Lai Thai Kitchen, 1621 Leonard NE - 3/9/2010

With a very modest location in a small strip center, Lai Thai Kitchen surprised us when we entered. There was a small, interesting Buddhist temple in the entryway, complete with offering, but nowhere were the typical Asian knickknacks; you know what I’m talking about. The room was tastefully and minimally decorated, deceptively modern from its facade. (It used to be a Chinese restaurant called Kim-Kim.)

The small room holds four half-booths along the front window, three booths against a side wall, and six or seven tables fill up the middle. Clean and neat, the place was vacant when we arrived for lunch, other than two visible employees (by the time we left, two people had stopped in for their to-go orders and two other booths were occupied). Seeing sriracha and hoisin sauces on the tables, along with the always-present soy sauce, was a good sign.

The menu is large and offers Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese dishes. Both being fans of potstickers, we started there and ordered them pan-fried, and received deep-fried. We’ve discovered that it’s difficult to obtain that mid-level of cooking between steamed and deep-fried, unless you’re making them at home. And we were disappointed, particularly since they were overly deep-fried. The ginger-soy sauce was very savory, however, made more so the soaking sesame seeds. We requested small plates for the potstickers but even after our request, we were left to awkwardly and messily eat over the appetizer dish.

For our main dishes, we chose one “house favorite,” Thai Steak, and the Vietnamese Pho Da Biet Bovien. Thai Steak was a mountain of food, with crispy vegetables and a garlic steak sauce. It was decent but not spicy enough. After requesting some hot sauce and adding some sriracha, things were much better.

There were four variations of the popular Vietnamese beef noodle soup on the menu and our server recommended the above-mentioned selection that promised “rare slices of steak, well-done brisket flank, and balls of beef.” Each Pho order also comes with a separate plate of bean sprouts, basil leaves, cilantro, a jalapeno pepper, and a lime wedge, items to be added to taste to the Pho. The broth was delicious and the noodles were fine. The slices of steak were not rare, however, but well-done; the brisket was tender and tasty. But the beef balls were barely palatable, mainly due to the texture. Perhaps the grade of meat was the problem or the other mystery items that were pressed with the beef. They were more like “fat-balls” and were without flavor or merit.

Service was fine on the whole, except for the plate thing, and the menu is varied enough to warrant a return visit. Most dishes are below $10.00; those with seafood range from $10.25 - $14.95, and we left $32.00 behind including tip. Menu is available online.

www.laithaikitchen.com

Angel’s Thai Café, 136 Monroe Center NW - 1/7/10

This new addition to the Monroe Center restaurant scene is in a good location across from Rosa Park’s Circle and is well worth a visit. Smaller and much more casual than the nearby XO, the restaurant was not busy today at lunchtime so we finally got a chance to try it (our previous attempt was met by a packed room with people waiting in line). There are roughly 6 tables and 5 booths so it does fill up quickly. Decor is minimal but that’s preferable to cheesy oriental-themed decor frequently found in Asian restaurants. The menu, unfortunately, in our opinion, is massive (50 entrees). They are divided into categories: Main, Curry, Noodles, Fried Rice, and Dinner-only entrees. Each entree may be ordered with chicken, beef, pork, tofu, or vegetables.

Two women and one man were tag-teaming the service; the women were brusk (and efficient) but the man was friendly and outgoing, happy to answer any of our questions. Without him, we would have felt that we were being rushed through our meal. He recommended two entrees that were his favorites and we went with them. Six spice levels range from none to hot, and we were leaning toward the “medium-plus” (level 4) until our server informed us that some people complain that “medium” is too spicy and overwhelming. So we backed it down and went “medium” (good call).

Hot and sour soup was brought out (unsolicited) before the appetizers and had just the right amount of tang and great flavor. We each have a favorite Asian appetizer so we had to pick Chicken Satay (4) and Crab Rangoon (5); both were great. The pastry of the Crab Rangoon was really nicely done and better than most. The Chicken Satay needs to come with a warning - this is not your thin, sometimes tough but tasty, piece of chicken on a stick - this is almost a whole chicken breast. Its description reads: marinated curry-flavored chicken breast charbroiled on skewers. So we missed the clue. Regardless, it was tender & moist and stayed hot due to its huge size, and had a good accompanying peanut sauce.

The first entree was Pad Thai Curry (stir-fried rice noodles, bean sprouts, green onions, eggs, curry sauce, crushed peanuts, and chicken). It was pretty spicy but very tasty. The second dish was the House Noodle dish, which consisted of Lomein noodles, stir-fried with chicken, beef, shrimp, carrots, peapods, bean sprouts, broccoli, and water chestnuts in the house sauce. It was another winner.

Prices range from $6.95 - $8.95 for lunches, and $9.50 - $11.50 for dinners. Appetizers are $1.25 - $4.95, Soups $2.95 - $3.75, and Salads $5.50 - $6.50 (we never look at desserts, sorry). Each dish was nicely presented, and we’ll definitely return to work on a few more of the remaining 48 entrees. The atmosphere is nothing special but it’s nice enough. Just don’t let them rush you through your meal (and avoid high noon).

www.angelsthaicafe.com