Erik M. wrote: Greek Corner Cafe, on Damen -- roasted chicken, souvlaki (pork or chicken)

The Greek Corner has been closed the last 2 nights (I drive by that one too on my way home... I could probably gain 10lbs. just on my drive home at night ). Today there was a sign out that I couldn't quite make out (I amde the light for once) that wither said they were visiting Greece, Moving to Greece, or something ellse...involving Greece. In any case I hope it hasn't closed. It was a great spot for a Gyro or Souvlaki when I worked the night shift.

Edit: Walked by on my way to Happy Village Bar last night. The are on vacation to Greece and will be back Sept. 11.

I went to Fansipan for the second time last week, as I wanted to attend a gallery event in the area. I had spring rolls the first time I visited and remembered having a favorable impression of them.

This time, the spring rolls were fine, but I made the mistake of ordering the beef pho, which does not deserve its name. The noodles were stringy and limp, and the broth was too sweet and did not have any of the qualities of a good pho broth. Neither were there any of the usual adornments to enhance the broth (bean sprouts, basil, jalapeno). I would not complain if the soup was not called beef pho (as I would not have ordered it), but this pho was really unacceptable.

I stopped in today for lunch and ordered a spring roll and a bowl of pho. Spring roll was great and the pho was what i needed to clear my head. This place got me thinking. Question?

Other then the strip on Argyle is there any place else to get a reliable bowl of Pho from Lawrence Ave to the loop? How about on the North Shore. I seem to remember a vietnamese restaurant in evanston but its name escapes me. I dont mean to limit this request to these areas, they are just my current stomping grounds. I guess the inquiry whould really be other then Argyle Ave where do you feed your Pho addiction?

iblock9 wrote:I seem to remember a vietnamese restaurant in evanston but its name escapes me.

Annam Cafe, home of mediocre pho and depressing atmosphere, has closed.

Joy Yee in evanston has a bowl of "pho" that they call Beef Noodle Soup but if you are used to Argyle pho I would not go for it. There's a spot for Pho on Lincoln called Hoanh Long which I think has OK Pho. My favorite Pho though is Pho 999 or Thai Binh which is on Argyle... i think that the best is on Argyle; i mean, the whole street pretty much smells like Pho... also there's Nam Viet on Northwest Hwy in Edison Park which is right across the street from Don Juan's... i haven't tried their Pho yet, but i'll post when i do. We used to have a place here in Niles called Saigon de Manila which i heard had decent Pho but has since closed down... i'll update about Name Viet when i try it (they are on vacation now)... good luck!

i've ordered fan si pan a few times for delivery... they have super efficient delivery, it seems... you can order online on grubhub. the first time i ordered the order came in less than 30 minutes. i think it even came by bike. the second time it was a more normal 45 minutes but the lady was apologetic and nice..

they have mochi--my new favorite dessert perhaps--and for delivery they even put them in a bag that was then put inside a bag of ice... i can speak from experience that other delivery places don't do this, and the product came melted from those places... (though on grubhub's online ordering they seem to have--perhaps purposefully--left out mochi as a delivery option. i just wrote it in comments)


and for the food... i really like their beef spring rolls ... chicken was oK, not great not bad. i really disliked the curry shrimp. SO had a bahn mi sandwich--pate sandwich which was good. i like the papaya salad. the free rice dessert they give you isn't anything too exciting, but edible.

[url=http://flickr.com/photos/danebrian/1480530840/]traditional sandwich on left (pate and something else?)...
1/2 curry shrimp roll (kinda "ehh" in my book)... 1/2 5 star beef spring roll (great!) .. green papaya salad w/ both:[/url]



what I really like about the place is it's price. you can order a meal for 2 and have it delivered for $22 after everything, and still have food left over.

I have a fairly serious pho addiction and because of time constraints or general laziness, I am sometimes forced to find pho south of Argyle. Obviously, the pho choices outside of Argyle tend to be really limited, but in times of desperation, what can you do. These are two places I've tried (although not within the last 6-9 months) where I would consider going again.

Simply It
2269 N. Lincoln
(773) 248-0884

Hai Yen (Lincoln Park)
2723 N. Clark
(773) 868-4888

I will stay away from this place, after a particularly disappointing pho experience:

Quang Noodle
804 N. State Street
(312) 951-9030

jn2001 wrote:I have a fairly serious pho addiction and because of time constraints or general laziness, I am sometimes forced to find pho south of Argyle.

I too often face this dilemma- the need for restorative Vietnamese noodle soups but no time to trek up north. A recent bowl at Luc Thang almost itched the spot, but I guess the itch was so bad (hungover) that typical qualitative judgement was out the window. No garnish plate- had to ask, they brought hoisin and 'penos. Some sprouts and some cilantro were in the soup, but hardly close to acceptable. The broth was fairly complex with a slight vinegary tang, which was unusual. Beef was cooked through and in short supply. But, I am willing to slum it to these lows to satisfy the craving. And to bring it back to the thread's namesake- the "pho" at Fan Si Pan is nothing close to pho- if it were I would call it the worst ever, but it is so off the mark- vermicelli, pre-cooked fajita-like roundsteak strips, and weird sludgy, hoisin-muddled... blech!
Does anyone have any near northwest- ish suggestions?