A few weeks ago a "coming soon" sign went up in front of the shopping center at NW 150th & May where Jimmy Johns and Tuckers Onion Burgers are located. Today, I noticed they were open so my wife and I decided to stop in and try it.

My wife ordered Pho and I ordered one of the Vermicelli noodle dishes (often called by some version of bun chao). We both agreed that the food was excellent, very close to that of Pho Lien Hua in the Asian District. The only food disappointment for me was the fried spring rolls. My wife thought they were excellent but I'm very particular and prefer fried spring rolls with a very strong pepper flavor, something very few Vietnamese restaurants offer. There were some issues with the service but as we were paying our tab, the owner explained to us that they had just opened the doors at 3:00 pm (this was about 7:30) and they were slammed beyond their expectations with large numbers of customers. He was very apologetic and promised it would not happen again if we came back. We assured him the food was great, that we understood opening night hiccups and that we would be back. He said he owns another Pho restaurant on Western, near Chesapeake and a quick Google search suggests that his other restaurant is probably Pho Van, which has pretty good reviews.

Pho 54 also offers Vietnamese sandwiches like those served at Lee's, Vietnamese coffee and those drinks with a straw big enough to suck a marble thru, as well as some Chinese style stir-fry dishes like General Tso's, Kung Pao and broccoli beef/chicken, etc....

My wife and I are thrilled that there is a very good Pho restaurant less than two miles from our home and we will both be recommending Pho 54 to our friends. My wife likes hot and spicy food and she commented on how hot the jalapenos were. It's the first time in 9 years that I've seen her tearing up from hot food! :Smiley122

A few weeks ago a "coming soon" sign went up in front of the shopping center at NW 150th & May where Jimmy Johns and Tuckers Onion Burgers are located. Today, I noticed they were open so my wife and I decided to stop in and try it.

My wife ordered Pho and I ordered one of the Vermicelli noodle dishes (often called by some version of bun chao). We both agreed that the food was excellent, very close to that of Pho Lien Hua in the Asian District. The only food disappointment for me was the fried spring rolls. My wife thought they were excellent but I'm very particular and prefer fried spring rolls with a very strong pepper flavor, something very few Vietnamese restaurants offer. There were some issues with the service but as we were paying our tab, the owner explained to us that they had just opened the doors at 3:00 pm (this was about 7:30) and they were slammed beyond their expectations with large numbers of customers. He was very apologetic and promised it would not happen again if we came back. We assured him the food was great, that we understood opening night hiccups and that we would be back. He said he owns another Pho restaurant on Western, near Chesapeake and a quick Google search suggests that his other restaurant is probably Pho Van, which has pretty good reviews.

My wife and I are thrilled that there is a very good Pho restaurant less than two miles from our home and we will both be recommending Pho 54 to our friends. My wife likes hot and spicy food and she commented on how hot the jalapenos were. It's the first time in 9 years that I've seen her tearing up from hot food! :Smiley122

If she's a fan of hot and spicy, and maybe likes the taste of lemon grass, she should have a go at Bun Bo Hue.

If she's a fan of hot and spicy, and maybe likes the taste of lemon grass, she should have a go at Bun Bo Hue.

I'll pass that along to her. She loves the Lemongrass pork at House of Hunan (NW 178th & Santa Fe) and several of the dishes her sister and mom cook include lemongrass.