the Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Part IV

The Ugly.

Thai food. I love it. In NYC my favorite Thai restaurant is Land (http://www.landthaikitchen.com/landEast.html). I prefer the Upper East Side location because it is slightly bigger, meaning you can actually get a table there on occasion, and because I think it is better decorated. What I like about the place is the food of course, but I also like the serene and yet enticing atmosphere, the inventive and aesthetically pleasing ways the food is served, the well chosen wine selection, the waiters who actually know which wine goes better with which dish and the $8 two-course lunch menu. Almost everything I tried there is good, but my favorites are Shrimp Parcels, Satay Sampler, Pungent Beef Salad, Pan Seared Duck Breast, all of the curries and black sesame ice cream.

I've never been to Thailand so I cannot tell whether the Land dishes are "authentic." Judging by other Thai food I tried in New York, however, I would say Land's offerings are a notch fancier, perhaps a bit more Americanized, which suits me just fine.

Here in Chicago, I am told, the selection of Thai cuisine is excellent. Many claim it is better than what NYC has to offer. I cannot argue with that since I've only been to one Thai restaurant in Chicago so far. On a recommendation from at least 10 locals B and I went to Spoon Thai (http://www.spoonthai.com/) on a Tuesday night.

The place was not crowded at all. Our waiter was pleasant. The menu was extensive. We ordered Tom Yum soup, Satay Chicken, Thai Pepper Steak and Massaman Curry with chicken. We like all of our dishes very well, except maybe for the Chicken Satay, which was a bit dry. The Tom Yum soup was flavorful, not overwhelmingly spicy with well cooked shrimp. The pepper steak had thinly sliced pieces of meat, well cooked, with good sauce that was not slimy or gooey. The massaman curry was also tasty, even though the potatoes were a little bland and overall it was a bit sweeter than I am used to. What I also liked about the place is that it was almost ridiculously cheap - always a welcome plus.

The one discouraging feature is that the restaurant was ugly, it looked more like a college cafeteria than an inviting venue for a dinner. I would have loved this place if I were a college kid, but as an adult, I actually prefer something a tad more upscale.

Overall, B and appreciated the food. If I had encountered this level of culinary competence in my first few days in this city, I probably would not have started this blog.

For those of you who have a chance to try both Spoon Thai and Land, here is a point by point comparison (on a 1 to 10 scale with 10 being the highest), a la Iron Chef:

Land/ Spoon Thai
Decor: 7/ 2
Service: 7/ 5
Food Presentation: 8/ 2
Tom Yum soup: 6/ 8
Satay: 8/ 5
Pepper Steak: (not offered, but skirt steak) 6/ 9
Massaman Curry: 8/ 7
Price: 5/ 10
Total: 55/ 48