Met a friend and had some really nice stuff over at Phodega . . .
Phodega - 1924 W Division St, ChicagoFigured that it might be helpful for those who've not been there to see what it looks like from the outside. When you see the waving kitty, pull over!!
InteriorBefore my visit, I had trouble finding interior shots of the space that showed how much seating there was. Did my best to capture it here. It addition to the tables along the wall, there were 4 2-tops along the window from where I was shooting. There's also quite a bit of outdoor seating but that's not really in play during this February moment in time.
Eggrolls2 with shrimp on the outside, 2 with pork in the middle. Loved these crispy, fried-to-order treats. As you can surmise from their taper -- and the tail sticking out -- the shrimp were comprised of whole shrimp, with some other components, inside their wrappers. That was really nice.
Salt & Pepper Chicken SkinsThese were great. Crispy and light but with a tiny bit of moist chew. Loved the orange hot sauce that was served with them, too.
DumplingsWe chose spicy pork as the filling on these
(beef or veg also available). It was nicely spicy and these were pretty darned good.
The Viet Dip |
ribeye, aioli, cilantro, onions, jalapenos and pho jus dipReally loved this signature sandwich. We were torn between ordering this and the Phodega Fries. The person who took our order assured us that the two takes were similar enough that we only needed to order one of them. He advised that the VD + plus a standard order of fries was the way to go. That gave us the best of both worlds, as there was plenty of jus for dipping our sandwich and the fries.
Pork Belly Banh Mi |
pork belly, aioli, house slaw, cucumber, jalapenos and cilantroThis one didn't do it for me. I thought the treatment of the belly itself really obliterated the best aspects of belly. I'd say this one was less than the sum of its parts.
Chicken Rice Combo |
jasmine rice sauteed in chicken fat and chicken brothThis was a combo of Hainan-style chicken and fried chicken. My favorite part of it was the comforting, fat-infused rice. Loved the flavor on both chicken takes, though they were a tad on the dry side.
Salt & Pepper Crack Wings5 pieces . . . 4 identifiable wings and a piece of I don't know what on the far left.
These were tasty, though a bit chewy and not quite as wonderful as some of the other dishes we ordered.
Overall, we really loved Phodega. Such a unique culinary perspective, and the highs were really high. The space is cool and comfortable, and service was stellar. Really looking forward to going back, getting a few favorites again and trying a couple of tempting things we just didn't have room for, like an actual bowl of pho and that House Special Banh Mi, too.
=R=
Same planet, different world