Great pho is the foundation of any respectable Vietnamese restaurant, and Ngon Bistro has it in spades. The soup's beef broth is subtle, slightly sweet, oniony, and anise-flavored. It can be ordered as simply as with rice noodles and chicken, or as an all-beef blowout of thin-sliced beef, both lean and fatty; homemade beef balls; tendon; and tripe. The rest of the menu is a mix of solid basics—spring rolls, broken rice plates—and fusion dishes, such as mung bean cheesecake and seared scallops with coconut rice. While the flavors are as good as you'd expect, the dining room is even better: sunny and airy, with golden walls, blond bamboo floors, and breezy patterned curtains that give it a French colonial feel. It makes one wonder, how is it that a bowl of pho this good can be served in a room this beautiful, and cost just seven bucks?