You almost don’t need to eat the pho here. You can practically get your money’s worth just by breathing in the rich, fragrant beef broth, which is the foundation of Pho Hiep Hoa’s outstanding noodle soup. I have yet to encounter a broth in the entire D.C. region with more body and flavor; it’s so good, I rarely feel the need to doctor it up with Sriracha, jalapeños, basil, or Hoisin sauce. Just as important, this pho parlor doesn’t cheat you on the meaty ingredients like some other joints, where the rice noodles seem to outnumber the brisket slices, flank steak, and tendons by a ratio of, oh, 100 to 1. Even the accompanying condiment plate provides a welcome sight: long, serrated leaves of culantro, an herb often found in Vietnamese pho but rarely spotted in noodle shops ’round these parts.