so i guess i'll rephrase my post in the form of a question, alex: does anyone know why Tank Noodle closed (since at least Saturday?)?

so i guess i'll rephrase my post in the form of a question, alex: does anyone know why Tank Noodle closed (since at least Saturday?)?

We tried to go there last night, and the sign on the door said "Closed for repair and renovations." They did not state when they would reopen, just that it would be "soon."

We ended up going to Pho 888 next door, and while our meal was very good, I had the first MSG "vice grip on my skull" headache that I have had in 20 years at the end of the meal, and my wife had her first ever. The pho must have been made of about 50% MSG or something.

Please take note.

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Gary for the moderators

From "Posting Guidelines":

Some types of posts have legal implications for you and the site. Please refrain from accusations of criminal activity, health code violations, or other wrongdoing. If your complaint is serious and provable, please take it to the proper authorities. Further, we find reports of restaurant and purveyor violations or closures, regardless of the circumstances, to be an area ripe for competitor abuse. We will remove these posts unless substantiated with a published source, e.g. a link to a quality published account.

I've always been a big fan of Tank Noodle, and a bowl of their pho is perfect on any day, especially a cold day. But I couldn't finish my bowl last night and took half of it to go. What surprised me when I took it out of the refrigerator tonight to reheat it was that it was pretty gelatinous. I probably should not be surprised, but I was pretty happy to see it nonetheless. My only disappointment is that my leftover bowl of pho is now gone.

Tank Noodle is on vacation right. I can't remember the exact dates, but best to call before making plans to go.

Havent been to Tank in over a year until this past Saturday, we had been going to Pho Xua more often than not. Main reason, Tank was always packed when walking by. Glad we made it back.

Solid lunch:

Pho # 47(sliced beef):



banh mi # 23(bbq pork, pork cake pork pate):



Appetizer # 1:



All of the above were solid. My first Banh mi, loved it(especially the bread).

Also did a rice dish with pork chop, chinese sausage and fried egg, pork chop and sausage were good, egg was underdone(runne clear egg).

Visited Tank Noodle for the first time tonight....I think the huge menu overwhelmed me a bit and I don't think I made the best ordering decision.


Fresh Shrimp Spring Rolls @ Tank Noodle by TrackBelle, on Flickr


Hoisin Peanut Sauce @ Tank Noodle by TrackBelle, on Flickr

The shrimp spring rolls were really good - better than Saigon Sisters, and the hoisin peanut sauce is more flavorful.


Dried Combination Rice Noodles (Hu Tieu Kho Dac Biet) @ Tank Noodle by TrackBelle, on Flickr

This dish I was not so crazy about. I wanted to try a combination dish to try as many meats as possible, but I ended up being disappointed in the quality of the medley of meats served with this dish. There was shrimp, squid, BBQ pork, chicken, fish cake, pork cake. wonton, quails egg, vegetables, bean sprouts, mints, garlic oil, red vinegar, sauce, lettuce, chive, giant oyster mushroom, carrot, Chinese celery, green onion, cilantro, dried onion. I didn't like the pork cake or fish cake at all and the squid was way too chewy. The qualis egg was overcooked and the inside was a unappetizing grey. The meat was mediocre hot pot quality, but the noodles were good and the veggies were fresh. I'm not sure why they were pink though....does somebody care to enlighten me? Is this par for the course for rice noodles?


Vietnamese Yogurt @ Tank Noodle by TrackBelle, on Flickr

This Vietnamese Yogurt was the best part of dinner - I didn't see it mentioned earlier in the thread, but I might have missed it. I'm told they make their own yogurt and freeze it, and it has this weird but amazing simultaneously creamy but icy paradoxical texture. I'll never be satisfied with Red Mango again...not that I ever really was.

Next time, I think I need to try #108, the special Tank Combination Rice Dish with sunny side up egg, simmered Jumbo prawn, grilled pork chop and Chinese sausage. I think the meat selection there would be more to my liking.

I got to say that if you are talking strickly pho alone, Pho 777, is the spot. However, ifyou are looking for a very extensive menu and are going with a larger group, TANK NOODLE, all day everyday. Both are great though.

Well, long time troller, first time poster. Haha

Yea...a new poster! I went to Tank Noodle about a week ago. Based on LTH reviews we ordered:

Appetizer #1
Papaya salad with shrimp and pork
Banh Xeo - Sizzling Crepe with shrimp, pork, and bean sprouts
Pho
Shrimp stir fry

The appetizer #1 was nice because it allowed us to try a lot of different items. Enjoyed them all, but would probably only order a few (like the spring rolls) next time around.

The papaya salad, in my opinion, was more of a pickled condiment. I really enjoyed it, but couldn't see ordering it as an entree. Nice to share!

