LTH North Lunch Group - Pho House - Libertyville - 7/22

OK - getting back in the groove and heading back up to Lake County for lunch. We are also continuing to explore spots that don't have dedicated posts in LTH. Thanks to Katie for the heads up on this spot in an Openings & Closings post along with some recent LTH intel. The LTH North Lunch Group shall convene on July 22 at 12:30 pm at:

Pho House
1183 S. Milwaukee Ave. - Green Tree Plaza shopping center behind Bakers Square
Libertyville, IL 60048
(847) 984-2776
http://www.phohousemenu.com

As always - bring a friend.

Dave148 - Esteemed Coordinator LTH North Lunch Group
Cynthia
Katie
B2B+1
EddieK+1

I've got it on my calendar. Glad to have an outing coincide with my being in town and not otherwise engaged!

See you in July.

I am in.

-YLM

I'm in too.

At this time, yes, though things could change. I hope not.

Regards,

I am in.

I will be there and bringing a friend, so +1

Hi,

We were there for any early today. Helen will be joining us on the 22nd.

Regards,

Unfortunately I am headed out of town sooner than I thought, so I will have to pass. I hope that the bread is as fresh and tasty as when I went there.

-Will

Hi,

I regret I cannot make it. I have meetings taking me away on Wednesday and Friday, so adding Tuesday just tips the scales negatively.

Helen isn't likely to attend, either. I am sorry about this.

Regards,

I will not be able to attend due to work.


LHS

Just so you know someone will be there -- I still plan on coming.

See you tomorrow, Dave148.

Looking forward to our intimate gathering.

I'm in!

Esteemed Coordinator,
Please make me a plus 1, my cousin Pam just called, she will drive in from Schererville, IN to join us.
EddieK

I am deeply honored that someone is willing to drive up from Schererville to have lunch with our group.

EC

I'm sorry, I have to drop out. Too much work today. I'm looking forward to hearing what you attendees think of the place and the food.

EC,
My cousin called from her car. She became ill and had to turn back home. I'll see you at 12:30 without the plus1.
EddieK

Any opinions from those who attended on the food or the location? I apologize again for having to drop out. I liked the food that I got for carry-out from there (so i have no opinion on the space itself), but a neighbor of mine definitely didn't care for either, so I'm curious to see what others think.

Well at the end of drop offs and add-ons, were ended up as a party of five.

Between the five of us, we only ordered two items off of the menu. Go figure. We had #21 Pho Nam and #23 Pho Nam Bo Vien.

Service was quick and our items arrived piping hot along with the usual accoutrements. All were pronounced quite good. The only hiccup was the Thai iced tea which was overlooked by our server.

I didn't analyze the space closely. Nicely decorated and quite large. Not too noisy and conversation friendly. We had a huge u-shaped booth. Several flat screen TVs hanging from the ceiling pointed in various directions.

All in, a good LTH North Lunch Group outing. Yesterday's lunch reminded me of Burt's Deli which is on the south side of the same shopping plaza.

Thanks again for arranging the outing, Dave148.

Told a friend about it, and she wanted to try the place today -- but when she got there, she decided she wanted Chinese, not Vietnamese. I figured I'd join her in ordering Chinese, as that would confirm or dispell what I always fear of places that do too many things.

Yesterday's pho was great, today's Chinese, not so much. Granted, we ate off the lunch menu, and that tends to be a little toned down from dinner efforts. The hot and sour soup was pretty good -- both hot and sour and quite pleasant. Nothing to write home about, but decent. My friend didn't like her egg foo young, but I tasted it, and I thought it was the better of our two meals -- but that's largely because they serve it dry with gravy on the side, and I liked that better than the usual submerged versions. She thought the gravy was the only thing that saved it. (Now mind you, this is a very fussy friend who doesn't like much of anything, and her big complaint was that the onions weren't chopped finely enough.) I actually thought that plain it was pretty tasty, but I didn't like the gravy, which was way too salty -- and pretty much identical to the brown gravy poured over my beef with broccoli.

Granted, the beef with broccoli wasn't the most interesting thing even on the Chinese menu, but my friend was paying, so I was going with the cheapest option that still sounded pleasant. Not horrendous, but not better than what you'd find on the steam table at one of the less successful Chinese buffets.

So I'd suggest sticking to the Vietnamese specialties. I figure there's a reason the sign says "Vietnamese and Asian" -- because they really do Vietnamese and just throw in the rest because this is about 45 miles from Argyle Street and not a lot of folks looking for pho. Or go with a large crowd and order, among other dishes, a couple of things to share from the Thai and/or Chinese menu, so you don't go hungry if they turn out to be mediocre.

Or just go for the pho. That was really good.

Cynthia wrote:
So I'd suggest sticking to the Vietnamese specialties. I figure there's a reason the sign says "Vietnamese and Asian" -- because they really do Vietnamese and just throw in the rest because this is about 45 miles from Argyle Street and not a lot of folks looking for pho. Or go with a large crowd and order, among other dishes, a couple of things to share from the Thai and/or Chinese menu, so you don't go hungry if they turn out to be mediocre.

Or just go for the pho. That was really good.

***

That's exactly right. It's kind of a shame that up here in the hinterlands, where ethnic cuisine goes to die, that pedantic Chinese food is necessary to draw Asian food neophytes in...

I've been waiting for a decent Vietnamese restaurant to appear up this way for many moons. And Pho House is that. Does it have the grit & pop flavor-wise like Lincoln Square? Probably not. I even think that Dung Gia across from the Des Plaines train station--previously the closest Viet restaurant to my home in Mundelein--is a small step above Pho House.

But don't get me wrong. I love Pho House, specifically its papaya salad, all the banh mi ($3.95!), the bun grill shrimp & egg roll, and their phenomenal pho tai nam, with rare round steak slices & well-done brisket, all the rice noodle, bean sprouts, lime, mint, cilantro, red & brown sauce, jalapeno one could desire. With its aromatic star anise-laced broth, this pho definitely holds up well in comparison with its Chicago counterparts. And with the weather getting cold, I'll be there frequently for the best soup in Libertyville. Oh, and they make a perfectly serviceable pad Thai. Vietnamese iced coffee is nice as well.