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1621 S. Walter Reed Dr., Arlington, Va.
(703) 920-9500
Hours of Operation and Prices
Lunch: M-Sun 11-3; Entrees: $4.50-$10
Dinner: Sun-Th 6-10, F-Sat 6-11; Entrees: $7-$10
Other Information
• Credit Cards: All major
• Reservations: Recommended
• Dress: Casual
• Parking: Free lot
• Handicapped accessible
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Pho Cali, also called the Quality Seafood Place, has an outdoor deck that looks a little like a miniature golf course but more entertaining. The real entertainment, though, is the 10-page menu divided into separate categories for crab, clams, scallops, oysters, squid, shrimp and fried fish combinations. Yes, there also are meat dishes, and one page is devoted to pho - Hanoi beef soup with such toppings as brisket, flank, soft tendon or tripe.
If there is one thing to remember about Pho Cali, it's soft-shell crabs. I've also loved the clams, tender despite their steaming, enveloped in a thickened sauce, tangy and spirited with onions and whole dried red peppers that can be fished out once they've lent their flavor. The sauce is worth scooping up with the shells or pouring over rice. The crispy fried whole fish is a tour de force, brought to the table looking as if it were still swimming. There's so much more, even steamed hard-shell crabs in the summer. And the waitresses are candid, chatty, irreverent - and efficient.
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
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