Ben Tre Cafe & Restaurant

Having stayed in the house all day, escaping the heat, I ventured out for something to eat at about 6 p.m. Ben Tre Cafe & Restaurant (principally a restaurant serving Vietnamese food) is in my neighborhood - walking distance, and though it's been open for business for probably 2 years now today's visit was my first.

Location



The restaurant is situated in a small strip mall at the NE corner of Touhy & Kedzie, next to the McDonald's Restaurant. There's no lighted sign for the restaurant (other than one reading "OPEN") and if you're driving east to west on Touhy the large McDonald's sign almost blocks your view of the restaurant.

Spring Rolls - with Shrimp



I like spring rolls and for my appetizer that's what I ordered. I chose the shrimp version and wasn't disappointed - they were as good as I've had in other Vietnamese restaurants.

Pho - with Beef



Pho was what I wanted for my main course - Pho with the thinly-sliced beef (maybe 20 pieces of beef in this bowl - and I enjoyed the meal. The broth was flavorful even before adding the mint, the fish sauce and some chili sauce.

Menu







This restaurant is family run and the service was very good. Unfortunately, there seems almost always to be more family in the restaurant than customers (I frequently walk by, and look inside through the windows). To wash down my meal I had a glass of freshly squeezed/prepared lemonade - which was perfect for this hot day.

Touhy Avenue (between Western and Kedzie) has been rough on restaurants the past decade - nothing much seems to survive for very long; there have been three restaurants in the Ben Tre space over the course of the past four years.

Now that I've finally walked through the doors of the restaurant, I don't plan to be such a stranger anymore.

Ben Tre Cafe & Restaurant
3146 West Touhy Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60645
(773) 465-3011
Hours:
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, Sunday: 11 a.m. > 9:30 p.m.
Friday, Saturday: 11 a.m. > 10 p.m.
Closed Wednesday

Bill, interesting find. Did you have the "salty lemonade"?

I opted for the good old-fashioned lemonade, without salt - though, given the heat of the day . . . a bit more salt might have been a good thing.

Bill wrote:[T]here have been three restaurants in the Ben Tre space over the course of the past four years.

I am glad you had a good experience.

My family and I will miss 9 Dragon Inn which occupied this space for years. We often stopped in when we went to visit my grandparents in West Rogers Park every Sunday.

While there wasn't much memorable about the Cantonese cuisine we were served, we got to know the owners who recognized us whenever we came in. Their children helped out by serving and busing tables. We literally watched them grow up.

Bill,

Recently had a pleasant solo lunch at Ben Tre, Pho and a fresh squeezed lemonade (no salt). Broth was clean flavored with the #29 combo including quartered meatballs as well as tendon, flank, a few mystery bits and (not so rare) thinly sliced beef. Lightly sweet fresh squeezed lemonade was very refreshing on a hot day, and a perfect compliment to the pho.

Service was efficient, even though they had quite a lunch time crowd, and price reasonable. I will be back soon in the near future to further explore the menu.

Enjoy,
Gary

I stopped for an early dinner tonight at Ben Tre. I like the "family" nature of the place . . . parents cooking in the kitchen and kids working the front of the house.



I've enjoyed the shrimp spring roll appetizer in the past but ordered the "fried meatball" spring roll this visit. I expected a traditional meatball somehow sliced or loose-meat but was met by what I first thought were fried slices of hot dog. When I asked one of the daughters what the meat was she said pork, a pork meatball . . . in patty form, sliced and fried. I wouldn't describe it as a meatball, but that's what the cook calls it! It was okay - "different" - but I prefer the shrimp spring roll.



For my entree I chose the Hu Tieu Xao Ga - stir fried, thick rice noodles with chicken and vegetables. I liked the noodles and the flavors of the vegetables, the ginger, the lemongrass, the mushrooms . . . stood out and adding any of the tableside condiments would have obscured them. I'd have liked a bit more chicken in the dish, but overall I think it was a good choice and a good value.

For a drink I selected the fresh-made lemonade, with it's 10+ pucker factor.

The service was attentive but not intrusive. I was one of three people dining in the restaurant, though the telephoned pick-up orders seemed to be non-stop.

tried this place with a friend after work the other day. intended to go to Tapsilog At Iba Pa since he was in a pinoy kinda mood, but unfortunately they were closed. food and service was great, although lacked the amount of choices like i usually get at argyle. i just had to remark about the salty lemonade. it's been remarked twice in this thread but no one has actually tried it. i LOVED the stuff. tried it on a whim and ended up getting another one. well actually friend got one after i said it was good. he just thought it was just ok so i killed his. slightly salty, slightly sweet, tart and something else. it appeared they were using some kind of preserved lemon since they included a couple slices of what so obviously were not fresh lemons. a bit expensive though, think it was 2.50 for perhaps 20oz at most. hardly a thirst quenching size. i need to find some recipes for this stuff.

thanks for giving this place some exposure. i've driven by this place many times... starving... ending up at the mcdonalds next door (which thankfully is closed, due to remodeling... unfortunately).

jeffcoloma wrote:it appeared they were using some kind of preserved lemon since they included a couple slices of what so obviously were not fresh lemons.... i need to find some recipes for this stuff.

