Nha Toi Visited 8/22/10 3.5 Forks

Nha Toi  160 Havemeyer St, (between 2nd St & 3rd St), Brooklyn, NY 11211

As many of you might know, I am obssessed with pho and I wish that there were closer options for me rather than going into the city.  So when I heard about this place, I was excited to try it out.  Now, I would hardly call this place a restaurant...there are probably 8 seats maximum in here (and the seating is pretty low budget with tiny stools and tables...kind of a bit how it actually is in Asia), it's more of a take out spot.  But Dan and I got there pretty early that there was no one there, so we decided to take a seat.  The menu consists of several types of bahn mi (the bahn mi pho sounded very intriguing), several types of pho (including a veggie option), and then there are a bunch of specials taped to the wall.  I got what I usually get at a pho place, pho with thinly sliced beef brisket ($9 for large) and Dan got the house special pho ($11) which had all different kinds of meat in it.  We also ordered the peach and coconut spring roll ($4) because it sounded different. 

When you order, you look directly into the kitchen and I could see the old Vietnamese people who were cooking there, so that gave me some sense of relief that it could be authentic.  Our pho came out and they were massive and steaming hot.  Also, since the place has a pretty amemic A/C system, Dan and I were sweating into our food within minutes.  But the broth was pretty flavorful, although my one comment would be that the black pepper was a bit much for me and there was too much onion (and the pieces were pretty thick).  But there was ample pieces of brisket and the overall flavor was pretty good...I can't tell if the noodles were different than what I am used to, but there was something about the texture of the noodles that was a bit off, but not enough for it to ruin the meal.  The peach and coconut rolls were exactly how they were advertised...peachy and coconut-y.  You could really taste the sweetness in the rolls and it was very different than anything I've had before.  The rolls were just the right size (2 fairly large ones) and not overfried.  Overall, I enjoyed my meal and would definitely come back to try some of the sandwiches. Total bill $24 for 2 people, which in my opinion is a bit high for pho since you can get it for cheaper in Chinatown, but since I'm not in Chinatown, I won't complain too much.