Thai (and Japanese, and American) for Two

A couple of months ago I checked out Thai Urban Kitchen for lunch with my son, and we were impressed with this Thai/Japanese restaurant with American influences, so when they opened for dinner I was excited to taste what they had to offer.

I took a friend with me this time, and we started off with sake for me and Guinness (on draught) for him. I wanted to try the sushi again, since it was SO good the last time, and I was once again happy with its melt-in-your-mouth texture. As we waited, our server brought out a bowl with Rice Krispie rectangles and a peanut sauce, a clever blend of the American standby with a classic Thai flavor. We also had the Duck Leg Confit. The meat just fell off the bone, and the accompanying quail eggs were a nice touch. (Yes, they taste like chicken.)
For dinner our server recommended the Orange Glazed Salmon with avocado and Thai salsa. I enjoyed it even though the salsa was so flavorful it almost overpowered the salmon, which is really tough to do!

We also tried the Grilled Rib Eye Steak with roasted cauliflower, chantarelle mushrooms, and Thai basil pomme puree. I decided to be nice and let him have most of it, even though I wanted to horde it like a Taste of Chicago attendee with a giant turkey leg. Despite the thinness of the steak, it was cooked perfectly at medium-rare. Other dinner offerings include Peking-Style Roasted Duck, Jumbo Shrimp Pad Thai, and Amish Chicken.
Even though we were now ready for dessert, I still had some sake left. I’d ordered a small and it came in this gorgeous glazed green ceramic bottle that seemed to be never-ending. I finally finished it and we ordered a port to go along with the volcano chocolate cake with raspberry sorbet (once again, delicious) and pumpkin cheesecake – think creamy, rich, decadent pumpkin pie – served with house made whipped cream.

During the entire meal the service was spot-on. That could have been because I had been invited to try the new dinner menu, and it could have been because we were the only diners that evening. It was neither. Our server, and Tom Lee, one of the owners, had no idea that I had been sent there to review. When Mr. Lee learned who I was, he was extremely apologetic, but I told him it was a good thing. Our experience wasn’t colored by the perception that we would get better service or be treated deferentially.
I also know from my years serving that, generally, the slower a restaurant is the worse the service tends to be. That’s because waiting tables is as much about timing as it is about product knowledge and people skills. When you’re standing around between courses, the mind tends to wander. Our servers were on top of everything, even though they could have been lulled by the soothing fountain in the middle of the room or the rhythms of the abstract early hip-hop from New York softly playing in the background.

Now that Thai Urban Kitchen is open for dinner, it can (and in my opinion, should!) be a destination spot, a great stop before heading out to the suburbs, or a convenient place to get a group together after work.

 


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