Your post made me curious, so I googled 'salty vietnamese lemonade' and came up with this nice blog post about making the salt-preserved lemons for chanh muohi. Be sure to post on the Shopping & Cooking board if you attempt it!

We've been eating food from this place since my discovery of pho, which led to a pho frenzy, in which I had pho from about a dozen places to investigate the range available (okay, I'm a bit of a wimp, I didn't try out all the possible add-ins, tendons and all, more checking out who had the best broth and herbs and so on).

We order from Ben Tre about once a month-- I wish they delivered. Lemon grass chicken is one of our favorites. The pho did not score at the top in my pho frenzy (there's better on Argyle), but near enough that I mostly have pho from BT, which is not so far from my house.

Friendly, good food, good service-- I hope other people will go there because it does seem they could use more customers.

gastro gnome wrote:

Bill wrote:[T]here have been three restaurants in the Ben Tre space over the course of the past four years.

I am glad you had a good experience.

My family and I will miss 9 Dragon Inn which occupied this space for years.

I don't remember the name, but after the 9 Dragon Inn, it was ourgo-to Thai place. I need to go again; we haven't been back for a while (difficult to get a 7-year-old to opt for Vietnamese when McD's is right next door...if it were Thai, maybe...)

Judy H: they do deliver! so there ya go!! ^_^ i've been eating lunch from them all week. i'm actually outside their standard delivery area, but they were absolutely cool delivering to near downtown evanston.

Mhays: well the mcdonald's right next door is still under renovation, this might be a great time to try...

i forgot how strong vietnamese coffee is. got one for lunch from Ben Tre at 12 noon and i'm STILL overly wide awake.

Jeff, yes, I went there for pho yesterday and as I left saw the delivery sign, but didn't stop to ask about the area-- still, I am in SW Evanston, so if they will deliver to you downtown, they should deliver to me. Hurray! This must be fairly new, I don't remember the sign before.

Have I mentioned how great the shrimp spring rolls are?

was there yesterday for a bowl of Pho Tai Nam... the broth was flavorful and i enjoyed the Nam/Flank in the bowl more so than others ive tried. my uncooked beef was garnished with cilantro which i put in the bowl and added nice flavor... i believe the basil was not thai basil but i didn't mind that. my only real grip with this bowl were the noodles. i thought they were too thin and a bit overcooked. the fish sauce available at the table was a plus. overall a good bowl but the noodles could be a bit more chewy.

What to do when coming down towards the city in search of traditional Vietnamese fare on a Saturday night, and not wanting to fight the traffic and commotion of the Broadway/Argyle corridor, home of 'Check Please!'-frothed Tank Noodle & the like?

Ben Tre is the answer.

I had carried out from Ben Tre before, with decent to good results, but this initial eat-in attempt was wonderful. Accompanied by a BYOB Piesporter Riesling (no corkage either--take that, you dogs!), wife & I, with our best buddy couple in tow, ordered shrimp & chicken spring rolls that were perfectly serviceable if not fine. The Vietnamese crepe, Banh Xeo, contained the perfect mix of crunchy, steamed, fresh, chewy goodness, drizzled with that thin, vinegary 'fish sauce' that tastes nothing like fish.

My new favorite at Ben Tre, other than my usual go-to Bun Bo beef & rice noodle salad, is the Salt & Pepper Shrimp, Tom Rang Muoi. They came flash-fried with tail & head attached, dry with wokked onion & green pepper. After trying to peel (and subsequently massacring) a couple shrimp in the process, I asked the waiter whether it's possible to eat the shells. He said he always does, but takes the head & legs off first. And so I did---talk about fresh, with the thin shells almost like a soft-shell crab, and the whole thing highly seasoned. Great stuff.

And the ambience was phenomenal, like someone's house, with a large Vietnamese family occupying the big table of at least 10, the one with the lazy susan thingy in the middle. Finished off the meal with fresh fruit smoothies, mango & strawberry, with large black tapioca balls. Sounds kind of gross, I know, but with these large straws that suck up the tapioca & smoothie at the same time, it was very refreshing. Add to that a sweet iced coffee before hitting the road, and we drove home saying we'll be back soon.

I don't think you lose a thing tradition-wise by choosing Ben Tre over the Broadway Ave. venues.

