Typically, when you find a market that caters to a particular ethnic group, you'll find restaurants nearby that cater to the same tastes. Since they've got the market right there, the odds of finding good quality food are often fairly high, even for run-down looking places.
This place is a deplorable exception to the rule. Pho Bac is easily found at 13924 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway on Route 50, in the very same plaza as Lotte Plaza, the biggest Asian market before you hit the H-Mart in Fairfax.
I checked in on Foursquare on a lark. The most popular comment:
"Kinda smells like feet but you'll forget all about it once you get your pho. Tasty, a good value."
That first sentence- think about it. When you walk into a restaurant, what should you smell? The food, the diners, or the pile of dirty gym socks in the back?
The ambiance is virtually identical to the slightly better Pho 98 a ways down the road. It smacks strongly of 'high school cafeteria', complete with a stand for chopsticks, napkins, and whatnot.
Service-wise, there was never any trouble. Polite, prompt service without being intrusive.
Food. Two thumbs down. Spring rolls greasy, and tasted familiar. I might have fried up a box of those from the market before. Summer rolls gummy, tough, and largely flavorless. Accompanying sauces likely bottled. Something called Lemongrass Chili Chicken was bereft of anything resembling lemongrass or chili, and skimped on the chicken. The Chef's Special Beef Soup with Lemongrass was similarly shy on lemongrass, the noodles may have been boxed spaghetti- overcooked and bloated with liquid, and really deficient on flavor. A dining companion had the Pho (a must, if it's in the name) and the general concensus was "Greasy dishwater; I can get it for free at home".
I suppose you can make some allowances for the pricing, but really. I couldn't get halfway through my soup, and left it.
When I got home, my dog (as is her wont) licked the traces from my lips to say hello. She promptly started sneezing and giving me a most miserable and sad look. If you don't trust me, trust her.
You'd be much better served by doing it yourself- buying good ingredients at Lotte Plaza (around the corner, about 200 yards away) or if you're just bereft of Asian inspiration, walking a few doors down to the Milwaukee Frozen Custard. That won't disappoint, I can almost guarantee.
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