I have been waiting for the cute new (bright green! fabulous asian-adorable graphics!) “spring roll bar” to open on Chicago Avenue at Ashland. For weeks I would walk by the “open soon” sign and anxiously peer inside. Finally, after my weeks away from Chicago, it’s finally open and I got to try it out.
I had a fragrant chicken deconstructed spring roll, which was pretty good, especially when you squirted on a combination of the sweet-sour sauce and the chili-lime sauce. Most anything is good with lime juice & fish sauce on it, of course, but this had some nice poached chicken and a pile of fresh lettuce, papaya, pea sprouts and other herbs & veggies. A little small, but that’s for the best, as it makes a very nice light meal. Especially when you add an order of french fried green beans. That’s right, battered and deep fried green beans. What could possibly be more tailor made for me, the child who at 4 requested string beans for dessert? These things are the freakin’ shizNIT, as the kids say these days — perfectly crunchy (all the way to the bottom of the cup — crunchy that lasts, yay!) and light, with lots of nice bean flavor to the vegetables, delightful on their own or dipped into whatever sauce you choose. A great way to satisfy your jones for fried snacky goodness without overdosing on starch.
I will post a photo of the great shop logo, but I am having technical difficulties at present. Tallasiandude got me a fabulous new digicam of my very own for my birthday, so foodnerd will no longer have to rely on the grainy phone-pictures, but I can’t get the downloading software to work, despite copious reading of the manual and swearing. Stay tuned.