My Thai? Who's Thai? The King and I's Thai!

By The_Sagest on Wed, Apr 2, 2008 1:57 am

Tonight the girlfriend and I went out to dinner and a movie. Normally, I'd give you faithful readers the skinny on both, but I am going to hold off on the cinema for a bit. The local press hasn't really given the movie a lot of attention, and I think that's a mistake I might just be able to rectify in print, with a bit of luck. But after dinner, at the request of the girlfriend, we went to King & I. It was a good take-in overall, with a bit of inconsistency to keep the casual diner on his or her toes. For starters, this place is bigger than it looks, but it is long and narrow, curving a bit like an integration symbol. So while getting lost among your companions is impossible, tripping over some yuppie doofus's purse on the way out sure isn't. So if you're a linebacker or paranoid about seeing your server or even the front door at all times, this place might not be for you. Second, the apps seem overpriced for their size and didn't really thrill with their quality. For $6.50, four dumplings seems a bit skimpy. The spareribs are better portioned, but their taste was lack-luster. It's disappointing to see such an easy and standard dish done in a sub-standard (dry and bland) manner. The entrees are not only tastier, but much larger in size. My order of beef basil was chock full of fresh veggies and moderately spicy. My girl's chicken cashew nuts contained a greater variety of veggies (carrots, zucchini, chili peppers) and a much hotter sauce. Trading bites back and forth was great fun. The waitstaff was attentive and friendly, even if it took a few too many minutes for our entrees to appear. The rice costing extra was a bit annoying, especially since they botched the type of rice we ordered, but at $2.60 a serving it didn't qualify as a reaming. Overall, I'd stop here for a meal now and again, but I'd cut straight to the chase, or maybe do takeout. The S certainly like the spicy food. He just doesn't have to have it every night!