Banh Xeo was a big hit. I'd like more of the crepe. I'd love to try and make this. Anyone know how?

Pho...first time ever! Really enjoyed it. My sister said it tasted like Christmas, which I thought was an interesting observation.

Shrimp stir fry...good, but I wouldn't order it again.

Nice service...open on a Thursday....Pho does not carry over very well for leftover eating.

Cathy2 wrote up a nice description on how to eat Pho

Erik M and I did visit Tank Noodle at their new location today. We arrived around 12:15, the place was filled with large groups at the 13 or so tables which accomodate 8 or more.

We expected service to be slow, so we were not very excited when it was, we just kept ourselves amused conversing. It did take some time to get water, menus and tea. Once we placed our order for two Pho's, rare filet on the side, rendered beef fat with scallions in it and a Coke for me, the pace of service improved.

While waiting for the food to come, Erik had the waiter bring two shallow mixing bowls. In one bowl, he put half Sracha for him and half hoisin sauce for me. Once the soup came, Erik dipped the cooked meat lightly into the Sracha to season it. Into the next bowl, Erik put maybe 2-3 teaspoons of black pepper and a teaspoon of salt. Once the fresh vegetable plate arrived, the lime was squeezed into the salt and pepper, just enough to form a paste. This lime-salt-pepper was used to season the raw filet after it was warmed in the soup. All this was prepared in advance of the soup's arriving so it could be eaten while it was still hot.

Erik then described how Pho was really all about the broth. He commented the Vietnamese who always dumped Sracha into their broth without tasting were almost always men. He felt they had no appreciation for the care, effort and skill put into the broth like the women did.

Once the soup arrives, Erik only puts some herbs and bean sprouts into his soup. He prefers to pace it to allow the soup to stay as hot as possible as long as possible. He emphasized if you dump all the cold vegetables you desire all at once, then you also cool the soup faster than is desireable. He mixed in 1-2 soup spoons of the rendered beef fat to enrich the flavor. He also prefers to eat the noodles fast before they cook further in the broth, expand and get mushier.

During the course of the meal, the lime-pepper-salt mixture got a little soupy. Probably because I may not have drained my filet enough before dipping. Erik corrected the situation by introducing more pepper until it was a paste again

I appreciated Cathy2's effort, and printed it off and took it along. It was fun to follow along. I spent a lot of time watching other diners eating Pho. I have to say, however, no one came close to Cathy2/Eric's tutorial. I'm wondering how Eric came up with his information. One thing for sure, everyone had an individual way that they wanted to eat their Pho, and maybe that is what it is all about.

A fun experience!

The salad, goi du du, is a standard Viet menu item and definitely stands on its own as a main dish. It my family's favorite. One person's condiment is another's salad.

One person's condiment is another's salad.

Thank you JeffB...for honoring my opinion!

In response to this thread's title, I'd say absolutely not. In fact, even though the clock's running out on 2011, last night Tank managed to serve one of the worst meals I've had this year. Soups were hopelessly bland, and several of the dishes were nothing more than massive salt bombs. The meal was, for the most part, a sloppy, disgusting mess...and a pricey one at that.

For my money, the best Vietnamese in Chicago can be found at Nha Hang Viet Nam at 1032 W Argyle. We tried to go there but they close at 10 and when we arrived at 9:45, they'd already closed the kitchen.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:The meal was, for the most part, a sloppy, disgusting mess...and a pricey one at that.

I concur. This was the culinary low point of my year, for sure. Completely gross, to be honest. Adding insult to injury, I used to give the "Most Disgusting Restaurant Restroom of the Year" Award ("MDRROTY") annually to the Mandarin Kitchen in Chinatown but I can safely say that Tank's efforts today in that realm blows them away in spades.

There have certainly been plenty of downhill alerts in the past couple of years, but I had no idea it had gotten this grim. And yes, we did walk in fairly soon before close but our expectations were set accordingly. Tank has clearly become nothing more than a non-Vietnamese, Check Please-patroned thriller.

The ultimate avoid-at-all-costs, IMO, of 2011.

"This place is ass!"
-for MikeGrubstreet

Eh, it happens and quickly when it does. Sad, really, but thanks for the warning. Hadn't been in a while - always too crowded with gringos to get in and so many other fine spots nearby, clean and empty and serving my mi quang. Sucks when such a prosperous place lowers its standards, after being "discovered" as a hidden gem, just because it can. Happily the exception not the rule. This angers the food gods.

I'm surprised. I had dinner there about 2 months ago and liked it quite a bit.

Pigmon and Ron,

When did you visit? In the days when Erik M was a regular, he always thought their kitchen A-team was during the day.

