Interesting. I never had any bowls that blared with the spices, it was more of a subtle flavor - a background hint supporting that gorgeous beef taste. But every chef has his/her preference, I guess!

The broth tastes quite a bit different to me. It's more straightforwardly beefy, but with star anise/clove tones - not so much the perfumey herbiness of Southern pho. And in my experience, the noodles were wider and the broth clearer. There's also no use of basil or bean sprouts - green onion and some cilantro are there, but they're already in the broth, rather than on a tray to add as you choose. Also sometimes garnished with really thinly sliced white onion. Limes, red chilies, maybe fish sauce for add-your-own condiments (no Hoisin or Sriracha). Just thinking about it is making me a little more desperate.

Hi everybody -

Anyone have a line on Northern-style pho? Not that I don't love the Southern iteration, but I've been chasing the flavors I loved so much in Hanoi, to no real avail. Plus, it's always nice to have another option to suit your mood.

Thanks in advance for any tips!

My husband and I have fallen in love with it. We were on a mission to find more traditional bun cha after we were in Vietnam, and the bun cha Hanoi at this place drew us in. It's not exactly like the versions we had in Hanoi, but it's pretty delicious in its own right. I love that they also generally have ban cuon on hand, as opposed to Quang, which only has it occasionally.

Wow, thanks guys! All of this is super helpful - we're definitely willing to do some bouncing around and are comfortable with longish rides on public transport and longish walks, so the recs outside of our "spots" are great too!

Hi all,

My husband and I are delighted to be returning to your fair city for four days, and I'd love to get some recommendations from you near the two locations where I know we'll be for sure:

1. Logan Square (we're staying at Longman & Eagle)

2. UIC campus (going to a show at Lincoln Hall)

For Logan Square, I'd like to get recs beyond L&E. We do plan on having a meal and drinks there, but I'm hoping for maximum diversity in a great food town like Chicago.

Budget: For lunch, would like to keep it $10-15 per person. Dinner, up to $20 pp, but under is great. No big if it's a hair over that. I'm looking more for humble places with great food, rather than a design-y dining room.

Preferences: Mexican (if it's seafood, that's a bonus), Turkish, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Central Asian, SE Asian (Northern Vietnamese or Lao would be awesome), Greek, Chinese noodle shops. I'm also always seeking Peruvian rotisserie chicken, chaat and a good Central American breakfast (Guatemalan plato tipico type thing).

Wish to avoid: Chicago style pizza, gastropub overdose, French, Italian. I'm coming from Minneapolis, so I'm not specifically seeking the whole local, farm-to-fork thing, since we're up to our ears in it here.

Transportation: Train, bus, foot

We'll also be in Pilsen, but I figure a search will turn up plenty of results for that.

Thanks!

Right, no problem getting bun bo. This is a southern variation, though the basic building blocks are the same - herbs, bun and sauteed beef, topped with sauteed bean sprouts, garlic, a heap of toasted peanuts and dried shallots, green papaya, carrot. Doesn't sound like much of a difference, I know, but it's great. Like so: http://69.89.31.202/~gourmeu8/formerc...

Maybe I'm not looking hard enough, but I'm having a hell of a time finding bun bo nam bo in the Twin Cities. Has anyone spotted it out there?

Hi all,

My husband and I are taking a trip to Scottsdale in the next couple of weeks, and I was hoping to get some Chowhound-quality recommendations for places to eat. My family used to go every year, so I'm somewhat familiar with the city, though I'm sure it's changed/sprawled dramatically since last I was there. (1999! Holy crap, that's a long time.) I'll be staying nearish Frank Lloyd Wright and Thompson Peak Pkwy, but will have access to a car, and don't mind a little driving. We'll also do a day trip to Sedona and will need to grab at least something for lunch there, if not dinner as well.

I'm not looking for anything extravagant -- as a matter of fact, I'd prefer to avoid the extravagant. Did that plenty in years past. We'll be visiting my mom, who, bless her, is not super adventurous on her own and won't have any suggestions, but she goes along with anything we want to try (she'll go to P.F. Chang over and over again, but has also been known to eat sheep's brain and eyes, go figure). We really like good, fresh Mexican (no cheese-laden Tex-Mex), Middle Eastern, Indian, Chinese (particularly Szechuan or dim sum), Vietnamese, Peruvian, and Neapolitan pizza. But really, we're open to about anything.

Thanks in advance!