Lombard's Noodles Pho U offers oodles of options
Most neighborhoods - even those with limited dining options - have a pizza joint, pasta purveyor and Chinese kitchen. Rarely, with the exception of enclaves - like Chicago's Argyle Street or Glendale Heights - are we lucky enough to have a Vietnamese option thrown into the mix.
That has changed - in Lombard, at least.
Despite its silly name, there's something surprisingly serious going on at fresh, fast Noodles Pho U, a sibling to Chicago's Halsted Street location. The setting isn't much to look at -- marigold walls, shelves stocked with basic Asian ingredients, faux wood-grain tables topped with hoisin, fish and hot sauces -- but the food is a welcome departure nonetheless.
The menu is large, so much so that it can overwhelm. But one bite of the chewy pork patty roll - a rice-paper wrapper filled with bias-cut pork sausage, cucumber, cilantro sprigs and daikon - and you'll commit to working your way down the list. Our recommendation: Follow with the crisply fried taro, onion and mushroom-filled spring rolls. Both bites are great dunked in vinegar-kissed fish sauce; sweeter, peanut-topped hoisin works fine, too.
Other first-course options range from fiery, shredded green mango salad laced with cabbage, basil and pickled veggies to chicken salad with similar accoutrements and shrimp-filled, pan-fried rice flour cakes with coconut milk. There are Japanese standards, like seaweed salad and tempura, on offer as well.
Pho, the ever-comforting, star anise-infused broth, has plenty of real estate on the menu. From eye of round, brisket and tendon-filled bowls to ones brimming with tripe, they each come with a design-your-own blend of rice noodles, bean sprouts, hot peppers, limes and sauces. We're fans, for sure, but we found this particular version rather cloying.
There are oodles of noodles and rice dishes, too. We're partial to the tender, grilled lemon grass beef, which arrives on a bed of vermicelli with mint, pickled daikon and carrots, crunchy, shredded romaine and fried shallots. As is customary with Vietnamese cuisine, the contrast of temperatures, flavors and textures excites. The freshness is unmistakable.
Whether you're in the mood for satay noodle soup, catfish cooked in a clay pot or salt and pepper smelt, you'll find it here. Dining with squeamish folks? No worries: The classics are available (only we wouldn't steer you in that direction). The kitchen will cook egg foo young, turn out chicken teriyaki and sizzle up some pad thai. There are a few Korean dishes as well, including chap chae noodles. Chop suey and lo mein even make an appearance.
Fresh fruit smoothies and sweet Vietnamese iced coffee are all she wrote when it comes to dessert. The former comes in many varieties, including watermelon, lychee and avocado. We tried the seemingly just-plucked mango version, springing the extra 50-cents for tapioca pearls (a worthy investment).
Lunch and dinner specials - $5.50 and $6.50, respectively - are a great deal since they come with an egg roll or crab Rangoon and fried or steamed rice. The only problem is, the items available are pedestrian - Szechwan chicken, Mongolian beef and the like. Our advice? Don't be tempted. Spend the extra bucks in favor of the good stuff.
As for dining in, the experience is a straightforward one. Food is brought to your table in utilitarian fashion. There's no chitchat and not much in the way of pleasantries involved. But once you're happily slurping away, it's doubtful you'll give it a second thought.
Noodles Pho UInfo: 1239 S. Main St., Lombard, (630) 620-5878, www.noodlesphou.comCuisine: Vietnamese and Pan-AsianSetting: Casual, quick-serve kitchenEntrees: $5.55 to $11.50Hours: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and SundayFalse12662000Noodles Pho U's lemon grass beef is served on a bed of vermicelli with mint, pickled daikon and carrots, shredded romaine and fried shallots.Scott Sanders | Staff PhotographerFalse