Hidden Gems

 

Tien Giang Vietnamese restaurant
II must admit, before I entered Tien Giang (1104 W. Argyle), I had tasted Vietnamese food exactly once in my life, and that consisted of some more conservative choices a week earlier in New York’s Chinatown neighborhood. Now, it’s been twice, and after devouring samples of a decent portion of Tien Giang’s extensive menu, I can’t wait to make it a third time.

Located in the midst of the Vietnamese neighborhood in Uptown, just off Broadway near Lawrence Avenue, Tien Giang sets itself apart with its vast array of tasty options and family influences.

The restaurant’s owner, Tri Duc Nguyen, his wife and three kids left Vietnam for Cambodia in 1981, sharing a 30-foot boat with 30 other people, spending three days on the ocean. Two years later, they arrived in America, sponsored by Khanh Buu Tran, who had made the trek himself years earlier.

“They had to learn English, learn everything,” Tran says. “But they worked hard and opened their first restaurant in 1988. … English is hard to learn. And the life here is so different. They knew nothing about this country. It’s like going to another planet, and it can be hard to survive, and I knew they needed (the help).

One thing the family doesn’t need help with, though, is creating delicious food — and lots of it.

I tried it all: spicy mussels, spring rolls, Vietnamese pancakes, soups, sausage, tofu, pork, beef marinated in a rich wine sauce, sautéed shrimp, vegetables, noodles, rice and a full fried king crab with a sauce the family won’t divulge the secret to. Scoop it on some white rice, “and it’s a meal on its own,” says Jennifer Nguyen, the daughter who helps run the brightly lit, friendly restaurant.

The dish that will be impossible for me to ignore the next time around is the simmered spicy catfish with bacon, delivered to the table in a silver cooking pot, seasoned to perfection and so tender it practically melts in your mouth.

The menu can seem almost overwhelming, a whirlwind of enticing possibilities, but the waitresses or the Nguyen family is more than happy to help and offer their suggestions.

In addition, there is easy street parking near Tien Giang, and the Argyle red line stop is a short walk. And did I mention it’s BYOB?

“There are a lot of restaurants on the same block, but I think my mom makes the more traditional, more authentic Vietnamese,” Jennifer says. “Very fresh ingredients. We’re so different from other restaurants because other restaurants cook, but it’s a combination of Chinese or Thai, and this is as close to Vietnam as you’re going to get. If you want to get real Vietnamese, this is definitely the place. No questions.”

— Trent Modglin

 

The Violet Hour
When leaving Damen Avenue’s blue line station and walking south a short distance, it is not immediately obvious that you are in the presence of one of the Chicago night scene’s best hidden secrets — the Violet Hour. With no sign outside to advertise its existence, the charming cocktail lounge is easy to miss.

The building’s exterior is made to resemble an inconspicuous, prohibition era Chicago speakeasy. And it pulls it off fantastically, as the drab design only becomes interesting once you realize what is concealed inside. At first glance, the Violet Hour looks like an abandoned building, with boarded walls carelessly painted in a bland shade of blue and the phrase POST NO BILLS stenciled sporadically in white. The building’s entrance is almost invisible — camouflaged in blue with the rest of the outer walls with only a small brass handle and a crookedly fixed, dimly lit lamp to give the location of the door away.

Once inside, the narrow and expressionless hallway that a well-dressed host will ask you to wait in while he or she checks for seating availability heightens the sense of anticipation and curiosity. The hallway is separated from the main attraction by a weighty velvet curtain that allows only subtle noises from the inside to slip through, making a first-time guest wonder what is going on within. A framed sign posted on the wall serves to give that guest a hint, announcing that he or she will find no rum and Cokes here — no Jager bombs, either, because the Violet Hour is an establishment where liquor is taken seriously, where each drink is a masterpiece and an extension and expression of the brilliant, artfully trained bartender.

Upon the host’s return, he will ask you to switch your cell phone off, part the center of the curtain for you to enter and introduce you to the hostess who will lead you to your table. The softly lit and calmed interior of the Violet Hour drips with elegance and mystery. The lounge is sectioned into three areas — each as fanciful and exclusive as the others — secluded by more heavy curtains that swoop from the high ceiling. With the miraculous bar extended along the right side of the room, the rest of the Violet Hour is furnished with distinctive, sophisticated décor designed to spark imagination and conversation.

While the atmosphere of the lounge is spectacular, the Violet Hour’s menu is what really sets it apart from most, if not all, of the other bars in Chicago. Behind the bar, artists spin and shake silver capsules filled with an array of ingredients that will eventually pour chilled, specialized cocktails like the Hemingway daiquiri, the El Diablo and seasonal sidecar. And the food menu at the Violet Hour changes often and offers guests delicate and delicious appetizers and entrees.

— Chris Polinskii

Zanies’ 30th anniversary
As part of Zanies Chicago 30th anniversary celebrations, the newly launched, first-of-its-kind comedy tour featuring Polish-American comics and aptly titled “Three Poles Walk Into a Bar Comedy Tour” will hit Zanies Chicago at 1548 North Wells Street on Thursday, July 31 at 8:30 p.m. before heading to Zanies Vernon Hills on Aug. 1 and 2.

Los Angeles-based comedian and writer, Bob “The Polish Madman” Golub, best known for his appearance in Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas,” has launched the tour and will headline the Chicago engagement. He is a seasoned stand-up comedian who uses his Polish heritage as the core of his act. Joining Golub in Chicago will be veteran comics Mike Stankiewicz from Comedy Central and Chicago’s own Polish punster, Mike Ostrowski.