Pho Binh

I’m new at working downtown, and was craving Phở. I trusted the previous reviews and liked the three block walking distance to my office. I was greeted and helped right away as she worked on filling others orders. I had my food within 5 minutes, and the Beef Noodle Soup is amazing! Exacltly what I was craving. She asked me to tell my friends, so I created a Unilocal account. Give her a try!

Incredibly slow service, weak food. Forget it.
I have tried this place twice and been very disappointed twice. The phở to-​go was served with the noodles in the broth. By the time you get anywhere the noodles are mush. The flavor was just OK, not that great. The second time I went (today) there were four orders in and no line when I went up. I think it took a full 30 minutes for me to get food. If you can’t handle five customers, maybe you don’t deserve five customers. To top it off, when I finally got my order half of it was stone cold.

Just lovely chicken soup. Large pieces and good flavor and texture. Perfect on a gray Portland day. And the woman who runs this stand is just wonderful.

I love Phở, but have been wary of trying it from a food cart. Phở isn’t really a «to-​go» kind of food for many reasons. If you like phở, I don’t really need to explain the logistics, but I decided I would give it a try all the same. I mean, this place is pretty close to home, and I’ve been searching for a nearby Phở place for years.
This cart was very busy, but the whole time I waited for my soup people only came to buy their sandwiches. They must be good sandwiches, as the friendly counter guy knew most people by name. I was excited to see the repeat traffic, not considering that these sandwich eaters don’t necessarily translate to phở deliciousness.
The phở came in a large styrofoam container, as expected, along with the usual accoutrement. I put in some hot sauce and quickly walked it home where I put it all in a nice large bowl. Unfortunately, I knew right away that I wasn’t going to be happy. The broth was greasy and didn’t have the beefy smell I expected. As I started eating, I was disappointed to see that the noodles were mushy and soft… as if they’d been sitting in a pot for hours. The beef was stringy and fatty, not the lean tender slices I would expect. The broth lacked the complexity and flavor you’d find at Phở Dalat or Phở Hung.
Much like my experience with another nearby phở shop, the proximity of this food cart doesn’t make up for their sub-​par soup. I really wanted to like it, but next time I’ll go with one of the dozen other food carts in this pod.