Restaurant - Minh (Vietnamese/ヴェトナム料理)
Location - Arlington, VA (アーリントン、ヴァージニア州)
Score - 3.5/5
Dish of recommendation - Pho
Comment - My friends who live in the gastronomy district (no matter which city it is) often tell me that they actually don't visit the restaurants within their walking distance as often as they want to, because they take if for granted that they can go there anytime. I kind of share it... though my district doesn't have as many good restaurants as I wish it had:)
So, ironically, thanks to a friend from Boston, who unfortunately got lost on the way to my house, I could finally have dinner at Minh, a Vietnamese restaurant with high reputation, located within five min from where I live. We got there at 9:30pm on Friday. It was actually more crowded that I had expected because I've heard that Minh is usually not crowded due to its awkward? location (hey!)
Although the location is actually not sexy (located in the first floor 
of an office building), the decoration was overall decent and authentic (except one large Chinese-like kind-of-kyte art hang from the ceiling). Menu had a broad range of food with countless kind of dishes!, but we opted for something simple - Pho and tofu - due to the late dinner time.
The pho came in as a good surprise. The pho was not too thick, not too thin. Beef (well done brisket) had a nice flavor, unlike boring ones I tend to find. Combination of tofu was ok, with a bit too thick sauce.
I shouldn't talk about the price (because my friend invited me:), but pho cost less than $7 for a small size, which means large enough for most of the people. As I expected, Minh is a place to count on for most of the occassions, except for the occasions I need high level of attention (service could be a bit unstable).
コメント - 意外に住んでいるエリアのレストランには行かないものですよね。私も、NorthernVirginiaのグルメ地区の一つであるClarendon/Courthouse近辺のお店はまだ5件ぐらいしか行っていません。今回は、ボストンから週末に遊びに来ていた友人が私の自宅に車で道に迷った関係で、たまたま地元のお店にしようと言ったところ、念願のMinhに訪問しました。
MinhはDCエリアのヴェトナム料理で最も評価が高いお店の一つだったので、ずっと来たい来たいと強く思っていました。オフィスビルの1階にあって、かつCourthouseとClarendonのちょうど中間に位置しているため周辺にレストランは少ない、というロケーションにはやや難があり。内装は｢本日のスペシャル｣を書いた黒板や壁から垂れ下がっている飾りが気になる以外は、こざっぱりとしています。
延々と続く？メニューを見て、どうしようーと一瞬思いましたが、夜遅かったので、あっさりとしたPhoとCombination Tofuを選択。Phoは平均よりもやや太麺で、歯ごたえが気に入りました。あと、well done brisketも最近食べたPhoのお肉の中ではきちんと味がついていて、おいしかったです。Combination Tofuはソースが少し重すぎたかなあ。でも、Phoとご飯を一緒に食べる気にはならなかったし。
やっと、地元で困ったときの頼み綱？を見つけた気がします。
Beef Noodle Soup Pho Chín - Beef noodle soup w/ well done brisket
Combination Tofu - Tofu sauteed w/ mixed vegetables
Minh
2500 Wilson Boulverd Arlington VA 22201
703.525.2828
★ - 3.5/5 私はあまりアジア系の料理をDC近辺で食べていないので、評価は尚早かもしれませんが、少なくとも私が胃を休めたい時に選ぶお店のひとつでしょう。あと、懐にもやさしいし：）
