Rush Hour Station

I came from California and expected this to be a quick and easy tasteful place, yet I experienced none of that. Those who know «phở» would not consider this phở. There were italian or spaghetti meat balls in the noodles. Not authentic at all. I guess when its a college town, anything works. Not for your travelers though. Better service too. Walked in and the ladies were rude and rushy. Dirty ice bucket and cups. Bean sprouts snd basils were not fresh. Maybe reused. Hoping for a real Vietnamese Restaurant.

Worst asian restaurant in town. I ordered their drunken noodle. It was purely salty. If you think a traditional Asian dish cooked by Mexican «chief» in 5 min could taste good, try it!

Anger management, the soup, will cure what ails you. A giant bowl, spicy, filling, fantastic. It’s a whole meal, or you could share with a friend.
Not a fancy place, but fine for eating soup. They do a fantastic job of packing it for carryout, too.

I think this is the only Vietnamese restaurant in Bloomington, too bad it’s not very good though. With genres like Taiwanese, Turkish, and Vietnamese, which have very limited representation in town, you always wish the few available are good, or even decent. We have some really good Turkish food here, but the other two? Not so much.
The banh mi here could only be described as authentic-​esque. but toned down. Same with their spring rolls and phở. To be honest, I’d rather have Vietnamese sandwich chains like Lee’s more than I’d want Rush Hour Station, but it’s still definitely edible here.
While the phở is definitely better than the phở at Red Chopsticks, it’s really not quite as vibrant and flavourful, and thus, not quite as good as any phở I’ve had outside of Bloomington.
If you’ve ever had Vietnamese food in Vietnamese-​American cities like Westminster, you’re going to be deeply dissapointed. But if you’re the type that eats General Tsos Chicken and crab rangoons at Chinese restaurants, this place should fit your palette.
I just want to make it clear that inauthentic does not mean bad. There are a ton of nonauthentic restaurants and food that does taste good. My point of view though, is that you can make sushi into California rolls and Chinese food into Orange Chicken, but if you’re going to call something phở, it should be judged in comparison to other phở.

I returned after a long hiatus and enjoyed my lunch here. This is not fancy or gourmet but is a good «watering hole» for lunch. Quick service and extremely friendly and pleasant. The outdoor seating will be a delight for those weeks when we can enjoy out of doors in Indiana. It has morphed some since it opened and I think it is getting better. It is on my return list now.

Fresh, fast and oh so delicious! Try everything! I particularly like the «anger management» noodle soup and salads. Also look for the specials!

… I want to start off by saying I am Vietnamese … There is nothing I want more than for Bloomington to open up a legit Vietnamese restaurant, with the perfect Phở. (A girl can dream…)
Rush hour makes me mad, because it’s the only Vietnamese available in town … And it’s just slacking .
The Bahn mi sandwich has great flavors but not that «authentic vibe», and the «phở» is … Let’s not call it that … Phở has everything to do with the broth … Throwing in a beef bullion cube and calling it phở is NOT OK.
I gave it 3 stars (being nice) because I really want to like it … It just needs work.

Very kind service.
Came in around 5 minutes after opening and they were excited to serve me.
Delicious chicken Raman soup.
Throw in some spicy garlic chili and its got a nice kick!
Lovely outdoor patio!
Wish more people knew about this gem.

The flavors are good, especially the banh mi, fried rice, and Thai iced tea. The prices are cheap, especially when you order a daily special or pay in cash (5% discount). Why wouldn’t you eat here?

Love the beef and meatball phở! Every time when I go there I’ll get phở. It’s awesome but a little bit greasy sometimes.

Delicious food. Super friendly service. Games! I came on Chinese New Year and got a free Thai Iced Tea!

Consistently tasty speedy fresh food. Love the banh mi sandwiches (as far as I know, the only banh mi in town) and the ramen soups. The owner is friendly and helpful. Yummy!!!

We went during a not so rushed hour. In July not many people are on campus so business is slow. Idk if this is an excuse to why my beef phở soup had tough grey slices of beef as if it was cooking for hours. The authenticity is not very good unless you have never had phở. There is a fine line between beef soup and phở. The broth here could have had more flavor. The rice noodles were the cheap brand and had no bite to them. Ingredients are very basic and not very authentic. The meatballs in my «You Complete Me» phở tasted like IKEA Swedish meatballs.

