Tay Do Glendale Heights [Closed]

Tay Do has quickly become one of my favorite restaurants. I have probably been there about a dozen times now and feel like the character in the movie, Diner, eating his way through the left page of the menu, even though my ambitions may be larger as there are over 200 items on the menu.
First, some givens-I love Vietnamese food. I've been to probably every Argyle Street restaurant and don't remember ever having a bad meal-even though I am constantly amazed that someplaces are packed when others are empty, but not always the same ones being empty or packed. And I've had a couple transcendant experiences like the time we worked with our waitress (a second grader) on her homework for about a half hour after our meal, or the time I didn't notice that credit cards weren't taken and didn't have $25 or so. The owner put the total on the back of a business card and said pay it whenever we were back in the neighborhood. I always liked Le Colonial; in fact the only Vietnamese restaurant I did not like was the over-priced, over-attitude Pasteur. To me Vietnamese food is right up after French and Italian as the best cuisineses.
Tay Do is in the same space as Pho Saigon. I never minded the shabbiness of Pho Saigon, and I thought there pho was excellent, but Tay Do has been beautifully redecorated with lots of mirrors and hard surfaces that yell spotlessly clean.
Now is a particularly good time to visit as the restaurant is festooned with colorful gifts, paper envelopes, for the New Year. Also there are several special holiday takehome foods available now. There is marinated pork wrapped in sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves, tied with some sort of natural ribbon. Looks alot like a key of ganga. There is a sweet version in a tubular shape too with banana, bean paste, and coconut. To accompany the pork is a container of marinated veggies, much like the Korean small dishes, which worked perfectly. I don't know why, but none of this is refrigerated. All of it is good though.
More on the menu later.

Tay Do
1232 Bloomingdale Road
Glendale Heights IL 60135
630-462-8888

Tay Do has consistently good quality food as good as(better than in my opinion) Argyle Street. The cook cooked at Pho 888 at one time.
Of course you have to start the discussion with pho. Pho Saigon's pho was plentiful and excellent;so is Tay Do's. Simmered for hours the broth is complex, the additions tender. The add ins of bean sprouts, peppers, etc include spicy Thai basil complete with purple flowers. I like the standard pho with everything, but there are variations for those who want to leave out the tendon and tripe.
There are five types of spring rolls to start-I've tried and liked them all. There are also fried egg rolls, crispy veggie pancakes, papaya salad, and the usual appetizers, plus "Young Lily Flowers w/..." which I have yet to try.
The menu is extensive and so far I had something of each type or grouping. Hot pot is always available and excellent-ask for shrimp with shell and head on, at least the former and cook 'em up.
Fried rice is looser than Chinese with no soy sauce-a different, better taste to me. Chao or Congee was excellent and while not Anthony Bourdain's Namibia, Chao Long (Vietnamese sausage, pork liver, cooked pork blood, and heart congee) will test your Chowhound chops.
The rice dishes and rice noodle dishes have all been good, although I would be happy ordering only soup at Tay Do.
The Banh Mi starting at $2.50 compete for best, cheap sandwich around.
My only complaint is the lack of a Vietnamese beer, no Saigon or "33," but I understand that is changing.

I have only had the pleasure of going once, so have not tried as much of the menu as you, but I can second your rec - the place is damned good, and (happily) seems to be doing a good business.

Grilled meats/sausages with lemongrass, spring rolls, and hot pot all were spot on ifor our visit, and I plan to go back soon.

I also like the owner, who seems to be both a very good schmoozer, and pretty good at getting PR, which is probably why the place is doing well. Anyway, it seems like a great addition to the western dining world, and even better, early indications are that it is likely to last.

And the prices are pretty good, too. You can get a great meal for pretty darned cheap.

I had been waiting to post in detail until I went back one or two more times, but I am glad you broke the ice.

They gonna have a Lion Dance at the restaurant this coming Sunday for the Vietnamese New Year celebration!

MLS,

Had lunch with the ever interesting Dickson at Tay Do, an attractive, if somewhat unkempt from lunch rush, dining room, good service and solid menu of Vietnamese standards with a bit of Suburban/Chinese tossed in for good measure.

