"The Roadfood people would LOVE this place!"

Last summer 2 of my coworkers made a bet about the election. The one who lost had to buy the winner's meal at a good restaurant.

The winner picked Phan's. It's in Milwaukee proper, on 20th & National. I came from the west side & took the 35th street exit. I turned right & went over the Valley. At National I made a left & went down to 20th & made a right, since they have a parking lot.

My friends were already there (shocking) and we ordered right away. We shared appetizers. We chose shrimp balls, quail, beef spring rolls & pork egg rolls. I also chose an avocado drink. I wasn't sure about avocado as a drink & especially not a sweet drink, but it was outstanding. Smooth & creamy, not too sweet, and the perfect mild complement to the meal. My friend from work ordered a Vietnamese iced coffee & our former coworker (Diane, who has come with on some Roadfood outings) ordered a Three Color drink, which was coconut milk with red & green Jell-o. It was delicious.


My friend ordered a pork chop with rice & shrimp. Diane ordered make your own beef springrolls. I got a seafood dish with soft noodles, but I had them make it a little spicy. Everything was fantastic! Diane kept saying through the meal, "Omg, the Roadfooders would love this place!" so of course I took pictures:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=4lhy15d.27e0u33l&x=0&y=-4wc887&localeid=en_US

Along with the awesome weather, it was a great day! This place is a family owned business, and just as good as Thai BBQ.

Stricken -

That drink looks so refreshing...

I had an Avacdo Smoothie at the Vietnamese stop on the Chicago tour last fall.  It was really good...surprisingly so!

Looks like a great place to kick back with friends and try some interesting items...plus you get to roll your own and nobody hassels you!

Yeah...I too went to HS in the 70's!

Looks like the break in the winter weather made for a busy day for all the Milwaukee/Chicago Roadfooders.  stricken detective went Vietnamese, ChiTownDiner went southside Chicago, while X1, ChuckL, and Gyp made their semi-regular run down to Mitsuwa Japanese market in Arlington Heights, Illinois, where they were met for lunch by myself and Mrs. Roadhouse along with our daughter, abe froeman.

It looks like there was an avocado smoothie mind meld in the air yesterday.  Mrs. Roadhouse enjoyed hers with sweet and chewy black pearl tapioca balls, while I tried a very refreshing cantaloupe version.  We paired that up with a multitude of dim sum and a steaming hot bowl of curried chicken udon.  X1 captured it all with her camera.  Perhaps, if she's in the mood, she'll post them here.

After lunch we all went shopping in the main part of the grocery store where they feature all things Japanese.  X1 had the biggest haul.  Our main purchases were a can of dried, hot wasabi coated green peas and a box of Pocky; chocolate covered biscuit sticks.

I suggested that the next time we meet at an Asian grocery store's food court, we should try the Super H Market at Oakton & Waukegan in Niles.  Similar to Mitsuwa, but owned by a Korean group as oppposed to Japanese, they have a wonderful Pan-Asian food court offering goodies from all over the continent.

BTW, loved your photos, stricken.  Those spring rolls look outstanding!  Plump, succulent, and filled to bursting with fresh delectable ingredients.  We'll need to try Phan's as a group this summer.

Glad you all enjoyed the good weather.  Get ready for winter to come roaring back (sigh).

Buddy

Buddy -

Interesting...we went to Mitsuwa on Wednesday for lunch, shopping and browsing!  I love the bakery!

I had recently had Ahi Sliders at DOC Wine Bar and tried to recreate them at home...and was pretty successful!  Everyone really loved them!

CTD, must be nice to be able to make a field trip on a Wednesday!  Hey, good for you!  Shoulda called, I might have been able to cheat the clock and joined you.

Have you ever been to Super H?  Well worth a visit if you like the Asian food court concept.  Lemme know and we can meet up sometime, if you'd like.  Of course, there's always Paradise Pup when the weather gets consistently warmer (I'm not standing in line, outside in this cold).

Buddy

Thanks Stricken - I grew up in Milwaukee and never even heard of this place.  I'm always game to try new foods, so I'll make it a point to stop in.  Have you tried Fujiyama in West Allis?  The sushi and hibachi are fantastic and they have 1/2 price sushi on Mondays and Tuesdays.

LuAnn (Milwaukee Lunch)

stricken_detective, Very nice report and pics.  Word of advice for your friend, when betting, always use your head, not your heart.  I know if you had won the bet, I would be viewing some really good Italian food
 
Those shrimp balls looked great.  The shrimp must have been humongus!

Unit97--I've never had a reason to eat @ Fuji's, as my best friend married into the family that owns Izumi's. I would hear about it if I ate somewhere else! Phan's is good & so is Thai BBQ on 34th & National.

joerogo--Yeah, had I bet, I'm not sure what I would have made them do. Perhaps Venice Club, maybe Balistrieri's Bluemound Inn. Possibly Fillippo's, but I think good old Albanese's would have won.

I almost made that a caption on the pic of the shrimp!!!

stricken_detective


Unit97--I've never had a reason to eat @ Fuji's, as my best friend married into the family that owns Izumi's. I would hear about it if I ate somewhere else! Phan's is good & so is Thai BBQ on 34th & National.

joerogo--Yeah, had I bet, I'm not sure what I would have made them do. Perhaps Venice Club, maybe Balistrieri's Bluemound Inn. Possibly Fillippo's, but I think good old Albanese's would have won.

I almost made that a caption on the pic of the shrimp!!!

Woo-hoo! Free Izumi's sushi, right?  Or do you have to pay like the rest of us mortals?
 
Those pics look great. It amazes me that Phan's offers what seems to be a rather uninspired selection of Chinese-American food (and it seems quite popular at lunchtime), yet has really delicious Vietnamese cuisine. I just wish they'd offer Banh Mi (though I like them at Saigon).... 

quijote

Woo-hoo! Free Izumi's sushi, right?  Or do you have to pay like the rest of us mortals?
 
Those pics look great. It amazes me that Phan's offers what seems to be a rather uninspired selection of Chinese-American food (and it seems quite popular at lunchtime), yet has really delicious Vietnamese cuisine. I just wish they'd offer Banh Mi (though I like them at Saigon).... 

I have to pay like the rest of the mortals, but the special attention is nice. I think the chef knows that I have pictures of his wife from the 80's & that I am not afraid to use them.

ETA: She wants you all to know they are the only Japanese restaurant in the Milwaukee area that is still owned & run by Japanese people. Seigo's out in Sussex was one, but that guy sold the place to an American.

Phan's was awesome. Mmmmm, noodles.

Having traveled the world over for decades on end, Vietnamese is hands down one of my favorite cuisines.  Rich in diversity of flavors, very much a French-Asian culinary fusion so just when you think you've pigeon holed it as Asian it surprises you with very European dishes and ingredients.  I never tire of it and there's always something new.