Eat the head and the legs. Seriously. It's all good.
>>Brent

I'll jump on the bandwagon too and say Ben Tre is one of our favorite places to dine for a casual family meal. We're there about twice a month. My youngest can't get enough of their Pho. We stopped driving from West of Cicero Ave., into Broadway and Argyle once Ben Tre opened up.

We live in the neighborhood and were glad to have a Vietnamese place open so close. It's very convenient for us to pick up some quick pho to go on a cold night. I like the pho, although I am no expert. The family that runs it are very friendly and are happy to explain the dishes, which my kids appreciated. A nice, neighborhood place.

Your post made me curious, so I googled 'salty vietnamese lemonade' and came up with this nice blog post about making the salt-preserved lemons for chanh muohi. Be sure to post on the Shopping & Cooking board if you attempt it!

Thanks for posting this! I just went to Ben Tre, and it was really tasty, but all I can think of is the lemonade, and how I downed it in about 30 seconds. I had the Pho, which took two days to eat (very tasty), and soon I'll go back for a Durian smoothie and some form of appetizers. As soon as I get rid of my spaghetti sauce, I'll make some lemonade myself!

Stopped by Ben Tre cafe today; as I was heading towards the door, I noticed that they had their own lime tree in the front window and I couldn't help but think of Tub Tim Thai. Walking in, who should I happen on but jnm123! So nice to run into a fellow LTHer and have company for lunch (not to mention that he kindly shared a very good eggroll while I was waiting for my soup)

I opted for one of the non-Pho Vietnamese soups, #36, Mi Ben Tre, with skinny egg noodles, seafood cake, pork and pork belly (I think) and a couple shrimp. It hit the spot on a brisk day, and came with a pile of crunchy bean sprouts to add-in.

I stopped by Ben Tre for the first time today. Although I've driven by often, it took me a while to notice its existence. Usually, when driving west on Touhy on the weekend towards Costco, I've got one hand on the wheel and the other madly swinging behind me trying to swat a loud kid. (Just kidding... probably.) Anyhow, I just noticed the place about a month ago and after spying this thread, today seemed like a perfect time for pho.

I started with the pork and shrimp spring rolls that were pretty good. I would have liked more pork and shrimp, but really.... when isn't that the case? Can there ever be enough pork and shrimp?

The rare beef and flank pho could not have been more perfect for a day that featured the season's first pain-in-the-ass snowfall. Flavorful, fresh and comforting. This simple bowl has given me optimism to face the oncoming winter with chopsticks in one hand and a snow shovel in the other.

Seems like a proper future location for an Evanston lunch group, eh?

- Mike

Yes, it does!

brotine wrote:Eat the head and the legs. Seriously. It's all good.
>>Brent

It's the best part!

So, at 4:30 on Valentine's day, instead of being in my kitchen where I ought to have been we were at the Grove in Glenview where we got a free floor show from the giant snapping turtle, who suddenly decided to lunch on one of his neighbors. After the excitement died down, the 'spouse suggested that we go out to eat, rather than rushing home and eating late - and we wound up at Ben Tre Cafe.

We ordered the Banh Xeo, salt and pepper squid, the house Pho and added on a Mango bubble tea, a house-made (and possibly house-grown, the lemons on the tree in the window are ripe) lemonade and some spring rolls. The Banh Xeo was excellent, everything else was very good (if not quite at the stellar level it was during the Evanston Lunch Group visit, but one would expect a little bit of variation at a family-run place.) It was a delightful meal - after one taste, Sparky immediately decided he loves Pho. A perfect Valentine's day. (though, for dessert, we had a less than stellar cake from Rolf's)

As we were getting ready to go, I noticed that the tree in the main window had little pomegranates on it. I wonder if those get worked into the food...

Summery mood because of the summary weather means vietnamese for me - so, once again, we had an extremely satisfying meal at Ben Tre. I was thinking longingly of Ramon's (and Jyoti's) Goi Ga, but didn't see it on the menu - a quick query, and a green-papaya version appeared in front of me. The Bahn Xeo was, if possible, even better than the last two times: extremely crisp and delicious. The salt and pepper squid still hasn't lived up to my original visit, but we keep ordering it because it's still a good dish. We also had the Beef with Watercress - in this version, it's a sweetish stir-fried beef served hot over a cold watercress salad, perfect if you're thinking summery, nice balance of flavors (I think at Tank the watercress is also stir-fried a bit.) Sparky had a lychee bubble tea, the 'spouse had an absolutely excellent iced coffee - and I had the one stinker of the evening (from my own perspective; it's probably exactly what it should be) a "salty lemonade" made with those preserved dried lemons similar to those I'd seen at Marketplace on Oakton. It was really, really bitter in a stale-alfajor lemon-pledge kind of way.

I really like Ben Tre a lot, and am glad it's so close by.

