Pho & Grill - Olney, MD

I'm going to try EVERY single pho place in the DMV! Ok...just kidding. It may seem like I've written about so many already, but I'm Viet...can't help it =) My dad lives close to Olney, so he recommended we catch up on life over a delicious, quick lunch at Pho & Grill.
The restaurant is located in a huge shopping center in the heart of Olney, so there is plenty of free parking.

The interior is pretty, warm and modern. I love the dark wood, wall decor and extra lighting.

As the name suggests, they offer mainly pho and grilled items along with traditional appetizers and drinks. We shared an order of Spring Rolls/Cha Gio (deep fried rolls with pork, mushrooms, vermicelli, carrots and onions served with fish sauce) for $3.50. They were delicious and freshly fried!

My mom used to make these when I was a child. It's one of my favorite items that I don't see often at other Vietnamese restaurants. We ordered the Pork Roll/Nem Nuong (fresh rice paper wrapped with grilled pork, crunchy wheat roll, lettuce, mint, carrots and cucumber served with house special sauce) for $3.50. Amazing! Similar to a summer roll, but better because of the grilled pork, and they added a fried spring roll wrapper to give it a nice crunch. I admire great wrapping like this because I've tried it before and it's not as easy as it looks!

Onto the pho. I ordered a small bowl ($6.50) and my dad and bf ordered large bowls ($7.50). The pho was good, the tendon was very tender, and the broth had a strong anise flavor.

The service was the BEST I've ever had at a pho restaurant. Fast, friendly, attentive and helpful. They have another location in Gaithersburg, but if you're in Olney, I would recommend checking them out.

18153 Village Center Drive
Olney, MD 20832
301-260-7728
www.pho-grill.com

Ricciuti's - Olney, MD

This place reminds me of high school homecoming dinners. My high school buddies and I decided to get together near our old high school (Go Blake Bengals!) for a long overdue dinner. Ricciuti's serves Italian food with many of the ingredients coming from MD, VA and PA farms.

The restaurant is inside of a historic house with a quaint outdoor patio. Sorry I don't have any pics of the interior...it was too nice to eat inside! There is parking around the house with Glenmont as the closest metro station on the red line.

New Rule: If you want to eat with me, you must bring along a cute baby!

They pride themselves on using locally grown and raised ingredients. Their signature menu item is the brick oven pizza, while other Italian items like calzones, pastas, etc make up most of the menu. However, there are some random dishes like spring rolls and stir-fry if you somehow don't like Italian food (impossible!)

We started off with an order of Calamari Fritti (house made tomato sauce) for $8. Sadly, it was obviously frozen and lacked seasoning or a good marinara sauce. We were not fans.

We ordered two small pizzas to share. We wanted to order a more traditional one and a "weirder" one. I happened to find the non-traditional Apple & Gorgonzola Pizza (walnuts, apples, caramelized onions, gorgonzola, evoo) for $13 to be my favorite of the night. The pungent cheese went well with the sweetness of the apples and caramelized onions.

The Pizza Napoli (garlic, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, mozzarella, tomato sauce) for $13 had large pieces of artichoke on it, which was nice. I didn't think this was special, but it tasted like fresh toppings. The crust on both pizzas had characteristics of being brick oven cooked; however, I didn't find it to be a magical recipe.

The highlights of this place is the beautiful building, outdoor seating and warm neighborhood. So many friendly families live in Olney and I was reminded of it when our little one was attracting baby lovers left and right. The downside included the staff of high schoolers who weren't the best at serving. I think it's good they are supporting local farms and providing a cute place where Northern MoCo families can dine.

3308 Olney Sandy Spring Rd
Olney, MD 20832
(301) 570-3388
www.ricciutis.com