New restaurants that merit a visit continue to open within a short drive of the College Park campus, joining many old-timers worth revisits. In this column, we review the newly-opened Pho New Saigon on University Boulevard and the four-year-old Cielito Lindo Kenilworth Avenue. Both of them keep calling me back!
Pho New Saigon (1167C University Blvd., Takoma Park, 301 408-4545): drive west on University Boulevard about two miles to New Hampshire Avenue; the restaurant is in the strip-mall shopping area on the southeastern corner of the intersection. Vietnamese owners Bon and Anh Nguyen opened Pho New Saigon in late spring 1997. (He came to the U.S. in 1979, and she arrived in 1983.) Inside, it is certainly one of the nicest looking restaurants along University Boulevard's three-mile stretch between the campus and the Beltway.
With "pho" in the restaurant's name, I wanted to try its pho. This Vietnamese beef noodle soup is offered with a choice, for the beef component, of well-done flank, eye of round stake, well-done brisket, fat brisket, soft tendon, skirt flank, beef tripe, and meat balls. My conservative choice is often the well-done flank. In addition to noodles and some lovely spices, the pho is served with bean sprouts, basil leaves, hot peppers, and a wedge of lemon. The Pho New Saigon version, which I think is quite good, sells for $4.95 large and $4.25 small. For most people, the latter is sufficient.
Many pho restaurants focus exclusively on the beef noodle soup. Here, however, there is a full menu with many delicious dishes. (They are promoted as "low fat, low sugar, no MSG.) For instance, I've enjoyed shrimp in black bean sauce, sauteed scallops, chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, paprika beef soup, charbroiled lemon chicken on rice, and other dishes. I've never had a bad meal here.
There is a special luncheon menu available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays thru Saturdays. Among the twelve choices are chicken sauteed with lemongress and hot pepper, bean curd with mixed vegetables, and beef with black bean sauce. Each is served with hot and sour or crab meat soup, an egg roll, fried or steamed rice, and tea. The luncheon is very good value.
Of course, the regular menu is available throughout the day. At a recent lunch with Evelyn Canabal, we shared two main dishes: Mi Ap Chao Dac Biet ($7.95), which is pan-fried noodles intermixed with a variety of seafood as well as beef; and Com Ga Nuong Xa ($6.50), the mainstream Southeast Asian charcoal-broiled lemongrass chicken with rice. Both were presented in generous and attractive plates, and the food was quite good. Perhaps the edge goes to the noodle dish.
At dinner with Marie Howland, we shared Bun Tom Thit Nuongt, Cha Gio ($6.25), which includes charbroiled shrimp, pork, and egg roll on vermicelli, and Tay Cam Bat Buu Dau Hu ($7.25), a mixed vegetable dish featuring bean curd served in a clay pot. I agree with all of Marie's assessments, so let me share some of them with you: "The service was efficient, and the atmosphere clean and pleasant. ... The vegetables ... were lightly cooked in a delicate sauce, and the tofu in this dish was especially flavorful. ... The shrimps in the shrimp and vermicelli dish were fresh and nicely grilled, and the proportions were generous." She concludes that Pho New Saigon offers "a healthy and enjoyable dining experience."
Cielito Lindo (4305 Kenilworth Ave., Bladensburg, 301 699-5787): drive east on Paint Branch Parkway/Calvert Road past the Metro station to Kenilworth Avenue, turn right, and continue just over two miles to the restaurant in a small strip shopping center on your left. This is primarily a Mexican Mexican restaurant; the so-called Tex-Mex dishes do not predominate, although there have been a few compromises. The owners, Jesucita and Ricardo Vargas, are from Cuernavaca; they opened their restaurant in 1993. He works in the dining area, always open to a conversation; she's the quiet cook. The dominant fixture is a large television set tuned to Univision.
I celebrated the start of the fall semester with my fifth dinner visit to Cielito Lindo. I ordered Carnitas Michoacan Style ($9.95), which is roast pork cooked for many hours served with rice, refried beans, salad, and a mildly tangy green chili sauce; and I accompanied it with a non-alcoholic bottle of imported sangria ($1.50). The pork was tender and flavorful, and the rice and beans were in the Mexican mainstream.
Quite a few College Park colleagues have eaten at Cielito Lindo, and the consensus is clearly positive. Colleague John Hernandez tells me: "Their carnitas are very good. And if you should be soooo 'lucky,' ... the owner will give you a history lesson on the burrito." Kathryn Karam reports that "the service was great and the food always well prepared. ... It isn't fancy but certainly worth the trip." Carmen Roman thinks that "the food is very good and quite authentic." And Dave Jones reports that the menu is varied, the food good, and the portions generous.
During past dinner visits, I've ordered or tasted a number of main dishes; they include Carne Asada a la TampiqueÒa ($9.95), wine-marinated steak with onions, green peppers, refried beans, and rice; and Huarache Azteca ($9.95), oval corn tortillas stuffed with steak and cheese, along with potatoes and refried beans. For most meals, tortillas are served on the side.
There is a have-for-lunch-or-dinner list of items, the former priced at about $5 and later for about $7. A sample of these items includes chicken, cheese, or bean burritos, flautitas, and tacos. There are soft drinks for $1 or $1.50 and beer for about $2.50. Two of my favorite deserts, priced at $2.50, are flan, a custard covered with caramel, and arroz con Leche, Mexican rice pudding.
For me, the very special treat is chicken in mole sauce -- mole poblano. When available, and that's often on weekends, the dish is bargain-priced at $10.95. Mole sauce is a specialty of several regions of Mexico, and I've had the pleasure of enjoying it there. Jesucita Vargas's version is competitive. Mole sauce is chocolate-based with dozens of different spices. Although chocolate, the result is a sweet-bitter mixture; for those without the experience, this dish alone is well worth a drive down Kenilworth Avenue.