germuska wrote:

Erik M. wrote:The word on the street is that I am leading another tour of the Argyle Neighbourhood for Slow Food Chicago sometime this summer.

Did this ever happen? Is it going to?

Yes, indeed, but it was a Slow Food event, and, as such, it was not something which I felt entitled to further advertise at LTH.

As it turned out, SFC members filled all of the available spaces in very short order.

http://www.slowfoodchicago.org/

E.M.

Germuska,

(John had #83, whose name I can't remember but which is a common Vietnamese dish of beef and shrimp over rice noodles and a little crispy egg roll. It also came with what was referred to on the menu as "grilled slice," being a very tasty slice of some kind of sausage. He and I each asked different staff members what it was, and we each got different names. Alas, I have no "ear" for Vietnamese, so both names have slipped my mind anyway, but if anyone knows which sausage it is and whether there's a good place to get it, I'd be pleased to hear.)

The dish Tom had was discussed in this thread.


Erik M photo of banh hoi nem nuong


I happen to love the very same garlicky sausage, which Erik M advises is made in-house by Tank.

Regards,

You can buy "Nem Nuong" in the frozen section of any Argyle supermarket. It is already marinated. All you have to do is let it thaw, roll it up into meatballs and broil them:

Nghe,

Bless your heart! I knew there must be a commercial product. I hope it is as garlicky as the one tried at Tank.

Again, thanks!

Regards,

I love this place! (LTH, that is!)

Thanks, C2 and Nghe for the info.

You're welcome! Enjoy!

I usually get the frozen "banh hoi" (meshed/threaded rice noddes) at Trung Viet supermarket on Sheridan Ave. The other stores should have them too.

Nghe

Today, Sun wah was closed with the ominous green sticker of the health department in its front door.

As of today, it's still shuttered.

http://webapps.cityofchicago.org/health/inspectiondate.jsp?eid=1085600

Nghe wrote:You can buy "Nem Nuong" in the frozen section of any Argyle supermarket. It is already marinated. All you have to do is let it thaw, roll it up into meatballs and broil them:

I brought a print-out of this to Tank Noodle on Sunday. They affirmed it is indeed the same sausage used in #83. I didn't have time to go shopping afterwards, though I was glad to know we really are chasing the right product. Thanks, Nghe!

Regards,

FYI: Sun Wah was opened for business as of last night. Normally they are closed on Thursdays but I think they made the expection since they were out for a couple of days. Food back in the windows and the place was bustling.

Tonight we went to Tai Nam for some frozen potstickers and lap chong; then we went to Tank and were blown away by the hundreds of items on the menu. It took me a long time to decide what I wanted - eventually I chose a bahn mi (sp? the sandwich) and a small bowl of Pho. I surprised myself by not liking the Pho at all - I'm not a huge fan of five spice powder. But the bahn mi was wonderful, and JimtheBeerGuy liked the bites he tried so much that he got one to go.

I wish I'd brought a camera!

It's funny - we were originally planning on going to Thai Avenue, maybe, because of a thread I'd seen here about it, but the menu on the window looked nothing like what was listed in the thread. What's up with that? It was empty, and that's when we noticed that Tank was bustling, so we decided to go to Tank instead.

As soon as we run out of postickers, we plan to go back to the store, and then to Sun Wah.

Saint Pizza wrote:Tonight we went to Tai Nam for some frozen potstickers and lap chong; then we went to Tank and were blown away by the hundreds of items on the menu. It took me a long time to decide what I wanted - eventually I chose a bahn mi (sp? the sandwich) and a small bowl of Pho. I surprised myself by not liking the Pho at all - I'm not a huge fan of five spice powder. But the bahn mi was wonderful, and JimtheBeerGuy liked the bites he tried so much that he got one to go.

Oddly enough, I also felt that the pho was kind of lacking at Tank when I visited with a friend a month or two ago. Could it be that I simply had better before, or had my high expectations sunk any chance of properly assessing Tank's fares on their own merits? (To St. Pizza: I'm by no means a pho expert, but are you usually a fan of pho?) Now I wish I paid more attention to the places I went before -- some Vietnamese sit-down in Evanston(?) and a more fast-food-style pho joint in a strip mall (with large parking lot) on Broadway. I'll try revisiting those establishments once I get the friends I went with to tell me where they were again. In the meantime, I'll see if I can sate my soupy needs with some cheap hotpot/shabu-shabu somewhere. Recs (preferably on the north side?) are always appreciated.

--Dan

Hi Fastfoodsnob,
OK - when we go to Sun Wah in a little while, maybe we'll give you a heads up, if you're interested.
I had never had Pho before. All I'd known about it was that it was supposed to be a really good beef noodle soup. But I'm not crazy about anise, and this pho from Tank had anise (I think). No vegetables in it, either. And since that was my first bowl of Pho ever, I have no idea whether it was typical or not.
Jimthebeerguy ordered a bowl of beef soup that was *much* heartier, and no anise. I think his was beef stew, not Pho.

