Back to Tank

On the first full day of our long weekend in Chicago, we made a beeline straight for Argyle where a lot of the Vietnamese restaurants are. When we first booked the trip, our original plan for lunch that day had been to go to Hot Doug's before they closed, but as the lines got longer and longer the closer it got to the closing date, we just couldn't deal with the long wait. It had been 2 years since we were last able to visit Tank Noodle and we were really in the mood for some of their awesome pho, so we were pretty happy to "settle" for a visit there.

We started out with cha gio, the spring rolls stuffed with ground pork, carrots, taro, and wood ear mushrooms. Each order comes with 2 long rolls (we got the shrimp spring rolls last time since it came with 3), lettuce leaves, and a side of dipping sauce.

These rolls were wonderful and exactly what we're looking for in a spring roll. The outside wrapper was crispy, and the insides were so tasty. You could definitely taste the ground meat and the vegetables, and it wasn't just packed with lots of filler. We love cha gio and these were really great. We could eat these all the time.

After our spring roll treat, it was, of course, time for pho. I got the pho ga (chicken with beef broth), just like last time and just like every other time I get pho at Tank. It was just as great as always. I don't really have anything different to say about the pho from last time, so if you want to read more about it, the last write-up is here.

A also got the same pho that he usually does, the pho xe tang combination with sliced beef, brisket, flank, soft tendon, tripe, and meat ball. Just like with my pho ga, it was just as good as he remembered, so probably best to read the old post about Tank, since it still held true 2 years later. Last time, he jumped into his bowl of pho before we got a picture of his artistic design, so here's what it looks like when he's done adding everything to his bowl. Isn't it pretty?

We were really happy with our visit to Tank (as always). Afterwards, we visited a nearby Asian grocery store that we never went to before (which was in a spot that used to house a different pho joint, actually the first one that A and I ever went to together in the city of Chicago) and then spent some time walking around near the lake on a truly gorgeous afternoon. We're not sure when we'll be able to make it back to Tank, but we would definitely go back. We still haven't found any pho that we've liked better than Tank.

Tank Noodle, 4953 N. Broadway (corner of Argyle).