Penny's Noodles

3400 N Sheffield Chicago, Il

http://www.pennysnoodleshop.com/

Located just south of Wrigley Field, Penny's Noodle Shop hits the spot like no other on a cold, slushy-snow Chicago day. Here you can enjoy top notch Thai and some of the city's best people-watching. The interior is sleek and modern, perfumed with the aroma of jasmine tea and lemongrass. To each of us was given a pot of fragrant jasmine tea, warming us to our lemongrass-loving souls. Our appetizers included Gyoza and Chinese Greens. The Gyoza consisted of a fried skin filled with tasty minced pork and cabbage. The dipping sauce provided was a soy/sesame mixture, some chopped green onion floated magnificently on its surface. The Chinese Greens would be a new and delightful experience to us. The greens were sauteed in an oyster sauce, which in its earthiness, paired beautifully. Our next course would be soup, Tom Yum and Beef being our choices. The Tom Yum, an absolute assault on the tastebuds, is richly flavored with lime leaf, lemongrass and exotic Thai spices like galangal, a relative of ginger. Swimming in this ambrosia-like broth were large shrimp and straw mushrooms. Yum! The Beef Soup was far from simple as it's name erroneously suggests. It is a complex concoction of vermicelli noodles, rich broth, cilantro, onions and finely sliced beef. Clear plastic containers of Thai chili sauce stood at attention on our table, one mixed with vinegar, the other, soy. Their mixture brings a certain character to the dishes they embellish. We are at a Thai restaurant of course, so why not try the ubiquitous classic? I'm talking about Pad Thai as any afficionado is familiar and Penny's is absolutely euphoric. The noodles are covered in a mouth-watering Tamarind-based sauce and garnished generously with mounds of freshly-sliced red cabbage, bean sprouts and cilantro. What's not to like? Penny's we will definitely be back!