Pho inquiry

Greetings LTH,

Recently transplanted back to my hometown of Chicago, I'm trying to recreate the pho-nomenal (sorry, I couldn't resist) Vietnamese soup experiences that I've had living in San Francisco for the past four years.

The best pho that I've had outside of Vietnam is in San Francisco at Turtle Tower, with locations in the Tenderloin and out in the Richmond. Turtle Tower serves Hanoi-style pho, whose tasty broth is perhaps less complex than southern variations and which arrives tableside with only a wedge of lime and some jalapeños... nary a bean sprout-laden table salad nor hoisin sauce to be seen. Perhaps the best thing about Turtle Tower's pho are the handmade rice noodles, which are thicker and more toothsome than your standard issue rice noodle.

I've eaten and genuinely enjoyed bowls of pho at Tank Noodle, Pho Hoa, Pho Xe Lua, Pho 777, and Cafe Lao. But I found none of the bowls of soup served at these places to be truly remarkable, save perhaps Cafe Lao's version, whose rich and complex broth somehow seems more "homey" than the others. But I am still searching for a unique and transcendent pho experience in Chicago. Is there a bowl of pho to be had in Chicago that stands apart from and above the rest, for whatever reason?

Thanks,
Jon

P.S. The first time I tasted pho was in Ho Chi Minh City and it was one of the formative food experiences in my life. The pho was served with something equivalent to (or at least similar to) a Chinese doughnt, the kind you'd dunk in a bowl of congee. I've never seen this stateside, but I haven't looked particularly hard. Any places in Chicago serve these with pho? Or should I just visit a bakery before going into a pho place? Is that weird? Is the doughnut even part of the authentic pho experience?

this is a great inquiry. i have not had the pleasure of trying northern style Pho, but would love to. i'd like to point out that your choice for Pho on Argyle, Cafe Lao, is open late: 12am on weekdays and 2am on weekends. i recommend Thai Binh (Pho 999), which is also open a bit later (hours vary) for Pho, but the style is still southern

Perhaps it's gauche to bump one's own post by responding to it, but the Pho entry in Wikipedia reminded me of another fabulous variation on the classic Vietnamese dish: Phở tái lăn. I inquired at Pho Le (F.K.A. Pho Hoa) and was told they didn't have it. Anyone seen it on a menu around here? Unsurprisingly, I had it for the first and last time at Turtle Tower in San Francisco.

Phở tái lăn (phở with medium-cooked beef) - Courtesy of Wikipedia

Another style of phở which is rare even among Vietnamese is phở tái lăn, served with beef only; the herbs added may vary. Thin slices of beef are char-fried in a wok; the chef puts some oil into the wok and tilts it so that the oil will catch fire and the beef will be fried inside-out (normally when stir-fried, the meat does not have direct contact with fire but with the wok instead). In some aspects, this style of phở is better even for Vietnamese and more suitable for the taste of foreigners who are not accustomed to eating medium-rare beef (raw beef slices are lightly cooked in the hot broth in each individual's bowl).

Have you tried Le Colonial?

Le Colonial
www.lecolonialchicago.com
937 N Rush St
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 255-0088

jonathanlehman wrote:another fabulous variation on the classic Vietnamese dish: Phở tái lăn. I inquired at Pho Le (F.K.A. Pho Hoa) and was told they didn't have it. Anyone seen it on a menu around here? Unsurprisingly, I had it for the first and last time at Turtle Tower in San Francisco.

Phở tái lăn (phở with medium-cooked beef) - Courtesy of Wikipedia

Another style of phở which is rare even among Vietnamese is phở tái lăn, served with beef only; the herbs added may vary. Thin slices of beef are char-fried in a wok; the chef puts some oil into the wok and tilts it so that the oil will catch fire and the beef will be fried inside-out (normally when stir-fried, the meat does not have direct contact with fire but with the wok instead). In some aspects, this style of phở is better even for Vietnamese and more suitable for the taste of foreigners who are not accustomed to eating medium-rare beef (raw beef slices are lightly cooked in the hot broth in each individual's bowl).

Never heard of this varation of Pho before. You probably can find this varation only in California since there are lots more competition over there and people want to come up with something new and unique to attract the clientele.
Another variation of Pho that I heard of is Pho with shrimp instead of beef, mostly preferred by the Mexican community.

There isn't any Pho-northern style restaurant in the Chicagoland area.

I had a wonderful eye of round steak and meatball pho at Pho 777 last night (with temperatures at zero, pho seemed the perfect choice). What particularly impressed me was the spicing: it had what seemed like a lovely cinnamon aroma.

GAF wrote:What particularly impressed me was the spicing: it had what seemed like a lovely cinnamon aroma.

Your nose is probably right. Cinnamon is a common ingredient in pho. (Star anise is one of the other common components of that "spicy" aroma.)