What is the secret to great Vietnamese Beef Noodle soup, it’s the broth brother. Soup Base, soup base, soup base! Imagine if you will, a small Asian lady on a step stool hovering over a cauldron of beef broth stirring occasionally the shanks of beef and bones filled with flavorful marrow. She is cackling all the way as she knows that this powerful potion will seduce anyone in contact. Ok, so all false imagery aside, there are small Asian ladies running the joint, but I am sure they are not chained to stirring a caldron for the delicious meals served at Le’s Pho.
I am a frequent visitor of this joint and am a firm believer that the soup base makes the best pho. I usually start with a specialty drink before I start my order. The drink depends on the time of day, in the morning I will go for a Vietnamese ice coffee made from Café Du Monde chickory coffee. The strength of this drip coffee results in instant laxative, guaranteed to keep you regular for the next week. Fuck the fiber, reach for a Vietnamese Ice coffee. But I am off on a tangent, since the day in question, it was the afternoon and I order my favorite beverage on a hot day, Limeade. No not lemonade, yes limeade. A mix of fresh lime juice, soda water, and sugar for some reason is the elixir for any hot Chicago Day.
My next step in my ritual is to order an appetizer to lay a base for all the soup I will be drinking. On this occasion, I order Vietnamese rice patties topped with ground shrimp and scallions, served with a fish sauce for dipping. Grab, roll, and dip, insert into mouth and repeat. Although most of you will instinctively go for ordering the spring rolls or the imperial rolls, add this dish into your ordering arsenal, and if you don’t like it, go back to your Americanized safe list of ethnic appetizers.
The main attraction is the beef noodle soup, aka Pho, the bowl in question is more specifically call a Dac Biet in Vietnamese, which I think translates into special, or it could stand for you can Biet on this, because that shit is good. I usually order a large bowl of Dac Biet with the flank state on the side. Yes a pile of thinly slice beef served on a plate always makes my carnivorous caveman taste buds salivate. Make sure you place that beef in your soup while it is still piping hot, do not overcook your beef, but let it cook enough to add some extra flavor to your soup base. It is also import to add some bean sprouts and have your dipping sauces ready. Hosin sauce and Siracha combo is always a winner.
Slurp it up like nobody’s business, trust me no one is watching.
4 Comments
Nestled in the “Asian Outlet Mall” off Broadway, this is the most slept on Pho joint in the city of Chicago. Don’t believe the hype? Try me.
The Vietnamese Coffee…yessir. Shut it down Le! Shut it down!
[…] Chicago Gluttons are always up pho more at Le’s […]
Oh snap. I’m going to have to give Pho’ another try. I had it once and didn’t see what all the hype was about. I want to insert food into my mouth, chew, swallow & repeat too!
we discovered a few months ago that it is fairly easy to make pho at home, so we’ve been spoiled since then. I still love heading to Argyle for some great Pho, but I’ve never tried out this spot.