Phở Bắc – Ally Duong

Phở Bắc has been around for a long time. My parents have dined there since before I was born, and though the restaurant has changed hands over the years, it remains a pinnacle location for Vietnamese cuisine. The restaurant is around 15 minutes away from campus by car and is totally worth the drive for the amazing food. Since the name is Phở Bắc, you must try the phở. The phở bò is smooth with a broth that has a refreshing taste despite being very hearty. You can customize and choose what toppings you want on it too! The restaurant doesn’t just have noodle soup — their rice dishes are delicious as well. The general prices run between $8-$14, which is very affordable for the quantity and quality of the meals. It’s a great place to bring a group of friends to relax after a long week of school, but there probably won’t be a lot of talking. Speaking from experience, my friends and I indulged in the fantastic food without remembering the social conventions of a dinner with other people. The only sounds were the tings of silverware, slurps of soup, and the jazz music comfortably filling the air. This restaurant is a great reminder of what it means to have a good evening with amazing food and great company: a potential home away from home for college students.

King’s Noodles – Sebyul Paik

Soup season may seem to be simmering to an end as spring starts sauntering in, but here at AMP we believe in drinking hot broth every day of the year, no matter the weather! Especially if it comes from King’s Noodles, an authentic, homey Taiwanese restaurant, which is just a ten-minute drive from campus. Expect to spend about ten dollars on some of the most flavorful, heartwarming beef noodle soup you can possibly imagine. The meat is tender enough to melt in your mouth, and the flavor is divine enough to send you to another plane of existence. It’s the perfect pick-me-up for a long, rainy day of failing to catch a Comet Cab, or a special treat to reward yourself for passing that big test. If you’re not a soup person…then I don’t understand how you’ve even made it this far — in life, not just in this article. But they’ve got lots of choices for you too, from stir-fried noodles to ketchup egg fried rice (it’s better than it sounds, I promise). For diners with specific dietary requirements, there are also a good number of vegetarian options, and pork-free dishes are marked on the menu. And if the Texas heat is really getting to you, they offer a nice selection of refreshing iced drinks, including milk tea with boba!