$10-$16 Entrees
What would we do without fast food? Most of us would not forgo the convenience of drive-thrus and to-go menus. Sushi is arguably the first
type of fast food ever invented. First created in Southeast Asia, then taken to the level of an art form by the Japanese, sushi is one of the most beautifully presented, healthy and delicious dishes one can order. Many Americans are afraid to try it. That's all right. More for me!
Start with nori, a dried, pressed sheet of seaweed with an addictive, slightly chewy texture. Spread a layer of delicately vinegared rice over the nori. Add sashimi-quality raw fish or, if you prefer, cooked fish. Other ingredients, such as strips of fresh avocado, cucumber, or thinly sliced carrot, may also be added. The combination is snugly rolled into a cylinder and firmly pressed with a bamboo mold. The cylinder is then sliced into yummy bite-sized jewels and occasionally topped with a sweet kabayaki sauce or a spicy wasabi-based sauce. Often, the cylinder is layered with rice and sesame seeds prior to slicing and garnished with ginger and wasabi. Sushi is traditionally dipped in soy sauce and eaten by hand.
The Japanese believe five different tastes exist. Sushi falls into the category of umami, which means "savoriness" or "deliciousness". I wholeheartedly agree. The combination of exotic flavors becomes more than the sum of its parts, causing the diner to enter a state of transcendent bliss and, thereafter, to wake frequently at 2:00 a.m. with inexorable sushi cravings.
Enter Taste of Thailand, a lovely, unassuming restaurant specializing in both Thai cuisine and sushi. As you sit in the warm glow of lights at a table with a white tablecloth and gaze at charming photographs of Thailand, you will be glad you came. In an age of frantic reservations, long waits and hostesses resembling bouncers in attitude, Taste of Thailand puts the "rest" in "restaurant". Combining a quiet ambience, a gracious wait staff, and no wait for seating, this restaurant is more my speed.
You will not have to run to the gym after eating at Taste of Thailand, as the food is almost invariably light and healthy. The vegetable rolls, rice wraps enfolding lettuce, sprouts, mint, tofu and cilantro, are steamed and served with a sweet and spicy plum sauce. Crispy spring rolls, containing crunchy cabbage and rice noodles, are served with a clear, sweet sauce with crushed peanuts. Taste of Thailand's chicken and rice soup is simple with a clear broth, shredded carrot and a hint of green onion.
However, the Lorna Roll, named for the restaurant's street address, met a deep, primal need I didn't even know I had. Foregoing the traditional nori in favor of soy paper, this sushi roll contained snow crab, cucumber, and crunchy tempura. It was topped with fresh salmon and strips of avocado and crowned with red tobiko, a delicacy of flying fish roe. This roll was drizzled with kabayaki sauce, made of soy sauce, sugar and sweet rice wine. I don't have any problem that 10 years of therapy and a Lorna Roll can't cure.
Besides their respectably diverse sushi menu, Taste of Thailand has an extensive menu of Thai cuisine, including Pad Thai (pronounced "pud tie"), stir-fried rice noodles topped with scrambled egg, fish sauce, tamarind juice, red chili pepper and bean sprouts. These gentle flavors are offset by the crunchiness of crushed, roasted peanuts.
With moderate prices, excellent service, an atmosphere worthy of a romantic date, and top-quality ingredients, you will want to return again and again. Move over, Surin West. Taste of Thailand is here to play!
4.5 Kudzu
