112809 Tue May 20 06:49:53 -0700 2003 3 7 Chicago Area 0 613061 I hope I am not belaboring the obvious. I am a Vietnamese food freak. I discovered it in 1979 while working in DC and staying in Falls Church. I walked by a former diner and saw these beautiful Viet women inside, gracefully serving dishes that looked wonderful. Turned out, when I spoke with them, that they were the wife and daughters of some horrid fascist Viet colonel, but nevermind. They were delightful and the food better. The eggrolls were long and thin and bursting with flavor and cilantro, which I was not familiar with, was in everything. I ended up going back every day for two weeks and eating everything on the menu. The place is no longer there. I am told the colonel got caught in some heroin deal and was kicked out of the country. Anyway, that brings me to Pasteur. Wait, not yet. The best Viet restaurant in the country is Kimson in Houston. And the late, lamented Pho Bhang in NYC, on Mott near Canal. It burned down, then never got its customers back, then burned again (hmmmmm). Pho Bangh was what the Vietnamese call an appetizer house. It had some main dishes, but its real niche was the grilled pork, beef, and chicken, along with the mini eggrolls, that most Viet restaurants offer. You roll them up with noodles, veggies, peppers, and various sauces, in lettuce, then chow down. Drool. But I love Pasteur. Their Pho is terrible, so skip it. Pho is a comfort food, best served in huge bowls with piles of lime and basil and jalapenos and bean sprouts. And it needs the mix of raw beef, well cooked brisket, and tendon. The little cup at Pasteur is a joke. Skip the appetizers. They are mediocre. Head straight for the duck and the calamari. The duck is a boneless filet, moist, bursting with flavor, drizzled in a delightful soy based sauce. Nonessential fat has been removed, and it just melts in your mouth. The best duck I have ever tasted. Bar none. The calamari might be better. Lightly dusted in flour and soaked in fish sauce, then quickly sauteed, it is neither as chewy as, say, greek versions, nor as flavorless as most italian versions. It's a unique dish, enough so that I have ordered it as an appetizer for groups. The bar/waiting area is wonderful. Deep soft couches, a fire in winter, delightful waitresses. It makes waiting for a table a joy. This is a great place for a first date. Arrive an hour early and enjoy a martini, chat, and enjoy the ambiance. During the summer, they throw open the doors to outdoor tables. Frankly, I think eating outdoors is overrated, but at least in this block, you don't have people ogling your food. I don't have the address off the top of my head, but it is in the upper Broadway area. Entrees are about $12 to $18, and again, ordering the calamari as an appetizer is a great bet. The real appetizers are no great shakes. Tue May 20 06:49:53 -0700 2003 0 mekons 1 613174 I liked Pasteur better when they were on Argyle. They no longer offer value or location to justify the new higher prices. For that kind of money there are simply much better dining experiences to be had in Chicago. pd Wed May 21 20:57:05 -0700 2003 613061 0 pdaane@yahoo.com 2 613204 Yikes the prices! I agree the old location was much better as well as cheaper. There is far better food at half the price to be found around Argyle and I suspect other spots around town. At least Le Colonial, our other fancy Vietnamese, which is very pricy, serves up some pretty delicious food in a very nice atmosphere. Thu May 22 10:39:26 -0700 2003 613174 0 JoanB 3 613205 Overall, I have to agree with the nostalgists. Pasteur and I moved into the old neighborhood (N.B. is was Lawrence and Sheridan, not Argyle) at about the same time. I more or less discovered Vietnamese food there, day by day, dish by dish. It was great to watch them thrive, and I suppose I'm glad they were so successful that they could become a bustling, pricey, fancy little boite. But it's all just a little bit too, too for me. As elegant a production as the new room is, I could live without it. It's a little bit like a Disneyland tribute to colonialism, which I find a vaguely disturbing. And while they do some things that the storefronts don't, and some are truly excellent dishes, the price/value ratio just isn't there for me either. I miss the old place. Thu May 22 11:02:06 -0700 2003 613204 0 Mark