Big Saigon- Rockville, MD (CLOSED)

Edit: 5/19/10- I drove by and it's not there anymore!! Maybe it was in a bad location (close to Ba Le, Pho 75 and Pho 95), but times are hard now, and unfortunate to see a business go under in less than a year.

Hey Everyone! This will be one of 3 posts that have been shot by my Iphone due to my doggie destroying my camera. My new camera came in the mail this week, so I can't wait to test it out!

The other week the bf and my younger cousin were craving Vietnamese food and decided to try out a new place called Big Saigon. It's located on Rockville Pike across the street from Wintergreen Plaza . The closest metro stop is Rockville on the Red line, and there are some free parking spaces around the restaurant.

It is actually really nice and new on the inside. I remember seeing a sign for their grand opening around December 2008. There are a good number of individual tables with linens and place mats which makes it look classier.

There are large plants scattered around and the mirrors on the wall makes the place appear larger. There weren't many people in there at the time so it was really quiet but I'm assuming its because no one knows this place is there.

I ALWAYS order a Vietnamese Iced Coffee with Condensed Milk when I eat pho. The caffeine helps counter act the food coma =) I got this drink for $2.50. Usually a coffee dripper is brought to you so you can pour it over the ice yourself, however this place does all of that for you before it reaches your table.

I was in the mood for pho, so I ordered a large bowl of #A9, which is slices of raw meat for $6.99. Unfortunately they only offer one size, which is large. I was really full afterwards, but I was able to finish it. It was good pho, clean tasting broth...maybe too clean for my taste. I like a lot of flavor.

One time I ate 1/2 my bowl of pho without putting in the basil and lime and it was definitely missing the right flavor. These are essential ingredients to make your pho taste good!

Boys will be boys and order a lot of food. On top of their large bowls of pho they ordered the '#24- Rice Vermicelli with Charcoal Lemon Chicken' for $7.99. The chicken was very juicy, tender and flavorful. A little greasy for my taste, but the boys loved it.

The restaurant was average to me. I almost wished we all ordered something different to get a full range of their menu. It's difficult for a Vietnamese restaurant that serves more than just pho to make it taste right because that isn't their only focus.
What is nice is they have a very large menu with around 100 items all priced under $12.95. Beat that! They also offer pre-fixed menus for large groups, and a weekly lunch special. They are also opened 2 hrs later than all of the pho places I know in Rockville, so its helpful late at night when you want something quick.
It's a new space, and the server was SUPER nice, helpful and friendly. That is rare to see at the Vietnamese restaurants because it's usually all about speed.
Even though the place wasn't crowded, there were a good number of people that came in for carry out orders. It's located 2 stores down from a well established Vietnamese restaurant called Ba Le, so competition might be rough. I hope they do well.

838 Rockville Pike
Rockville, MD 20850
301-251-0066

Open 7 days a week: 11am-10pm

Ketchup - National Harbor, MD

For my friend Stray Cat's birthday, around 18 of us went to Ketchup in the National Harbor to celebrate. The National Harbor is a new development with restaurants, shops, hotels, etc, and is located around Oxen Hill, MD right on the water. It's really beautiful to see as you're driving on I-495 towards it.
There is street meter parking as well as a large parking garage.
The outside of the place looks really trendy, and so is the inside.

Here is the entrance, and to your left is the bar and the cool waiting area on the right.

The bar is super cool because it's lit up red! The decor is mostly red, black, white and silver.

The interior has a graphic novel/Andy Warhol kind-of feel with the colors and the splotches of 'ketchup' on the floor and walls and the face.

This was the section that we took over!

The menu is a twist on American classics with their signature item being their ketchup. As an appetizer we ordered their 'Threesome - Garlic Parmesan, sweet potato and old bay fries, served with all five ketchups for $8. They were really good, and dipping them into the unique ketchups was really cool because it created new flavors.

Ketchup flavors from the left to the right are: Maple Syrup, Ranch, Regular, Raspberry, and Chipotle.
Ranch seemed to be the least popular at our table, with Chipotle being the favorite. I actually liked dipping the sweet potato fries into the maple syrup one, mmmmm.

My friend Bat ordered the 'Chicken Wings - tossed in buffalo sauce and served with blue cheese dressing' for $12. He ate the entire thing and said they were good.

I was trying to take pictures of my friends' food that were sitting around me so you guys could get a better feel for the dishes they offer even if I didn't get a chance to taste them.

My buddy Punisher ordered the 'Filet- Flame grilled, Parmesan cheese butter, wild brandy mushrooms and cheddar mashed potatoes' for $24. He said he it wasn't bad, however the portion was small.

Stray Cat's gf ordered the ' American Comfort - Rich tomato soup with grilled cheese, fried green tomato and jalapeno bacon sliders' for $12.
She said the food was really good, however the portion size was a too small.

My friend Marley ordered the 'Over Stuffed Lasagna- Pasta stuffed and rolled with four cheeses and fresh spinach, tomato basil marinara sauce and Parmesan crisps' for $16. Sorry the pic is blurry but he was kind of far away. Anyway, I over heard him say "this is lasagna?" so just for future reference if you order the lasagna, you get this.

I was trying to be healthy and order a salad, but that was a bad idea. I ordered the 'Apple Walnut salad- Baby spinach, apples, dry cranberries, walnuts and goat cheese with raspberry walnut vinaigrette' for $14. I thought for $14 it'd be huge, like salads from The Cheesecake Factory, but sadly it wasn't. It was actually quite small, and either didn't have enough dressing or something, but it wasn't special or worth $14 at all. Sorry.

All desserts cost $8, and my friend next to me got the some sort of Mud Pie thing (can't find the dessert menu online and I don't remember the name). He said it was good but rich.

I got the Banana Nut Bread Pudding with Rum Raisin Ice Cream, and the ice cream tasted like straight rum. It was so strong that no one at the table wanted to eat it.

I wanted to love the place since it just opened and had a cool concept, but the portions were overpriced , and the food wasn't anything memorable. The service was very impressive though, and the manager came to help us a lot with our wine selections, etc. Our server was a really nice and helpful girl, so that made the night fun and easy-going. I would recommend coming here to try the fries since the ketchup is something special. They also offer a lunch and breakfast menu, and the items are cheaper, so that would be a better time to try their cuisine.

152 Waterfront Street
National Harbor, MD 20745
(301) 749-7099
Website