Unexpectedly, I had a bowl of Pho at Ben Tre with an 87 year-young neighbor of mine last Saturday. I'm on the Board of my condo association and I was stuck talking with one neighbor after another in the lobby, trying to pry myself loose, when a friendly face appeared in the group and I told her I'd been trying to get out of the building to have a late lunch. She told me she was on her way to a nearby McDonalds and invited me along, and I asked if she'd change her mind and go to Ben Tre instead.

"Is it like Kow Kow?" she asked. "No", I replied. She was up to an experiment and we walked to Ben Tre. It was cool out and the woman said she was cold in her apartment (head had been turned off for the season, cold air had been turned on) so I ordered each of us our own bowls of Pho.

A young man waiting tables brought the bowls of Pho and the neighbor just stared at it and declared, holding a pair of chop sticks - "I can't eat this with these!" I handed her the soup spoon and a fork and told her to pretend she was eating spaghetti (because she kept losing the noodles). Once she got the hang of it I couldn't stop her - she ate about 3/4 of the bowl of Pho - quite a fete for her.

Throughout the meal she kept pausing to say how clean she thought the restaurant was and how nice the young man waiting on us was, etc. Prior to entering the restaurant, when we were at the door, she told me how "everyone" in the building was saying how bad the restaurant was - and maybe we should walk next toor to have something to eat at McDonald's.

I'm pleased to report this 87 year-old neighbor says she'll be back at Ben Tre, and she's going to attempt to bring along some of her ladyfriends . . . though, she's trying to figure-out how to tell them it's not like Kow Kow and still have them enter the restaurant. She want's to know, though, if they'll fix her some egg foo young.

Bill wrote:She told me she was on her way to a nearby McDonalds and invited me along, and I asked if she'd change her mind and go to Ben Tre instead.

This is a beautiful thing. "Clap your hands if you believe in fairies!"

I went there on a Friday a few weeks ago and the place was hopping. I think it was actually Memorial Day weekend. Ben Tre has been on the "once every few weeks" rotation for about two or three months now thanks to this board. I hope they continue to do good business. There are tons of condos across the street so that would be great for Ben Tre if the word got around there.

I meant, also, to say that the Pho we had at Ben Tre was excellent - we had the version with the sliced beef only. The broth was clear and flavorful and the "fixings" were just right for the occassion. I added some of the Thai red chili condiment to mine, though, for an added "kick."

Senior citizens in the Jewish community nearby aren't likely to be attracted very much to Ben Tre because, I've witnessed, those folks, while comfotable and familiar with many dishes on a menu at a Chinese restaurant, are suspicious of (unfamiliar with) Vietnamese food. Kow Kow is the standard many of them hold other Asian restaurants to, and though I prefer Ben Tre to Kow Kow so many of them don't - or won't give the place a fair chance to win them over.

Ben Tre seems always to have had a good Friday night business. It's the middle of the week that needs additional support to even things out. I'm comforted, however, to see so many Vietnamese eating in the restaurant . . . particularly those who aren't part of the family of the owners.

Great story, Bill - now you just have to convince her that ban xeo is better than egg foo young. I bet it's lower in cholesterol!

Bill wrote:I'm pleased to report this 87 year-old neighbor says she'll be back at Ben Tre, and she's going to attempt to bring along some of her ladyfriends . . . though, she's trying to figure-out how to tell them it's not like Kow Kow and still have them enter the restaurant. She want's to know, though, if they'll fix her some egg foo young.

A safe, less adventurous menu for these ladies first time being at this restaurant would be something like:

#5 Grilled chicken w/ spring rolls
#9 Steamed vermicelli w/ grilled beef
#17 Chicken and corn soup
#40 Grilled chicken over steamed rice

In a nutshell nothing spicy, nothing hard to chew on, lots of green and vegetables (#65-67, 72-75, 79) etc.

I stopped for late-lunch at Ben Tre on Sunday earlier this week and tried the Lemongrass Chicken.

Lemongrass Chicken



The chicken seemed a bit over-cooked, characterized by its toughness and dryness. Dishes with lemongrass I've tasted before, elsewhere, had a fresher and more subtle flavor than what I tasted with this chicken. I've not eaten Vietnamese dishes with lemongrass before, so my comparisons are with what I've been served in Thai restaurants. I doubt I'll order this plate again in a future visit.

Shrimp Spring Rolls



The shrimp spring rolls were meant to be a starter but the water brought them at almost the same time as the main course. I prefer spring rolls to egg rolls, but don't recall one restaurant's spring rolls standing-out above another's.

Fresh-squeezed lemonade was my beverage of choice, but at $3.50 a glass I think it's a bit high-priced.

The meal 'did the trick' but nothing about it was a 'stand out.' I continue to enjoy the restaurant and though I was the only customer during my mid-afternoon visit I hope there's been enough patronage to allow the owners to continue with their operation.