Big Bowl's specialty is noodles, presented in Pan Asian style in many variations. You may want to sample their Shanghai Noodles, or Chinese egg noddles mixed with tender chicken and vegetables. On a cold Chicago day, the Vietnamese Chicken Noodle soup - chicken, noodles, spices - is sure to warm you up. Since the tempting menu made it virtually impossible to pick just one thing, I ordered the Ultimate Combo, one of their most popular dishes. The combo features Imperial Roll, Chicken Potstickers, Chicken Satay, Vietnamese Summer Roll, and Sesame Peanut Noodles. The Imperial Roll was very good, although it had an unusual flavor: I almost think it might have been made with shredded beef, rather than the usual pork or shrimp. A tangy mustard sauce nicely accented the Chicken Potstickers, which were filled with shredded chicken and vegatables. The Chicken Satay was very unusual: not the peanut sauce I'm accustomed to, but more a slightly spicy-sweet barbeque flavor. The chicken was so tender it practically fell off the skewers. The Vietnamese Summer Rolls are rice paper wrappers filled with shrimp, greens and finely chopped peanuts. The soy dipping sauce was a nice accompaniment. Surprisingly, the Sesame Peanut Noodles were cold, not hot. These are round noodles with a rich creamy peanut sauce mixed with sesame seeds and cilantro. The combo comes with three dipping sauces: a spicy mustard, a sweet sauce and a soy sauce. My beverage of choice was the made-fresh-daily Fresh Ginger Gingerale, which has to be tasted to be believed! Service was polite, quick, attentive; very impressive. The decor was dominated by a primarily red and black color scheme. The furniture was a sort of faux black lacquer look, which was set off nicely by the touches of red on the tabletops and walls. Giant white, round, paper lamps suspended from the ceiling added soft lighting. I liked the huge abacus sculpture that served as a sort of room divider.
From downtown Chicago you can take the el or subway to State and Lake and walk from there (across the river just a few blocks) or you can transfer to the 146 bus at State and Lake and get dropped off almost at the front door.
This was my first visit, but by no means my last!