We started with Banh Xeo, aka Vietnamese pancake, nicely crisp, shrimp and roast pork well represented, with lightly pickled veg and lettuce leaves for wrapping.

Banh Xeo


Bo la lot, beef wrapped in La Lot, or more likely grape, leaves, then grilled were tasty, but had obviously been assembled and grilled off at an earlier time. Sprouts, herbs, thin rice vermicelli along with rice paper for rolling.

Bo La Lot


Best dish of the day came in the form of Vietnamese plate lunch, two flavorful, tender well marinated grilled pork chops, Chinese sausage, perfectly cooked sunny side up egg and a few pickled veg all resting on a bed of steamed rice. I've found grilled pork in Vietnamese restaurants hit and miss, often salty, sometimes tough, Tay Do's were top of the charts.

Vietnamese Plate Lunch


Shrimp with peppers turned out to be a straight up Suburban/Chinese preparation, fresh shrimp, plentiful peppers, soy/corn starch sauce. Not something I'd order again, but it might be a good way to ease the unadventurous out of the American/Chinese box into Vietnamese.

Shrimp w/Peppers


Friendly efficient service, reasonable pricing, attractive comfortable dining room combined with tasty Vietnamese fare make Tay Do a beacon of light amongst the suburban national chain restaurants.

Enjoy,
Gary

Tay Do
1232 Bloomingdale Road
Glendale Heights IL 60135
630-462-8888

G Wiv wrote:
Vietnamese Plate Lunch

I wasn't going to post this picture I took at Tank Noodle, but it's so similar to your photo that I thought a side-by-side comparison would be useful.



Looks like Tay Do is keeping up nicely with Argyle Street. But Tay Do's advantage of having a better photographer is trumped by the second egg and the flavorful jumbo shrimp.

Gary, Glad to hear that you had an enjoyable experience, especially with the service.

We went to Tay Do for Mother's Day dinner per my mom's request. The food was very good. I too enjoyed their grilled marinated pork chop. I prefer theirs to the version at Tank. The marinade was delicious. I also really enjoyed their beef spring rolls, which was a nice change of pace from the shrimp.

Meanwhile, the service was a totally different story. There were plenty of servers around, but it was probably the worst service we'd ever experienced. We had to request things at least 3 times before someone finally came through with our request. It would be such simple things like extra bowls to split pho, extra napkins, drink orders, etc. I think I might opt for carry out next time to avoid the slow, inattentive service.

Stopped here on my way down I-355 yesterday...granted it was 3PM and there were only three other tables occupied, but service was pretty, well, serviceable: friendly and timed relatively accordingly. I can see, however, how it might be a disaster when the place is packed.

Had the papaya salad, overly sweet (even when cut by the fish sauce) and forgettable, but the rice noodle bowl with a sampling of all their grilled meats--Bo La Lot, the port pate, pork belly, and grilled beef--was incredible stuff. Had the leftovers for lunch today and could not get over how incredible each individual component was--silky noodles, crunchy vegetables, and lots of fatty pig and cow to be had.

Someone needs to cull together an annotated menu, because it's an wearying task trying to comb through it to make a selection...

I planned to stop by Tay Do last Sunday for lunch but found out that the restaurant was closed and there weren't any note on the door.

Is this place still in business?

Yes, they are still open, but did have a grill problem that has since been fixed.

I stopped by tonight (Friday), and found Tay Do was dark. No sign on the door. I'm hoping it's just short term.

Ah, the end of a thread. Jonesing as I was for Banh xeo, Vietnamese pancake, last night, I discovered that Tay Do is indeed closed (having missed Pancake's post), doors chained from the inside, "Space Available" sign in the window. Only glimmer of optimism, phone "temporarily disconnected."

I had not seen the owner Khanh, nor his wife, for more than a year, but the place seemed to be run quite adequately by a young couple and another young guy. I believe Khanh's mother-in-law continued to cook, turning out consistently superior food.

What a shame!