Chicago Foodies

Map Room International Night and Bon Bon Sandwiches

The Map Room is well-known for its draft beers and extensive bottle list, but their International Night on Tuesdays deserves plenty of recognition of its own. Each week is a trip around the world, as a local restaurant is chosen to cater international food. To get food, you simply need to purchase two drinks and get your meal ticket stamped. Without a doubt, this is a giant step up from the "free wings" ploy of your average bar.

On this particular evening, the featured cuisine was Vietnamese, provided by Bon Bon Sandwiches. I'd been craving a banh mi sandwich for weeks but hadn't had time to trek to Argyle, so this was a welcome sight. If you are unfamiliar with the banh mi, it is the sublime lovechild of French and Asian influences, gestalt in sandwich form. Though there are many variations, the classic banh mi contains thinly sliced pork loaf, ham and pate layered on a baguette-like roll, topped with pickled carrots and daikon radish, a cucumber spear, cilantro and sliced jalapenos. Savory yet sweet and tangy, crunchy while soft, available for merely $3...you will rue all the times you ordered from Subway.

Bill Kim's Urbanbelly

It's hard to explain how my Friday was redeemed. It was a long day. I was graciously getting a ride home that was delayed an hour due to construction on the inbound LSD... are they kidding! Traffic outbound wasn't much better so I was needed something nice. I saw a listing on LTH for Urban Belly and made the Bill Kim connection and talked the driver into a detour to California, just North of Diversey. In a strip mall is Bill Kim's new diggs. Sure enough three weeks into the endeavor he was right there in the kitchen dishing out dumplings, rice dishes and bowls of noodles. Once you order at the counter seating is at one of four communal tables. It surely isn't Le Lan. But TGIF.

Sabai Dee: Chicago's Laotian Restaurant

As far as I know the only Laotian restaurant in Chicago is the recently opened Sabai-Dee on Broadway. I enjoy Thai food a bit more than Vietnamese and find Laotian food to be a good mix of the two for my tastes. It seems a bit more Thai-leaning and the fish sauces are pretty light. the upside is that they still integrate tons of fresh herbs and use rice in terrific ways.

Pho at Quang Noodle

Now that it's cold it's time for soup. I was walking back from a haircut and went in thinking Tom Yum and ended up at Quang Noodle getting chicken Pho. $6.95 gets you a very large steaming bowl of noodles, chicken, chilies, cilantro, sprouts and wonderful clear broth that has just enough heat to last on your lips for an hour and keep your core warm for a 4 block walk. It didn't do anything for my gloveless fingertips.

Le Colonial: What were we thinking?

When my fiancee and I took her parents to Le Colonial, the "what were we thinking" had more to do with "Why haven't we come here more often?" not why would we ever come back.  In this Gold Coast restaurant prices are a bit higher than what you find in the north side neighborhoods, but reasonable for the immediate area and overall, good value for money.  The atmosphere is tropical, bright and airy with white woods and ceiling fans, purportedly to evoke the colonial era. 

Viet Bistro

There's always something fun about going to a new restaurant. I'm always hoping it will be something new and when the place is 3 blocks walking distance all the better. Viet Bistro is a new restaurant just off Broadway on Devon from the owners of Pasteur, a really nice French-Vietnamese restaurant on north Broadway. Viet is their bistro. Entrees are priced from $8 for veggie options to $18 for a whole red snapper that was recommended but not tried.

Tank Noodle / Tank Restaurant

Tank Noodle is held in wide regard. I've been past it many, many times so last weekend, since we were in the neighborhood, we went for lunch.

It's a pretty big place that was bustling, even at 2:30. We ended up sitting at a large round table with another group of 3 ladies. Most of the clientele is Asian and the menu, while extensive, is largely focused on soup. Pho is the big thing on Argyle. It's apparently becoming something of a fast food item in California. I enjoy it from time to time but also given the likely hood of finding a chunk of tripe or many chunks of beef fat I'm not completely nuts for it. But they have many many varieties at Tank of Pho or other soups. I got a big bowl of Chao, a rice congee soup and we ordered a chicken and noodle dish that was NOT soup.

Ba Le

There are many different French influenced Vietnamese resturaunts around Argyle, ranging from the expensive, like Pasteur, to the everyday, like Ba Le French & Vietnamese Bakery.  Known for their Banh Mi sandwiches, they have over a half dozen on the menu.

Don't ask me what they all are, and don't ask the women behind the counter either, as English is the second language, just go and pick a number and be adventorous.  I picked the #1 Ba Le Special, while my compainion picked the #3 chicken.  I was very anxious to taste it since the woman behind the counter pointed to the types of meats that were in it, they sell them all, wich consisted of headcheese and other bologna type meats that I would normally never, ever, eat.

McPho - Pho Hoa

I've disclosed that I'm not the HUGE vietnamese soup fan so in light of the sniffles I forwent my sojourn for Pakistani to purchase a small bowl of pho at Pho Hoa, 4925 N Broadway, after getting some darker cooking wine, super tiny baby bok choy, and mango rolls at the grocery in the same strip mall.

Pho Hoa is apparantly a chain restaurant serving nothing but pho. I ordered the #5 and hoped I wouldn't have to wade through bits and globules of who knows what. Several trips to "soup" places on Argyle left me overwhelmed to say the least. Usually the flavors of fish cake, beef, pork, peppers, hot sauce, soyish sauce, fish sauce, fresh herbs, etc. etc. etc. all swirled together and warmed to kick up the scents usually is a bit much for me.

Thien Noodles *Closed

Unfortunately Thien is no-longer with us. Blue Elephant around the corner on Devon is the next closest recommendation.

Thien Noodles (or Thien's Noodles as it says on the sign) is North on Clark. It's our local cash-only spot on the way to the video store. It also is slowly focusing me towards Vietnamese food. While a large contingent of the foodies in Chicago are Vietnamese soup fans I am not. Or at least am not as ardent. I like it but I prefer a Chinese or Thai soup. It's not the fish cake or any one thing in particular but for some reason I don't hunger for it... Or would you thirst for soup? Well if you did it wouldn't be a Joycean thirst. Happy St. Patty's btw.