Tank Noodles

Hello Everyone,   

Sometimes I just get this craving for noodle soup and there are two different types of noodle soups that I love to eat: Vietnamese Pho and Hong Kong noodles.   The craving hit me hard earlier this week and I decided to get Vietnamese Pho.   My favorite place to get pho in Chicago is Tank Noodles at Argyle and Broadway in Uptown.    

    

One of my pet peeves when I go out to eat is when people always order the same thing at a restaurant.  I always feel like you should diversify and try different things.  I am my own worst enemy when I go to Tank Noodles because I order the exact same thing every time I go.  The first thing I always get is 7B, Fresh Spring Rolls with Shrimp.     

     

This stuff is awesome!  Don’t mess with number 7 (plain spring roll) unless you are allergic to shrimp…then you don’t have much of a choice.  But it is raw shrimp, mint, vermicelli rice noodles, and some other stuff.  It is very fresh and light and is very good as an appetizer.  It comes with a dipping sauce that is garnished with ground peanuts.  The spring roll itself is good, but the spring roll with the sauce is what takes it to the next level.       

       

For pho, I always get number 39 or 40.  They are the same thing except 39 is the large version of 40 and only cost a dollar more!  I usually get 40 (the smaller one) unless I am starving.  The pho consists of a clear beef broth, noodles, sliced beef, well done brisket, well done flank, soft tendon, bible tripe, and meatballs.  Some of these ingredients might not sound as appealing (mainly tendon and tripe).  If you don’t like certain things, you can always order something different or just pick them out of your pho.        

       

All pho dishes are served with raw bean sprouts, basils leaves, jalapeño peppers, and lime wedge.  

 

Personally, I am not a fan of the bean sprouts, but I put in the basil leaves, squirt the lime into the soup, and also add some hoisin sauce.  Also, I like to have a little dipping bowl with hoisin and sriracha sauce.  I dip all my meat into the sauce to add some extra flavors.  If you want a little extra kick, they also have this hot chili sauce.      

From left to right - hoisin, sriracha, hot chili

  

My girlfriend usually orders number 40 as well (and gives me the tendon and tripe); however, this time she decided to try something different.  She ended up ordering number 75 which is a beef noodle soup.  It was well spiced with star anise and other spices and she enjoyed it.  The soup was a little too red for me, so I didn’t even try it.       

      

Overall, I love this place.  There are many other places to eat in that area as well.  There’s this bakery just down the street that has the most amazing stuff.  There is plenty of parking in the area with the pay boxes.  I always get sited right away (unless it is jam packed) and the food comes out right away.  Prices are very reasonable, especially with the amount of food you get.  My pho (number 40) only cost 6.95! Our bill came out to be a total of 20 bucks and we were both left Tank Noodles full and satisfied.

Beard Papa’s

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone  is having  a great 2010 so far!  The first blog of the year is about a place that I have been meaning to visit every since it opened late last year; Beard Papa’s!  

  

I had Beard Papa’s the first time last year while visiting San Francisco and discovered that cream puffs are amazing!  I was very excited when I found out on Twitter that Beard Papa’s was opening a shop in Chicago.  They were going to open in the brand new Block 37 mall in the Loop.  Their opening day was delayed and by the time they were ready to open, I was out of town for the holidays.   And then last weekend, I found myself in the Loop and my girlfriend and I decided to drop by.  The design of the place is pretty neat.  The stand is shaped like a Beard Papa’s box.  

  

Beard Papa’s is best known for the cream puffs.  There are four types of shells (original, éclair, cookie crunch, and fruit topped) and four types of fillings (vanilla custard, chocolate custard, strawberry and cream, and ice cream) for a total of 16 different combinations.  And trust me, I plan to try all 16.  

  

  

We each ordered a cream puff; my girlfriend got vanilla in the original shell and I got chocolate (half milk/half dark) in the original shell.  

This is our cream puff maker

   

  

The cream puffs were great.  I took a bite out of mine and the filling started to ooze out of the shell…it was beautiful.    I really liked the creamy texture of the custard and how it wasn’t overly sweet.  The only flaw was that is was slighty messy to eat because the powdered sugar would get on my face, clothes, and table; but that was because I eat like a 5-year-old.  

  

We also got a mango milkberry because I saw a picture of it on this blog and it looked and sounded delicious!  The actual drink was okay, a little on the sweet side.  They do need to have bigger straws though because I had a hell of a time trying to suck the chunks of strawberry through the fat (but not fat enough) straw that they provided.  

