My guy friends wanted to check out this place last night since the restaurant expanded to a bigger place a month ago. I live in the city nearby and heard of Indochine but never ate there until last night. I am glad we did! The place was packed on a Thursday night. I am Vietnamese so I ordered the Pho. It was so good. My friends said they don't use MSG in cooking the broth and I believe they are right. I did not drink goblets of water as I always have to when having Pho at other places. Indochine's Pho is very streamed line. Just with beef and that was it. I was looking for meatballs but they did not have it but it was alright by me as the broth is so fragant and the flavor is just right. My friends had the beef cubes (I called it Bo Luc lac) and they were delicious. The nice and tender cubes of beef sauteed in very fragant buttery garlic sauce. They served the dish with an unique side sauce with Sriracha. I never it that way but it was so yummy! I enjoyed every bite that my friends were willing to spare from their plates. The best Bo Luc Lac I ever tasted! I camed from Chicago and Le Colonial there also has this dish and for $27 at that restaurant, this is a much better prepared dish and at much lower price. I don't know how they can turn out such wonderfully prepared food with such low prices. The place was packed last night so we did have to wait to be seated. It looks like they can use a maitre'd on busy nights. We wanted to order beer 33 but they were out of those. I will be coming back with a bigger group and will try their Thai dishes as the Vietnamese dishes are done surprisingly well. I heard also that the co-owner has also published a cook book - maybe that is why their food is so good.
Pros: Sophisticated preparation of authentic Vietnamese dishes, beautiful place, friendly staff, plenty parking spaces in the back
Cons: Larger waiting area, a maitre'd to greet and seat people will be a great help to this busy spot.
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