Restaurant Review: Rice and Noodles

On Monday, I got back to Baltimore after spending Spring Break in NYC. The journey back was eventful (a story for another time, but I accidentally got on the wrong train!) and when I got off the Amtrak train at Baltimore's Penn Station, I wanted to stretch my legs and grab a bite to eat before heading back to campus. I looked at uber prices, and they were surging based on the demand of fifty people ordering rides at the same time, so I took that as a sign for me and my trusty travel backpack (Cotopaxi 35L if you were wondering) to open my saved list of restaurants pinned on google maps to see what was nearby. At just three blocks from the train station, I found myself walking to Rice and Noodles, a Vietnamese restaurant on North Charles between Preston St and Mount Royale Ave. 

The restaurant is more of a takeout spot for locals with a few tables upstairs if you want to dine in, so if you're going for the classic restaurant experience this place isn't for you. Nobody comes to take your order, you place it in a kiosk in the front and then can wait for someone to bring you the food (expect 10-15 minutes). However, this unassuming spot has some of the best Vietnamese food I've found in Baltimore. 

I've ordered from this place before through Uber Eats, but this was the first time that I came and stayed to eat. Both the pho and ramen options offered are great, and you can customize your bowls, to include add-ons, or to take off items that come with it; for example, I modify my soups to not come with raw onions. After easily placing an order at the kiosk, I headed upstairs to one of the open tables, and soon after, someone brought my food up on a tray. 

I got a Tonkotsu Ramen bowl and a Thai Tea Bubble tea and both were great. The broth was flavorful and hot, the meat was tender and not overdone, and there was a nice selection of vegetables included. It was presented in a large wooden bowl, with a Chirirnege spoon (yes, I looked up the official title of a miso soup spoon for this post) and chopsticks, with a regular spoon and fork on the side if needed. 

The ramen wasn't overly salty, which is hard to accomplish sometimes. It was really flavorful and the toppings added a lovely texture to the meal. If I was home with a cold, this would be the soup I'd want handed to me with a box of tissues! 

Overall, I highly recommend this spot for their pho and ramen offerings, but takeout or delivery is where this place shines. While there's nothing wrong with dining here, it seems to me like it works best as a takeout gem, with a few tables for the stray customer here and there.