Pho Ba Le

[KatieLoeb]

Realized the bunch of cilantro in my produce drawer had gone funky and needed to run down to the local Asian market to get a replacement bunch for tonight's salad, regardless of the oppressive heat outside. I hadn't had lunch so I decided to stop in at Pho Ba Le, which has taken over the former Le Cyclo space behind Ba Le Bakery at 606 Washington Ave. It was pretty crowded for an early Sunday afternoon, and I was seated immediately by a friendly waiter. The menu is quite extensive, with salads, appetizers (more variations of rice paper wrapped summer rolls than I think I've ever seen anywhere), noodle soups, rice soups, vermicelli platters and the star attraction, the Beef Noodle soups. I decided the only yardstick by which to measure a pho house was to order the House Special Beef soup, so that's what I did. Here's what arrived:

Although the broth wasn't as strongly flavored as the spicy and rich broth at Pho Xe Lua (my favorite standby for Pho and all things Vietnamese), the quantity of meat in the bowl was impressive. There was brisket, flank steak, tripe, tendon, meat balls, and what appeared to be small cuts of short ribs with big chunks of well marbled meat on them. Tons of noodles at the bottom. A huge bowl of bean sprouts, sliced jalapenos, basil and that saw toothed herb whose name I don't know came alongside, with a half of a lime to squeeze into my soup. This was a formidable tureen of pho, by anyone's standards. I ate most of it accompanied by a Cafe Sua Nong, or Iced Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk. Grand total for this indulgence - $9.00 before tip.

All the items I saw go past destined for others tables looked delicious. I'll be stopping by here again to investigate more of the diverse menu.

[mrbigjas]

that saw toothed herb whose name I don't know

as it turns out it's called culantro

http://www.caribbeanseeds.com/culantro.htm

[philadining]

(more variations of rice paper wrapped summer rolls than I think I've ever seen anywhere)...

Back when it was Le Cyclo, I too was impressed at the variety, and more importantly, the quality, of those summer rolls. They were freaking huge, and stuffed with good stuff, including lots of herbs.

I thought I had read somewhere that the kitchen was pretty much the same, that they just changed the name, but I don't know for sure if that's true. Has anyone had the summer rolls recently? Are they still good?

[KatieLoeb]

(more variations of rice paper wrapped summer rolls than I think I've ever seen anywhere)...

Back when it was Le Cyclo, I too was impressed at the variety, and more importantly, the quality, of those summer rolls. They were freaking huge, and stuffed with good stuff, including lots of herbs.

I thought I had read somewhere that the kitchen was pretty much the same, that they just changed the name, but I don't know for sure if that's true. Has anyone had the summer rolls recently? Are they still good?

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Le Cyclo (or Le Cyclo Bizarro as Southjerseyepicurean and I dubbed it after our one and only visit) was not nearly as well run or pleasant a place to visit as Pho Ba Le. The kitchen staff might be the same, but the waitstaff seemed a lot better versed in what was on the menu. When it was Le Cyclo, they had weird lighting, Vietnamese rave music thumping at high decibels, the Asian customers and Caucasian customers were seated on opposite sides of the resturant like a bad high school dance, and not a soul could explain any of the various exotic drinks that they had examples of lining the counter. The menu at Pho Ba Le is better translated, the staff speaks English, and mercifully they've lost the bad music. Oh, and they seem to have been able to integrate the customers just fine with no ill effects.

The summer rolls looked awesome. Big and fat and they come in Shrimp, Jicama, BBQ pork, Shredded pork or Nem (??) flavors. There's also Spring rolls and grape leaf beef rolls in addition to other appetizer choices.

[shacke]

that saw toothed herb whose name I don't know

as it turns out it's called culantro

http://www.caribbeanseeds.com/culantro.htm

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Reminds me of a funny story. When I went to Pasion, I told them I was allergic to cilantro and could not have any, anywhere. So my entree comes totally loaded with it. In shock, I asked the server what the deal was. He said "It's not cilantro sir - it's culantro."

When I got home I looked it up and found out it was a stronger cousin of CI-lantro.

Still keeping a promise I made to the manager right after my meal, I have never been back......

[Andrew Fenton]

Reminds me of a funny story.  When I went to Pasion, I told them I was allergic to cilantro and could not have any, anywhere.  So my entree comes totally loaded with it.  In shock, I asked the server what the deal was.  He said "It's not cilantro sir - it's culantro." 

You say cilantro, I say culantro...

[serpentine]

Culantro and cilantro may be "cousins," culantro being the long spiny variety, but the names are often used interchangably to refer to what most of us know as cilantro. Katzer's Spice Reference Pages have a terrifically detailed entry including names in 60 different languages.

(I once had a friend call me in utter confusion from the grocery store looking for the "fresh coriander," as it was listed in her recipe.)