Authentic Vietnamese from Saigon Pho in Forest Park

FOREST PARK, Ill. (WLS) -- Most of Chicago's Vietnamese restaurants are clustered in Uptown, along Argyle Street, but west suburban Forest Park also has an excellent option for spring rolls and hearty soups.

Some of the best dishes come from mom-and-pop storefronts, and Saigon Pho is no different. Tucked into a condo building on West Madison, it's not far from a ton of Irish bars. But what it lacks in sales of Guinness and Jameson, it more than makes up for with its namesake soup.

Saigon Pho does many things well, but it's mainly about the namesake beef noodle soup.

"It's the most Vietnamese traditional food. So it's served with the rice noodles and there's beef broth," said Tuyen Tran, whose mother and father do all of the cooking.

The broth is simmered for hours with bones and spices, like cinnamon and star anise, and constantly strained to remove impurities. Most bowls begin with white vermicelli rice noodles, briefly boiled, then your choice of beef: tendon, flank, or eye-of-round. Then a few raw slices are added on top, which are cooked in seconds as hot broth is poured over the noodles and beef. Finally, some fresh cilantro, scallions and onions are added and you're good to go.

Start off with excellent spring rolls, made-to-order and stuffed with noodles, shrimp and herbs. They come with slightly sweet peanut sauce for dipping. Or, try a giant crepe called banh xeo.

"It's made of coconut milk and corn powder and it's mixed with mung bean, bean sprouts inside and you can add chicken, beef or shrimp in there," Tran explained.

They key is figuring out how to eat it. You typically tear off a small piece of the crepe, place it into lettuce leaves along with fresh herbs and other vegetarian condiments, fold it up and dip it into clear, salty fish sauce.

Tran says her family has been excited to see quite a few new faces over the past year or so.

"People in this area are really diverse and they're really open-minded," said Tran.

Saigon Pho

7237 W. Madison St., Forest Park

(708) 689-0389