I was there just before 10 pm at the beginning of November. Pho was perfectly fine. My visit to the facilities did not cause any alarm bells.

A visit is a snapshot of a day and time, certainly our experiences were not the same.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:When did you visit?

Friday evening about 9:45 but as Rob posted above, our expectations were adjusted, given the hour. This wasn't the first sub-par meal I've had there over the past few months but who knows? Maybe it was just a(nother) one-off experience.

=R=

I had lunch there this past weekend and thought it was not spectacular, but still pretty good. A couple of us had various beef Pho (my favorite with beef and tripe) and also had the papaya/shrimp/pork salad. I enjoyed the pho, mostly because it wasn't the overly salted versions I've had lately. Maybe it was a function of having a warm bowl of soup after being outside in the cold all morning, but it was nice to be able to actually drink most of the soup and enjoy the subtle beefiness and spice rather than just eating the noodles and meat and leaving a salt-ridden broth behind. Which is surprising, given my normally high salt tolerance.

Long time lurker and first time poster.

I'm going to Tank Noodle for the first time this Saturday with a group of people. A few have been there already, but I have not. I've read a lot of the previous posts and hear great things. I'm willing to try anything on the menu. I'm looking for some suggestions for my/our meal(s) starting with appetizers. What are the must-haves? I looking to avoid the "I can't believe you went to Tank and did not order/try ______!".

Thanks!

Hello Ivonesh, as a huge fan of Vietnamese food and a person that frequents Argyle I am glad to hear that you are going with a group, it always gives you a change to taste various dishes. I MUST recommend getting the Vietnamese sizzling crepe, great tastes and textures going on and nothing too out there for anyone in your group that is not feeling adventurous. Also, I would suggest getting the #1 sampler appetizer which contains a couple shrimp cakes, marinated beef, noodles, two spring rolls, and two egg rolls. These two appetizers will give you definitely give you an introduction into what Tank Noodle has to offer. As far as your main course, PHO all the way! As you probably know there are several meats to choose from. I have said it onnce and I'll say it again, "Even their most mediocre soup is a knock out in my book!" Enjoy

Ooh, about the BYOB, this beer lover has learned that a few beers and giant bowls of soup are not the best combination. I always bring strong drink!

Made it back to Tank for the first time in a long time tonight. I had a couple poor meals there a while back and after discovering the consistently wonderful Nha Hang Vietnam I just hadn't bothered to return.

They were busy with a line out the door as they always seem to be. The staff was obviously working hard to keep up with the mad rush of customers but once we did get our order in, the food came out fast. I did notice that the prices seem to have gone up across the board, a testament to their great success anchoring the neighborhood.

The owner and main chef at Nha Hang used to cook at Tank and the parallels are obvious. We actually struggled to find dishes that were offered at Tank and not at Nha Hang and ended up ordering a menu of dishes that I've enjoyed at Nha Hang many times.



The meal began with probably my favorite Vietnamese dish, Banh Xeo. I've enjoyed the version at Tank many times and this was as good ever. The exterior was crispy and the pork and shrimp were plump and tender. The plate of herbs was nice and fresh and featured chervil which was a pleasant surprise.



Next up was the papaya salad. This rendition featured a good amount of culantro and a dressing that was more sour than sweet. I liked it a lot.



We referred to this dish as the pork mixed grill. It featured a marinated pork chop, pork loaf, and shredded pork skin served on a bed of short grain rice. It was a very good dish overall. I particularly enjoyed the pork loaf that was surprisingly light and spongy. I don't think I've ordered this at Tank in the past, but this dish in particular seemed to feature a more polished execution than I've experienced there in the past. I wouldn't be surprised if there has been a change in the kitchen that is emphasizing a more refined approach to the cuisine which would follow with the increased prices as well.



The beef with pickled mustard greens also had a polish to it that seemed different from my past experiences at Tank. The mustard greens were lightly pickled and quite crunchy. I wouldn't be surprised if these are pickled in house since most commercially available ones are more acidic and salty. I really enjoyed the combination of the lightly pickled (though still flavorful) greens and the tender beef.



The catfish in claypot was the highlight of the night. The catfish was very tender and the caramel sauce was rich and complex without being too sweet. It was served with a plate of lightly pickled vegetables that countered the sticky caramel sauce perfectly. It was a generous portion yet the table was still considering ordering second round.



It was a very good meal top to bottom and all that was left in the end was the catfish carcass. Though the prices have gone up, it was still an affordable meal that featured an abundance of fresh herbs and lots of bright and refreshing flavors. It seems to me that Tank has been upping its game and I enjoyed this meal quite a bit. I'd be interested in exploring the menu a little more to see if there are some more unique dishes that we overlooked. Tank appears to be embracing its place as Chicago's best known Vietnamese restaurant and the mostly non-Asian clientele is a clear sign that their approach is appealing to a wide audience.