Really delicious! We were having pedicures next door at MaiSunami and decided to treat ourselves to lunch at Rush Hour Station. The young lady who took our orders wasn’t exactly Miss Personality, and didn’t bother to point out the specials board to us. (and we didn’t notice the special board until we saw the people behind us ordering, grrr.) I am thinking she is not unfriendly, just shy? Oh well, next time we will know to check out the specials. I had the lemongrass chicken sandwich and Jean had the vermicelli salad. They were both excellent. The veggies on my sandwich were fresh and tasty. Service is fast. We enjoyed it. Nice to get flavors like this in the Midwest.

First time here, and I am amazed. Had the beef sandwich and beef phở. Pretty good flavor, close to what I had in Brooklyn. It is not the fake Asian fusion, it is truly authentic. Most of all, it’s cheap.

It’s cheap so there’s that.
I came here and got the pork sandwich hoping to be reminded of sandwiches like this I had, had in the past. Unfortunately, it was pretty bland and did not satisfy the craving. Sampled the phở — Mandalay’s is better.
Unsure of all the fabulous reviews but maybe it was an off day. Or maybe I just like more flavor.
Not on my return list but for a cheap meal for undergrads, I can see it being satisfactory.

Gold in a strip mall! Delicious sandwiches, friendly staff, pleasant atmosphere, great prices, really close to school and home.
All boxes checked: winner!

It took me months to actually figure out that Rush Hour Station was a restaurant rather than a convenience store because of the name alone.
To my pleasant surprise though, not only is it a restaurant, but one of the best value restaurants that Bloomington has to offer. It’s speciality is Vietnamese Bahn Mi Sandwiches – the only place in Bloomington you can find them – but in addition to that, it also offers salads, hot soups, and everyday and day specific specials.
The food is fresh, delicious, and CHEAP. Just look for the giant red sign outside that advertises $ 4.25 for Asian Sandwich. For sandwiches, you pick your protein (meat and vegetarian options) and then your sauce (10 different ones available!). The bread always tastes fresh and the multiple vegetarian sandwiches I’ve had here have always been outstanding.
Definitely a casual place though were you order and pay at the counter. Great place to go alone or with friends, but not the kind of atmosphere for a fancy date. Definitely recommended!

I am really surprised at all of the four– and five-​star ratings for this joint. Yes, I am happy that there is a place in B-​town that serves Bahn Mi: after all, everyone deserves easy access to these yummy sandwiches. But RHS is plagued by an extreme case of B-​town restaurant-​itis: crappy presentation. If I could give 1.5 stars, I would.
I realize that not every restaurant is going to place the same emphasis upon décor and ambience, and some places actually want you in and out quickly. But the inside of RHS was disgusting and totally uninviting. There were tables with gooey food caked on them, there were strange piles of stuff in random places, and the menu was so poorly arranged.
The plate my Bahn Mi was served on was filthy. The underside had some mysterious residue, probably sauce from a previous meal. My sandwich had a clump (re: large wad) of rotting cilantro. It was turning brown and wilting, yet they put it on my sandwich. And the avocado was mysteriously not ripe, yet it was 50% brown/​black already.
I won’t discuss the flavor or quality of the ingredients because I believe that all of the other violations make them moot.
Maybe not everyone has had the same experience at RHS, or maybe I just picked the wrong day to be a patron. But c’mon, people! If we don’t demand for our restaurants to be clean and presentable, then we will keep getting more of the same. I believe that a letter grade system needs to be employed in the kitchen inspections of Bloomington. I am sure that RHS would have gotten no higher than a C the day I ate there.
Oh, and put a friggin’ lock on your bathroom door. It was not fun to be mid-​stream and have a random girl walk in on me.

Came here hoping for some decent Bahn Mi. It was OK… anything with sriracha on it is going to taste decent. But the meatballs… dang. These are the exact same ones I used to get at the grocery store, thaw out, and put on little sticks to cook when I make hot pot. I don;t know what my point is… I ate the sandwiche anyway.