  

Overall, it was a great place and I am definitely going to come back!  Once all the stores open in the mall (right now it’s pretty much just Zara), there will be even more reasons to go.  This would also be a great option for the office or for a party.  Everyone will love you…trust me.  

MK

Hello Everyone,

This will most likely be my last post for the year 2009.  I will be traveling to Washington to visit my parents during the holidays.  I want to wish all my readers a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays.  Stay warm, be safe, and eat some good food!

First I want to congratulate my girlfriend who just graduated from the school of Medill at Northwestern University with her Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications last Saturday.  Her mom came to town for her graduation too, so I wanted to make sure to treat both of them to a nice celebratory graduation dinner.  After asking for recommendation from my friend, I decided to go with MK on the near north side.

I made the decision to go to MK a little late and was worried that they would be booked by now, but luckily, there was availability for a party of 3 at 8pm.  As we walked in, I noticed the Christmas decoration at the bar which was a welcoming touch.  There were also other decoration in the restaurant that gave me the holiday feeling, but I am not quite sure if that was intended…

When we were seated, I noticed that the wall behind me was a wine cellar.  I was handed the wine menu and it was thick.  Since my girlfriend’s mom didn’t want to have any wine and the last time my girlfriend and I shared a bottle of wine lead to some hilarious stories, I decided not to order a bottle.  Something else that is worthy to note, MK has a BYOW policy (with a corkage fee).

The dinner menu was impressive and the first thing that caught my eye was the foie gras.   I still remember the first time I had foie gras last year (it was a very magical moment) and I just can’t help myself from ordering it whenever I get the chance.  So of course I had to get the foie gras as an appetizer and we also got the ravioli.

When I ordered the foie gras, the waiter said that it would be rather small and is considered a single serving.  I still ordered it thinking that I would share it no matter how small it was, but when it came out I was quite surprised at the size.  It was much larger than anticipated and we did not have a problem sharing this among three people.  In all honestly, I would have much rather had the entire piece for myself, but the holiday season is all about sharing and giving…right?  Needless to say, the foie gras was delicious.  It was rich with flavor and I loved how it just melted in my mouth.  I haven’t had foie gras from too many different places, but this was the best of all the places I had so far.

The ravioli was also very good.  It came with three pieces, so that was perfect.  It was stuffed with Vermont mascarpone cheese and topped with prosciutto and mushrooms.  I don’t think I have ever had mascarpone cheese before, at least I never noticed it, but I sure did notice it in the ravioli.  The creamy cheese went so well with the prosciutto.

We also ordered the pommes frites with truffle cream.  When we first sat down, we noticed that a lot of the tables around us ordered them, so we decided to give them a chance.  There was nothing too special about the pommes frites themselves; I have had better fries from other places.  The only reason to get this is the truffle cream.

For the main course, I got the whitefish with Maine lobster; my girlfriend ordered the special, venison; and her mom ordered the chicken.

The fish itself I thought was good; the skin on the fish I thought was amazing.  It was crispy and I could taste the lobster and cilantro broth.  This was also my first time trying Maine lobster (the one and only reason why I want to go to Maine).   I didn’t think much about the lobster itself, I guess I would have to go to Maine to get the true experience, but I thought the lobster went well with the fish.

The venison, something else that I haven’t had before that night, was tender and juicy.  I only had a couple of bites, but it is something that I would try again.  My girlfriend enjoyed it a lot as well; she liked the flavor of the meat and thought the carrot puree and chocolate sauce that came with it amplified the flavor.

Now the chicken…  I thought the chicken was decent.  I just didn’t feel like there was anything impressive about the chicken.  The chicken is probably the “safest” dish on the menu; you can’t really mess up chicken, but you can’t really make it that special.  Also, I am not the biggest fan of thyme because of the texture.  Don’t order the chicken unless it’s the last option.

For dessert, we ordered two crème brûlées; classic vanilla and Vermont maple.  We all enjoyed both of them, but we agreed that the maple was better than the vanilla.  They are rather small portions, so I would suggest getting multiple and sharing.

So to sum it up, dinner at MK was good and I would recommend others to go.  There is plenty of parking in the area (some free and some pay boxes).  The service was great and everyone was very nice.  The dinner will be a little pricy; our party of three came out to be around 200 bucks.  Just remember to try the foie gras.