|
Reviewed by Kelly Poe Wilson of Live Magazine
The first thing I need to admit is that I am very picky when it comes to Thai food - after spending two months in Thailand in 1995 (including a stint at the Chiang Mai Cooking School), I have very little patience for the Americanized version of Thai food that you all too often see in "Thai" restaurants - food that is suspiciously close to shopping mall Chinese food with a few pieces of lemon grass thrown in for effect. That's why I was so delighted to discover the newest restaurant to show up in the downtown Monte Vista Hotel - Racha Thai. With their extensive and authentic menu, and their attention to detail and fresh ingredients, I can honestly say the meal I had there was the best Thai food I have had since leaving Bangkok.
Walk in the front door and you'll begin to get the idea that real Thai food awaits you (that is, if you can look past the '50s-style furnishing and decor, remnants of the Monte Vista Coffee Shop). Actually, you need to look not so much past the decor as above it, to the decorative Thai fabric that hangs from the ceiling, and the portrait of King Bhumibol that looks benevolently out onto the room full of diners, as if assuring all that this place is the real deal.
And, at least on the night I went, it was certainly a room full of diners - there was not an empty seat in the house, quite an impressive feat for a weeknight when NAU is out of session. Even more impressive, however, was the service. Though woefully understaffed, the lone waitress on duty managed somehow to efficiently serve the entire restaurant without once losing either her grace or her pleasant demeanor. If there are any plans for making waitressing an event at the upcoming Winter Olympics, then Racha Thai's waitress should be on her way to Salt Lake City.
On the evening I went to Racha Thai, I was again dining with the Designated Vegetarian, so we began our meal with an appetizer of Deep Fried Tofu ($3.75), followed by entrees of Tofu and Spinach Curry ($8.50 - one of a half a dozen or more nightly specials) and Koong Prik Paow ($12.95), the shrimp was the most expensive item on the entire menu of 83 items, and it was worth every penny. There was no shortage of shrimp in the dish, and as the menu promised, they were indeed fresh, firm and full of flavor. The cooks need to turn up the heat a little bit, though. The chile paste, which I ordered with three stars, was pleasantly spicy, but calling it "Thai Hot" as they did on the menu was a bit of an overstatement. On the other hand, my companion, who ordered her curry dish with two stars ("medium hot"), was entirely satisfied with the heat level. She was also pleased with the dish in general, which was everything good Thai food should be - a complex blending of flavors and textures, at once salty, sweet, soft and crunchy, and of course, beautifully presented. The fried tofu appetizer, however, and the dessert of Thai Coffee Ice Cream ($2.50), failed to generate the same spark the entrees did.
Altogether, Racha Thai is a wonderful addition to the downtown restaurant scene, and though it may seem a little out of place occupying the site of so many forgettable coffee shops, their authentic taste should guarantee it will be with us for many years to come.
|
