basil thai

wok-fried catfish and sticky rice. photo by janel

following the allagash + chocolate event at city beer store on thursday night (read allagash + chocolate posting), janel and i went across the street to basil thai. she said she went there once with ellie once and thought it wasn't bad. since we were hungry-ish (and probably lazy to walk anywhere else), we gave it a shot.

as you walk into basil thai, you notice the modestly light contemporary decor, reminding me of those 'cool hip' restaurants opening during the dot-com era (yes, i was once a dot-commie). basil thai opened around the height of the SOMA rebirth and death of the dot-com... yet it remains unlike it's many cohorts. we were seated at the back end of the restaurant next to a large party. the second thing you were notice is the noise level. it's loud. it was hard to hear janel but don't worry, i was listening.

their menu was big and very thai. "there's more to the menu?!" said a surprised janel. it's more gourmet than your usual small local thai places. apparently the kitchen was closing in fifteen minutes after we were seated. and our waiter was kindly rushing us to order (mean really really kind "i'm so sorry to rush you" bowing kind). we shared an order of pla-doo pad-pik (wok-fried catfish in red curry and peppercorns), pak rad kang (various vegetables in green curry), jasmine rice and sticky rice.

in the middle of a great conversation, dinner arrives. we pause. you can smell the thai curries. the rice plates were smaller than we imagine. the sticky rice was in a small ball and looking dry. no doubt that sticky rice is the leftovers from the night. remember we were eating when the kitchen was closing. although the lighting was yellowish dim, the color from the plates strikes you — reds, greens, yellows. "there's bell peppers!" warns janel. i hate bell peppers. red bell peppers are fine and i'll eat them but green, eck! i hate that raw grass taste.

the wok-fried catfish was crispy and covered in a beautiful red curry sauce. janel pointed out the peppercorns. there's a nice spicy peppery hotness to the catfish. the eggplant in the dish soothes the heat while it absorbed the surrounding flavors. that's one thing cool about eggplant... it takes in the flavors well while it has no 'real' distinctive taste of its own. the vegetable curries was also good, filled with eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms and sigh, bell peppers. the creamy green curry was nicely done to satisfy that thai craving without being runny and thin like bad thai places. it was a nice mixed with the spiciness of the catfish dish.

the night was getting late (11:45p). we finished a good portion of our dishes but not all of it. the service was polite but it's obvious that they wanted us out to close the place down. the restaurant crew were around the bar eating. we weren't the last two in the place... there's a party of four at the front end who were loud and deeply planted in their seats. after the third time, we've asked if we wanted to pack the dinner... we let them. i wish we were there a bit earlier because i wanted to see their dessert menu. but i bet it's pretty standard thai items. definitely a place to go for great thai food after some beers at city beer store. food: A-/B+ service: B+/A-

allagash curieux + chocolates

thursday janel got a last minute emailed newsletter on a city beer store & tasting bar event: "Properly aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels Allagash Curieux is a beer begging to be paired with rich dark chocolate. Awaken your curiosity with a marriage of chocolate and beer from 5:00-9:00pm," stated the email.

"this sounds fun... interested?" she asks.

anytime anyone has the idea of going to city beer store, i'm interested. located on the northern edge of soma (south of market), city beer store is a hidden gem for beer drinkers and beer nerds. the owner craig opened the shop under a year ago in a storefront of a "hip" loft complex. craig's idea came from wine tasting and wine bars which flooded every corner of this city like starbucks and locusts. his unique idea has created a beer cult. i don't visit city beer often but you'll see locals and familiar faces from previous visits. the shop has five fridges cooling selected beers while in the back corner have shelved individual bottles. you can either buy an bottle or a pack. the beers ranges from almost every country to every style of beer, depending what craig could get his hands on. in the center is a counter with small fridges where craig will chill your opened bottles along with four taps that rotates weekly. besides selling beer, there's a few beer glasses and books for sale.

[photo of the store by janel]

the event itself was a cool idea although i'm generally weary of anything pairing with chocolate. wine and chocolates? hell no. maybe vintage port. chocolate and bourbon? i don't know. wine and beer? what the?! chocolate usually works best on its own. luckily i was in good hands. janel was a former chocolate taster and has a stern palatte.

the first time i had a brew from allagash was around christmas. janel and ellie bought me a bottle of their curieux as a gift. allagash curieux is a tripel stored in bourbon casks for a few weeks. from the tap, the allagash tastes a bit different by being a little smoother. the color on first pour is a golden amber with a medium head. the scent was heavily fruity and citrus... with no hint of bourbon?! strange, where's the vanilla?! i recall from the bottled allagash that there was a subtle bourbon nose. did the kegged version lose it's bourbon-ness from storage? i don't know. however the fruits nose lead to a pear/apple taste which was crisp and malty without the bourbon flavors. has my tongue and nose adapted to the actual high proof bourbon? and hinting of bourbon doesn't really register with my senses?

so how did the curieux pair with the chocolates (80%? dark, cappuccino dark and milk)? not every well. craig said to concentrate on the bourbon vanilla of the beer when tasting. but the two just didn't work together. the dark was just ok. the cappuccino and the curieux was terrible. i recommend: never to leave any amount of cappuccino chocolate left on your tongue when taking a swig of beer. i flinched and scrunched my face... it's probably the same reaction i'll give when eating green bell peppers. the milk and curieux... er, nope. ok, so the pairing wasn't the greatest. however the chocolates were good. i can't remember the name of the dark chocolate one but it was janel's favorite when she was a chocolate taster. she has this expertise expression when she's smelling something. from her eyes, you can see she's registering and thinking about the scents given from the chocolates. whereas i'm like "WOHO! chocolates! me eat! me eat!"

the conclusion: i like allagash's curieux. it's a nice medium bodied beer that drinks well shared with company (like janel or a clone of her). and would definitely pair well with cheese. however the flavors of the beer and chocolates were battling each other like the armies of rohan and gondor duking it out with the hordes of orcs on the pelennor fields.