L.D. Pho

Hi. I stopped by L.D. Pho tonight for the first time and got some food to go. I was hoping to get some Mi Quang but it was not on the menu. So I opted for the Bun Mam soup, Shrimp fried rice, and Bun Tom (Grilled shrimp, grilled pork, and pork egg roll over rice vermicelli). They were out of egg rolls so they asked if it was okay to sbustitute chicken dumplings which I was fine with.

I was happy to see they packaged up the noodles for the Bun Mam separately. I''m not very experienced with Bun Mam. I think the only other time i've had it was at Nha Hang. I seem to recall that their version was a much deeper brown color, and had a richer broth. L.D. 's version was much lighter in color, and strong on the fishy taste. I thought it was very good. They provided a side of what appeared to be fish sauce and thai cihili peppers. I poured that in as well. The soup came with slices of catfish, squid, shrimp and large chunks of eggplant, along with the typical bean sprouts, mint, basil and jalapenos. I'll admit that by the time I reached the bottom of the bowl, my palate was quite fatigued by the intensity of the broth, but it was very good and I would order again.

Regarding the rice vermicelli dish, the grilled pork was really good. They seem to coat it or marinate in something that gives it a dark brown color and really good flavor. The chicken dumplings were tasty as well. My husband enjoyed his shrimp fried rice which had a nice smoky flavor from its time in the wok.

The woman who took the order was very nice, although I felt there was a slight language barrier. We mainly had to rely on me saying the item # on the menu or pointing at items to get my order through. She offered me a cup of tea as I waited for the food which I thought was nice. It was totally empty inside, and I didn't see anybody coming in for pick-up or hear the phone ringing for take-out.

The menu is an interesting array of dishes I don't normally associate with Vienamese places such as this, including cajun honey salmon and grilled teriyaki salmon, spicy kimchi seafood soup, and stir fried alligator. The dessert menu was also surprising as it included deep fried twinkies, oreos and snickers.

I'll definitely come back and try some of the other dishes, particularly the Pho which received good reviews from Mike Sula of The Reader back in March.


L.D. Pho
2739 W. Lawrence
Chicago, IL 60625
(872)-208-7606

Hours Mon-Tues 11am-10pm
Closed Wed
Thu-Sun: 11am-10pm

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere on LTH, but the sign outside the 2739 W. Lawrence address now says LC Pho.

LD Pho's Facebook page says they have moved and expect to reopen in April at their new location:
4722 N Kedzie Ave
Chicago, Illinois
(773) 961-8551

Well, how did L.C. pho taste? Surely you're not an good LTHer if you didn't pop in for a taste.

laikom wrote:Well, how did L.C. pho taste? Surely you're not an good LTHer if you didn't pop in for a taste.

LOL - I'll have to make a point of passing by there during business hours to stop in.

Note that farther down the Facebook page they say the "current location is under new owner and management in transition into new name while maintaining LD Pho name."

DNAinfo has started a monthly print product with a weekend edition that is delivered by mail. The first Lincoln Square News arrived last Saturday and included a story Vietnamese food in Lincoln Square. Torrance Ly, owner of LC Pho and Lee Concessions, is featured. Ly opened LD Pho 14 months ago with business partner Liu Dang, "who has since moved on to a new venture."

Last night was our initial trip to L.C. Pho since their change in titular initials. They are clearly using the same recipes as before Liu left, and we found it as good as ever. We weren't in the mood for pho (guests around us seemed to be enjoying their giant bowls), so ordered the gòi cuón with shrimp, bun thit with grilled pork and egg rolls (one large crispy roll sliced into diagonal slices), and Yang Chow fried rice. I think we were mistakenly given the combo fried rice (didn't say anything there because I didn't realize it until I just reviewed the menu online, but did notice we didn't have any Chinese sausage, which was my main motivator for ordering this dish). Their spring rolls are my favorite version in town, elevated by a delicious, slightly warm peanut sauce, and crunchy bits of fried wrapper tucked inside. It was obvious when we arrived that all tables had been seated within mere moments of each other, and the staff (the owner, one of his daughters who works as a manager, and a couple of others) could not have been more apologetic and gracious. We brought two bottles of wine so did not mind the inevitable delays in the food from the small kitchen, and relaxed our way into the start of the weekend. Bonus points for nice glass stemware, in contrast to the giant plastic tumblers we were given at a nearby restaurant. Whatever they call it, this place will rank high in our neighborhood rotation.

On a tip from Tiffany, the owner New Asia, I learned that L.C. pho was also serving the chicken from the live poultry place, Aden. We ordered the Goi Ga, spring rolls, Oxtail Pho, and Bahn Bo Kho (beef stew with baguette).

I agree with Smassey that the spring rolls are great, complete with the crunchy bits and a really nice peanut sauce. They were excellent and I was getting excited for the rest of the meal. Unfortunately it was a bit of a let down.

After we ate some of the Goi Ga, I realized why Tiffany was freely offering the tip; they aren't doing that fresh chicken justice. It was really sweet with not enough citrus to balance it out. Minimal herbs were used, and even more minimal was the chicken. There were only maybe 5 pieces of boneless skinless chicken hidden in cabbage, and it didn't taste any different to me than standard chicken would have. At $15, I frankly felt more than a bit ripped off.

The bowls of soup were nothing to write home about. The "large" Oxtail Pho being thin, one spice note that I could detect (clove), and literally only containing 2 pieces of rather flavorless oxtail. It was served in what I would call a small bowl, and was only half filled at that. The Bahn Bo Kho was okay, but a bit boring, and strangely was also a very small portion.

The family that runs the place couldn't have been more friendly so I feel a bit bad ripping on the place, but hey, this is just one person's opinion. They seemed to be pretty busy while we were in there with a few tables full, and a large party arriving half way through our meal. I wish them all the best, but hope they realize they will have to step up the game to compete in this neighborhood.