with a basic menu, which makes it even more impressive that the array inspires me to return again and again.

Salted sodas sound like some travel writer's example of a "local" taste that disagrees with an American palette. But the salted plum and salted lemon sodas at An Loi are sweet with a perfectly-honed flavor of preserved fruit. They're light. They're unusual. And they're wonderful with the grilled meats and noodles dishs that make An Loi a great stop for a summer dinner.

If you are converted, you can buy preserved plums in the refrigerated section of the H Mart in Catonsville. I have played with recreating the sodas, but I still haven't gotten the right sweetness. I'll go back for more research.

Click here for a longer review of An Loi or here for a working list of the best restaurants in Howard County. In the winter (or anytime if you love coffee), check out An Loi's Vietnamese coffee with sweetened condensed milk.

An Loi Pho -- a longer review
7104 Minstrel Way
Columbia, MD 21045
410-381-3188

NEAR: Off Snowden River Pwky north of Broken Land and south of the Home Depot. Look for the traffic light with a gas station and a KFC. An Loi is behind the gas station in a shopping center with a Pizza Hut Express and a nail salon.

An Loi Pho: Vietnamese in Columbia

Drive past the KFC and the Pizza Hut and go warm yourself with soup and a twist on lemonade.

It's pho. It's bun. It's a drink made with salted plums. An Loi Pho serves up friendly, accessible food with enough authenticity to make the trip worthwhile.

Outside, it is a shopping center anonymous even for the suburbs, and inside, the decor isn't much more complex. Plastic tables. Minimal artwork. Silverware and condiments laid in on every table. The menu is simple and affordable, more of a soup and grill joint than a full display of Vietnamese cuisine with its sauteed vegetables and clay pot cooking. Most dishes are $6-$10, and most everything is a variation on noodles, meat and a sauce or soup. It's a fine selection if you know Vietnamese food, and it's easy to navigate if you want to figure it out.

The basic menu sections:

• Pho: a beef soup with noodles and a meat of your choice. Eye round, brisket and flank are all easy to recognize. Tendon and tripe may be delicious to you, but they were easy for me to avoid. They're served with a plate of bail leaves, sprouts and a lime wedge. Tear up the basil, squeeze the lime and add the spouts to your taste, along with any of the spicy condiments on the table. A bowl is a meal. A large bowl is gorging, but I don't leave overly full.
  
• Bun: white, soft noodles. They're in the pho, but if you order bun, you get a bowl of noodles with the meat of your choice and a sauce to pour overtop. The sauce coats everything, and the flavors are more grilled and lemongrass.
  
• Everything Else: an array of grilled meats served with rice and variations of soup and noodles. On my last visit, the Vietnamese families seemed to be eating grilled pork and chicken.

Start off with a summer roll or beef wraped in grape leaves. They're both delicious. I prefer the shrimp rolls, which are served cool not fried and dipped in a peanut sauce.

And order the "salted plum soda." Mrs. ChowHow stepped up and discovered this delicious offering. It's a hand-made drink, not a bottled soda. Club soda mixed with a little sugar and a few salted plums at the bottom. Imagine a lemonade with a touch of salt instead of sour. Refreshing and delicious. Exotic, but really not that strange.

Any An Loi meal should end with the "French coffee" that I wrote about earlier.  If you want a broader Vietnamese menu, check out Pho Dat Trahn, which is just a few shopping centers north on Snowden River.

An Loi Pho

7104 Minstrel Way

Columbia, MD 21045

410-381-3188

NEAR: On Snowden River Pkwy north of Broken Land and south of the Home Depot. Minstrel Way has a gas station and a KFC at its intersection with Snowden, and An Loi is in the shopping center behind the gas station. Look for the red neon signs.

HocoLoco Girl on Vietnamese -- a listing of places

Delicious: Vietnamese Coffee at An Loi Pho

Go to An Loi Pho off Snowden River Pkwy for a meal and then "French coffee."

You get a coffee cup with a metal strainer on top. The boiling water has just been poured inside, and you sit watching as it drips through the coffee grounds and into your cup. It's a nice rest, a moment to talk. Then, you pull off the strainer to reveal a surprisingly thick, sweet drink.

Condensed milk. Probably a Big Mac's calories mixed with the coffee th
at just brewed into your cup. The coffee is strong, sweet and condensed milk tastes different than anything in the latte, steamed milk family. You also get a tea pot of hot water to thin out the coffee if you want. I added a dash, but I don't suggest much. Enjoy the difference. I don't know if the French drink this way, but it tastes and looks like the coffee in Hanoi.

An Loi's meals are worth a post on their own. Simple decor, but delicious food. Great if you already have a taste for Vietnamese food. If you don't, you can't go wrong ordering a summer roll, a bowl of pho (soup) with the meat of your choice, and bun (vermicelli) with the meat of your choice.

If you want cool instead of warm, try An Loi's salted lemon and salted plum sodas.

An Loi Pho -- a longer review
7104 Minstrel Way
Columbia, MD 21045
410-381-3188

NEAR: Off Snowden River Pwky north of Broken Land and south of the Home Depot. Look for the traffic light with a gas station and a KFC. An Loi is behind the gas station in a shopping center with a Pizza Hut Express and a nail salon.


HocoLoco Girl on Vietnamese -- a listing of places