The ever-growing trend that started in California, food trucks are appearing more and more in Virginia as they migrate down south from D.C. But I was shocked when I saw two rows of food trucks around 12:30PM ready to serve on an adjacent road off of Greensboro Drive, a commercial street that connects many corporate companies in the McLean area. The trucks were parallel parked, and most had 4 or 5 customers waiting to place their order. PhoWheels’ line took over the entire length of a large sidewalk.

Waiting in line for 30 minutes.

PhoWheels serves popular Vietnamese cuisine with its own modern twist. Despite the truck’s clever name, pho (Vietnamese rice noodle soup) is not the most popular menu item. By the time it was my turn to order, there was a big “SOLD OUT’ sticker placed over the taco section of the menu. But that’s alright because I was happy to try their pho and banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich).

Pho:

It’s served in a to-go bowl. You select eye-round steak, meatballs, or chicken (beef broth for all three choices), and it comes with scallions, cilantro, red onions, lime, and jalapeno.

For those who do not enjoy fully cooked beef slices in their pho, I would not recommend this item. My eye-round steak slices were thoroughly cooked by the time I opened the container. Other than that, the seasoning of the broth was quite delicious, but is it worth $9? Personally, I would rather drive to a pho restaurant and pay the same amount for a bigger portion and get the beef slices on the side (so it cooks in the broth right before my  eyes). But some people don’t mind the fully cooked beef. To each their own.

5 Spice Maple Glazed Pork Belly Banh Mi and Eye-Round Steak Pho.

5 Spice Maple Glazed Porkbelly Banh Mi:

Ah yes, banh mi. The traditional Vietnamese sandwich is normally served in a French baguette, but PhoWheels serves their banh mi on a choice of French baguette or croissant. Banh mi meat choices: Soy Garlic Chicken, 5 Spice Maple Glazed Pork Belly, or Mushroom-Onion Tofu.

“5 Spice Maple Glazed,” the mere name of their porkbelly was delicious enough to make me salivate. And thankfully, the taste of the maple glazed pork belly intertwined with pickled radishes, carrots, truffle aioli, and cucumber lived up to its expectations. Is it worth the $8? Absolutely!

Now, one can only imagine how flavorful and delicious the sold out tacos are…

-EHY