Saigon Sisters

"In food, as in death, we feel the essential brotherhood of man"- Vietnamese Proverb

Food, not death, brought the brotherhood of The Loop Lunch Club together this week for our sixth meeting at Saigon Sisters' 567 W Lake location. Members of the Loop Lunch Platoon had to march, crawl, and cab their way through the urban jungle, braving 90 degree temperatures to protect their right to a midday meal.  Rob Anderson and Dan Spira arrived first with their cell phones, wallets, and appetites. These were The Things They Carried.  We were set to ship out at noon, but Nick Nikitas was missing in action and Chris Hartemayer had been captured as a prisoner of crisis. Sure, we had all heard horror stories of life in Vietnamese restaurants, but it wasn't until I enlisted The LLC for Saigon Sisters that the myths became our reality.

I made this week's selection based on a friend's recommendation. I had never been to Saigon Sisters but I envisioned it as a rundown Vietnamese tent with full chickens hanging on hooks and various species of Southeast Asian rodents scurrying about. I prepared myself for Apocalypse Now or the endless monsoon of Forrest Gump. Instead I found a clean, modern downtown restaurant as innocent as Operation Dumbo Drop and as high spirited as Good Morning, Vietnam.  With air conditioning, hot and cold running water, and what Spira described as a "surprisingly clean" restroom Saigon Sisters had all the amenities one would expect to find at the Hanoi Hilton.

The house specialty is banh mi, a French influenced Vietnamese sub sandwich. The floor to ceiling chalkboard menu, which was limited in selection but physically enormous, also offered salads, soups, rice bowls and banh bao (Burrito : Taco :: Banh mi : Banh bao).  "The rice bowl caught my eye," said Spira (below, left), "because it was more in line with my expectations." One thing Spira would learn about being in 'Nam: expect the unexpected.

Spira reads up on rice bowls and Rob prepares to deal a left handed Rambo chop to an innocent customer

None of us exhibited Uncommon Valor when it came time to order. Both Ofmans, as well as Spira and Nakitas (perfect names for a show on TNT) ordered the pork belly banh mi while Rob opted for "The VBQ," just as i predicted he would prior to his arrival. My first bite was on the section of sandwich with the highest concentration of jalapeno.  After recovering sensation on my tongue I found my banh mi tasted great and was only improved upon by the array of available sauces. Hoisin, Sriracha, and an unmarked bottle of red mystery sauce made each bite a unique and flavorful experience. "Quite good," (Lieutenant) Dan Ofman said between inhalation of sandwich halves, "hot fresh bread...can't get enough pork!"

Despite only being there for a short time we had already developed a first name basis with the staff. They knew us because we gave them our names and I thought it was safe, though politically incorrect to call them Charlie. "Hey Dan," Charlie said reaching over the counter with banh mi in hand, "can you pass this to Rob?"

Bobbo's Banh Bao

If we came for the banh mi, we stayed for the banh bao. These dough wrapped Vietnamese sliders were particularly well received by Rob, who expressed an interest in ordering multiple banh bao in place of a banh mi. It would be like a Vietnamese Dollar menu, only their currency is called the Dong. I would hesitate to order off the Dong menu.

Our tour of duty in 'Nam may not have been as harrowing as others, but I'm proud of my men for surviving it. We crawled through a river of Sriracha and came out clean on the other side. We were soldiers. We ate lunch.

Saigon Notes:

• No green berets were seen, but they are trained to be invisible.
• Complimentary body lotion in the restroom. Slightly odd.
• Some grumbling was heard from the group concerning the extra few blocks of travel. Perhaps they don't realize how brutal my Metra commute is each week.