Vietnamese Pho Le brings ethnic tastes to Carol Stream

The tendency of people to cluster in neighborhoods with others of similar backgrounds is understandable, but it does make it tough for foodies with eclectic tastes. Only once an ethnic cuisine becomes solidly mainstream or an immigrant group becomes broadly established do you find its restaurants widespread across the landscape.

By the standards of, say, Italian or Chinese fare, Vietnamese food is relatively new to this country, emerging only with the waves of immigrants who arrived in the U.S. after the end of the Vietnam War. In 2000, the U.S. Census numbered fewer than 16,000 Vietnamese among the more than 8 million residents of the Chicago area.

So if you want to find a good selection of Vietnamese eateries, you pretty much have to go to one of two neighborhoods: Uptown Chicago or the Glendale Heights/Carol Stream area, where, for reasons unknown to me, a large community of Vietnamese-Americans has settled. Several new places have opened there in recent months, among them tiny Pho Le (pronounced "fuh lay"), an inexpensive, casual spot in a strip mall on the Carol Stream/Wheaton border. The address is on Schmale, but the storefront, with a glowing neon bowl of pho in the window, actually faces Geneva Road.

Inside, the simple space with about 10 tables of various sizes, doesn't look all that different from the Jimmy John's next door, but don't make a mistake and opt for those tasteless sandwiches. The food at Pho Le is fresh and flavorful, although you may have a few complications in ordering.

Service tends not to play a big part in these reviews, since it's tough to judge based on a single visit, but I have to say that the scowling, eye-rolling youth who took our order was off-putting, to say the least. Since our no-doubt inept attempts to pronounce the Vietnamese names clearly pained him, we ordered by the numbers.

He seemed to speak English well, but we wound up having to reiterate each order several times. Yet despite repeating, "thirty-four, thirty-four, thirty-four" and pointing at the menu, we wound up with No. 33, canh ga chien nuoc mam, fried chicken wings with fish sauce, instead of the desired No. 34, canh ga chien bo, fried chicken with butter. It might have helped if he'd taken his phone out of his ear.

However, he disappeared shortly after that and the two servers who brought our food were both most friendly and helpful, although their English was more limited. And the chicken wings were delectable. We kept them, because they took some time to come out, appearing long after the rest of the food. And because they looked so good: a big platter of them, lightly battered, crisply fried and not too greasy, on a bed of lettuce leaves and (somewhat pale) sliced tomatoes, with a garnish of cilantro sprigs and a bowl of carroty, sweet-sour nuoc mam cham sauce for dipping.

The same sauce accompanies several of the appetizers, like the cha gio -- crunchy, cigar-sized egg rolls filled with a savory mixture of ground pork, mushrooms and carrots; and the bi cuon, rice-paper wrapped around a cool, springy filling of rice noodles, mint, cilantro, veggies and shreds of pork skin. Goi cuon, with shrimp, also are available.

Naturally, Pho Le offers pho, the beefy noodle-soup meal-in-a-bowl of Vietnam, offered here in six varieties, each beef-based but differing in the cut of meat. The simplest, pho tai, offers a beef-based broth filled with skinny rice noodles and thin slices of lightly cooked beef and a few vegetables. Another version presents flank steak, one has meatballs; still another adds beef tendon and tripe.

On the side comes a plate of fresh mung-bean sprouts, sliced jalapenos, basil sprigs and cilantro leaves, which you add as you like. You can doctor it further with hoisin sauce, soy sauce or one of a variety of hot sauces and chili peppers standing ready on the table. A little dish is provided with a wedge of fresh lime; you're meant to squeeze the lime, add salt and pepper and use that as a condiment for the meat you fish out of your bowl.

Pho Le's broth seems a bit watery, without much depth of flavor, and missing the aromatic nuances of cloves, anise and other spices typically used. But put all together, this dish can hardly lose.

All kinds of other soups are available, such as hu tiue tom thit, with shrimp, pork and rice noodles; bun mang vit, duck soup with noodles and bamboo shoots; and bun bo Hue, a spicy beef soup in the style of Hue, with noodles and pork cake.

Grilled pork forms a strong suit here, whether in the rice noodle dishes or over rice. Bun thit nuong cha gio, for example, offers nicely grilled morsels of boneless meat atop a big bowl of rice noodles, lettuce, cucumbers and herbs, with more nuoc cham to mix in. Com suon bi cha, a combination plate, serves up an excellent, thin-cut pork chop, flavored with lemongrass and served over rice with some shredded pork skin and a kind of meat muffin on the side.

Other entree choices include ca hong chien nuoc mam toi, deep-fried red snapper; ca hap cuon banh trang, steamed fish and vegetables to wrap in rice papper; ga luot, a broiled whole chicken; and bo luc dat, stir-fried beef. Family dinners for two, four or six make deciding for groups quick. There's also a selection of banh mi, Vietnamese-style sandwiches on baguettes.

Pho Le doesn't have a liquor license and it doesn't serve desserts. Traditional Vietnamese iced coffee, thick and sweet with condensed milk, leads off the drink menu. You can also try an avocado shake or opt for a refreshing soda chanh duong, freshly made sparkling limeade.

Pho Le

551 S. Schmale Road (at Geneva Road), Carol Stream, (630) 588-8299

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Setting: No-frills strip-mall storefront

Price range: Appetizers $1.95 to $7; entrees $6 to $25.95

Hours: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays through Sundays

Accepts: Visa and Mastercard

Also: Free parking