Pho (Eden Center style)
Photo: Guilhem Vellut from Paris, France · CC BY 2.0

Vietnamese beef noodle soup, simmered overnight from oxtail and shin and finished with rice noodles, herbs and lime, the staple of the metro-DC Vietnamese diaspora.

The Washington metro area has the third-largest Vietnamese-American population in the United States, concentrated at Eden Center in Falls Church and along Wilson Boulevard in Arlington. The community settled there from the 1975 fall of Saigon onward; Eden Center, opened 1984, became the cultural anchor. Pho, the long-simmered beef noodle soup, is the staple dish: oxtail, shin and beef bones simmered overnight with charred ginger, onion, star anise, cassia and clove, then strained over rice noodles and finished with rare beef slices, herbs, bean sprouts and lime. Within the city limits, Pho 14, Pho Viet on 14th Street and Pho 75 in Rosslyn run the canonical bowls.

1 editor pick for Pho (Eden Center style) in Washington DC, ranked by editorial score. All Washington DC signature dishes · Pho (Eden Center style) across every city.

Pho 14 Columbia Heights ★ 4.3

$Street food

Pho 14 Columbia Heights in Washington DC is the Park Road Vietnamese counter near the Columbia Heights Metro, with pho served from a 14-hour broth.

OrderVietnamese pho tai chin

TipThe pho dac biet (special) with rare beef and brisket is the editorial bowl; bowl size large feeds two for $14.

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