Hey, I think I saw that Pho joint in the strip mall you're talking about - just a couple doors down from Tai Nam.

Almost forgot to mention - we had an appetizer that was fantastic - A pancake delivered with lots of different kinds of greens & vegetables to eat with it. We weren't sure what to do with it at first, but eventually we dug in.

While at Tai Nam, I bought a bouillon cube set and a couple jars of soup base, hoping to get something resembling a ramen packet. However, i opened them all up at home and discovered they ALL have star anise in them! :/ (Is Tai Nam Thai or Vietnamese? I wonder if star anise is a Vietnamese thing, and maybe I need to find an actual official Chinese grocery store to find some ramen-like soup base. BTW I haven't actually found a Chinese grocery store yet - I've been to Chicago Food Corp, which was more Korean, and a Thai store right in Lincoln Square, etc. Guess it's time to drive south to Chinatown.)

Saint Pizza wrote:Hi Fastfoodsnob,
OK - when we go to Sun Wah in a little while, maybe we'll give you a heads up, if you're interested.

Hey, you know I always love an invite. Just give me the heads-up and I'll see what I can manage.

Saint Pizza wrote: I had never had Pho before. All I'd known about it was that it was supposed to be a really good beef noodle soup. But I'm not crazy about anise, and this pho from Tank had anise (I think). No vegetables in it, either. And since that was my first bowl of Pho ever, I have no idea whether it was typical or not.

My experience with various spices and herbs is pretty weak, unfortunately, but I do like me some pho. (Seems to be popular with a lot of Koreans for some reason.) As for the veggies, did you add the bean sprouts offered on the side to the broth? Can't help too much with the other IDs, but perhaps Erik M's guide to eating pho (courtesy of Cathy2) might be a somewhat helpful intro to doing the pho?

Saint Pizza wrote:Hey, I think I saw that Pho joint in the strip mall you're talking about - just a couple doors down from Tai Nam.

I remember turning east into a large parking lot where the pho joint was kind of in the middle of the right set of restaurants buried off Broadway. Would actually love to go back sometime (after confirming the name and location with one of those friends).

--Dan

Saint Pizza wrote:Jimthebeerguy ordered a bowl of beef soup that was *much* heartier, and no anise. I think his was beef stew, not Pho.

Must be the "Bo Kho" (beef stew with carrot)!

Saint Pizza wrote:Hey, I think I saw that Pho joint in the strip mall you're talking about - just a couple doors down from Tai Nam.

It's Pho Hoa - a chain pho restaurant.

Saint Pizza wrote:Almost forgot to mention - we had an appetizer that was fantastic - A pancake delivered with lots of different kinds of greens & vegetables to eat with it. We weren't sure what to do with it at first, but eventually we dug in.

"Banh Xeo" has been discussed in many threads in this forum .

Saint Pizza wrote:While at Tai Nam, I bought a bouillon cube set and a couple jars of soup base, hoping to get something resembling a ramen packet. However, i opened them all up at home and discovered they ALL have star anise in them! :/ (Is Tai Nam Thai or Vietnamese? I wonder if star anise is a Vietnamese thing, and maybe I need to find an actual official Chinese grocery store to find some ramen-like soup base.

Perhaps you were looking for the standard Knorr beef or chicken bouillon cubes ? They can be found in Argyle stores as well. As far as the Pho bouillon cubes, they all have star anise, cinnamon, peppercorn etc. in them - that's what gives the authentic Pho aroma!
BTW, the pho bouillon cubes are not as flavorful than the pho powder such as this:

Nghe wrote:

Saint Pizza wrote:Jimthebeerguy ordered a bowl of beef soup that was *much* heartier, and no anise. I think his was beef stew, not Pho.

Must be the "Bo Kho" (beef stew with carrot)!

mi bo kho - egg noodles with beef stew @ Tank

Star anise is one of the principal flavouring agents in this dish.

E.M.

It was a #75, I remember that much. I think it was rice noodles rather than egg noodles. The anise flavor was there also but there were enough other flavors in the mix that it became "one of" the principal flavors of the dish, rather than "the" principal flavor of the dish as it was in Saint Pizza's pho.

Thanks for the clarifications. We're just a couple of small-town kids who appreciate good food but haven't been exposed to a lot of it. If star anise is going to be prevalent in vietnamese soups, then maybe vietnamese soups are not for Saint Pizza. We were both knocked on our butts by the sandwich she ordered though, and liked most everything brought to our table.

Here's a link for the menu. #75 is Hu Tieu Bo Kho. Hope this helps.

http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurant ... uisineid=0

JimTheBeerGuy wrote:If star anise is going to be prevalent in vietnamese soups, then maybe vietnamese soups are not for Saint Pizza.

If you order "Mi" (egg noodle soup) items 54-61 or "Hu Tieu" soup - items 67-77 (excluding Hu Tieu Bo Kho of course), there is no star anise in the broth!

Items 62 & 63 are acquired taste as well even for some Vietnamese, since the term "tiem" means slow-cooked and the meat is marinated with Oriental medicinal ingredients.

Hope this helps.

Nghe