Almost Pho-gettable

Having been neither impressed nor disappointed with Sunset Park's Gia Lam, I thought I'd give one of the neighborhood's other Vietnamese joints a try. I was looking for a bahn mi/pho shop on 7th Avenue that I had wandered into a few months ago, but it was getting a little late, and we weren't able to find it (or anything else open). So my girlfriend and I ventured back to 8th Avenue, willing to try our luck.

We ended up at Pho Cho Lon (Bik Bay Vietnamese Restaurant), which we picked for the simple reason that it seemed to have the most amount of customers inside. It's not the most reliable strategy, but it's not a bad one, when you don't have any other clue.

Our goi cuon (summer rolls, 2 for $3.50) was pretty standard, and I was a little disappointed with the wrappers for not being as springy as I'd like, and with the filling for not being as herby. The banh hoi chao tom (barbecued shrimp paste on sugar cane with rice noodles, $9.95) was a big letdown, with the shrimp being way too dry.

But the saving grace was the cheapest dish of the lot, the com bo xao ca (beef, lemongrass, green pepper, onion, mushrooms over white rice, $4). Although the beef was probably just slices of chuck, it was flavorful and (relatively) tender. The vegetables weren't spectacular, but they were fresh and generously alloted. The real winner in the dish was the sauce, which had the nice saltiness of Japanese curry. I can't say my palate is refined enough to say what goes in it, but for $4, you really can't lose with this dish.

In fact, that's probably the approach to take at Pho Cho Lon (other than, perhaps, the pho--which is what most of the other diners appeared to be getting). There are dozens of dishes under $5, and even more under $8. The meal also came with some slighlt pickled carrots and vegetables, which were delicious and refreshing, but strangely gritty.

Pho Cho Lon (Bik Bay Vietnamese Restaurant) (map)
5604 8th Ave. (at 56th St.)
Sunset Park, Brooklyn
(718) 492-1592