I like Nha Hang Viet Nam a lot more for Argyle restaurants. That place is really underrated. However, the best bowl of Pho I've had in Chicago is not even close to Argyle. It's at Le Colonial on Rush Street. The portion is more of an appetizer size, but IMO it puts all the other Pho I've had on Argyle to shame.

If you want to try some, go upstairs to the second floor bar and order some. It's $6.50 and you aren't going to get a huge bowl, but it's high in quality.

Turkob wrote:It featured a marinated pork chop, pork loaf, and shredded pork skin served on a bed of short grain rice.

I believe this rice is referred to as 'broken rice' or Cơm tấm.

Cơm tấm, or broken rice, is a Vietnamese dish made from rice with fractured rice grains. Tấm refers to the broken rice grains, while cơm refers to cooked rice.[1][2] Also known as Cơm tấm Sài Gòn (Saigon-style broken rice), particularly served in southern Vietnam, in Saigon.[1]

It is usually served with grilled pork (either ribs or shredded) plus the Vietnamese dish bì (thinly shredded pork mixed with cooked and thinly shredded pork skin) over broken rice. The rice and meat are served with various greens and pickled vegetables, along with a prawn paste cake, trứng hấp (steamed egg), and grilled prawns.

Regards,

Turkob wrote:It featured a marinated pork chop, pork loaf, and shredded pork skin served on a bed of short grain rice.

I believe this rice is referred to as 'broken rice' or Cơm tấm.

Cơm tấm, or broken rice, is a Vietnamese dish made from rice with fractured rice grains. Tấm refers to the broken rice grains, while cơm refers to cooked rice.[1][2] Also known as Cơm tấm Sài Gòn (Saigon-style broken rice), particularly served in southern Vietnam, in Saigon.[1]

It is usually served with grilled pork (either ribs or shredded) plus the Vietnamese dish bì (thinly shredded pork mixed with cooked and thinly shredded pork skin) over broken rice. The rice and meat are served with various greens and pickled vegetables, along with a prawn paste cake, trứng hấp (steamed egg), and grilled prawns.

On the issue of raised prices, I have a friend who gets quite disgruntled if 1) a price is raised and quality remains the same or 2) price remains the same and yet perceives a drop in quality. Sure, I, too, would like price and quality to stay where I previously experienced it. Something has to give., which means its either increase price or drop quality.

I had not been to Tank in quite a while. While what was ordered is not what I usually do, I was glad to get out of my routine and try new dishes. I enjoyed my meal thoroughly. I went home to look up images of chervil ... now I know what it is.

Regards,

Not pictured in turkob's post: Cathy's delicious cassava cakes, which was a hit for the entire table. Thanks, Cathy.

OT but - Cathy, Chervil was popular in Shaker dishes - I used to make a Shaker Chicken Pie in which the primary seasoning was chervil and it was lovely. No idea where the recipe is or I'd share but the herb is nice is creamy dishes.

http://chicago.eater.com/2014/10/30/7134317/tank-noodle-suspension

Say it ain't so! First Sun Wah, now Tank... hoping my favorite spots on Broadway/Argyle get things figured out!

bluepig wrote:http://chicago.eater.com/2014/10/30/7134317/tank-noodle-suspension

Say it ain't so! First Sun Wah, now Tank... hoping my favorite spots on Broadway/Argyle get things figured out!

The popular Vietnamese restaurant Tank Noodle reopened Friday afternoon after fixing three "critical" health code violations, a restaurant manager told DNAinfo Monday.

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20141103 ... violations

Essential Vietnamese spot Tank Noodle appears to be expanding into a second location, according to a liquor license application filed early this month for 4706-4710 W. Irving Park Road near Binny’s Beverage Depot.

https://chicago.eater.com/2020/1/7/2105 ... ood-report

Chicago Eater wrote: Essential Vietnamese spot Tank Noodle appears to be expanding into a second location, according to a liquor license application filed early this month for 4706-4710 W. Irving Park Road near Binny’s Beverage Depot.

It does not surprise me that Chicago Eater can't locate anything other than Binny's around here.
There is a Chipotle on the south side of the 4600 block of Irving Park, as well as a Jewel-Osco in the strip mall on the north side of the same.
This neighborhood is about to flip. It might have flipped a little earlier {which would have saved Fischman's Public House} if not for the attitude of the newly-elected 45th Ward aldercritter, who seems dedicated to reversing whatever initiatives the aldercritter he defeated [in the 1st round - mind you] had proposed.