TAC and A Bright Room Called Day [Pictures]

LTH,

Thanks to Trixie-Pea for setting up dinner at TAC and the Play. I thoroughly enjoyed A Bright Room Called Day, thought provoking, wonderfully acted, Kerensa was grand.


I was a little surprised though, not once during the performance did anyone sing or fly around the stage, nor were any of the actors in furry cat suits. And they still called the performance a play, hummmmm.

After the play we trundled over to TAC, where we met by a couple of LTHers who were unable to make the play, for a total of 15 for dinner. We also had the privilege of dining with Kerensa, did I mention she was wonderful in the play?


Watching a play seems to be hungry work as we ordered quite a bit, mainly from Erik M's Thai Menu Translation , thanks again for your efforts Erik. TAC was dead-on, service was quick, efficient, friendly, and, even though we had a constant stream of dishes coming from the kitchen for what seemed like 2-hours, Andy and staff didn't miss a beat.

In addition to the always delicious Thai Fried Chicken, Grilled Pork Neck and Issan Sausage we had

Koong Chae Nam Pa (raw shrimp w/garlic)


Nam Nuang (Vietnamese-style pork balls w/rice paper, dipping sauce, green apple, basil, lettuce, cucumber, green banana)


Trixie-Pea's favorite of Lad Nar (rice noodle, crisp, with pork)


Khao Klug Ka Pi (shrimp paste rice w/mix-ins)


Nam Prik Kapi Plaa Thuu (shrimp paste chili w/fried trout, "cha om" omelet, fried eggplant, raw vegetable)


Kauy Teaw Yen Ta Fo (wide rice noodle w/tomato sauce, fish ball/squid/fried tofu/fried wonton)


Kuay Teaw Pet (egg noodle w/duck)


Not shown:
Kai Thawt (Thai Fried Chicken)
Khaw Muu Yaang (grilled pork neck)
Sia Krok Isaan (Issan style fermented pork and rice sausage)
Som Tam Tai (Papaya salad w/dried shrimp)
Raat Naa "Empire" (Stir fried napa cabbage and ginger w/gravy over wide rice noodle)
Kao Khaa Muu (Red-braised pork hock
Neau Nam Tok (beef salad)
Kra Phrao Kai Khai Yeow Ma (stir-fried minced chicken w/crispy basil leaves, fried preserved eggs)
Gaeng Som Cha Om Tod (sour curry with "cha om" leaf omelet)
Green curry w/chicken served over omelet w/Thai eggplant

A wonderful evening spent in the company of fellow LTHers.

Enjoy,
Gary

Tac Quick
3930 N Sheridan Rd
Chicago, IL 60613
773-327-5253

Gary,

Fried trout? Was it not a Thai mackarel?

Sorry I missed this. It looks great. I had shied away for a while during the growing pains and a period when the phone answerer acted as if I were calling from Mars when I asked about some old standby's.

Looks like things are back up to speed.

JeffB wrote:Fried trout? Was it not a Thai mackarel?
<snip>
Looks like things are back up to speed.

Jeff,

Yep, probably a Thai mackerel.

TAC is most certainly back up up to speed.

Enjoy,
Gary

Hi,

While the play is quite dark, it was well acted and interesting.

I had to miss out on the dinner due to family issues, though I am sure it was great. So how much was it per person?

Thanks again Trixie, it was great supporting a fellow LTH'r in their other life's activities beyond food ...

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote: So how much was it per person?

Strangely enough, it was the magic number of $27/person.

[Edit: Moved from Events Board]

I want to thank Kristina and Rob (trixie-pea and PIGMON) for organizing this most-enjoyable two-part event. Also, kudos go to Kerensa and her Steep Theatre cohorts for delivering an engrossing performance.

The Steep is an intimate venue, rather like a large livingroom, with audience seated along the four walls at stage-level. This close-up theatre-in-the-round (square?) enhanced the sense of nonseparation from the drama in the room, as actors literally moved among us, turning to face one direction or another in a natural/live manner. I found it sort of schizophrenic to recognize Kerensa ("Agnes" in the play) talking more or less to (toward) SteveZ (audience-member sitting across from me at the opposite side of the room.) Same faces, multiple contexts.

I also want to commend GWiv for demonstrating his on-going, trooper-like commitment to LTH photojournalism by even photo-documenting some of the "dishes" in the play.

And segueing to less metaphorical dishes, the subsequent feast at TAC Quick--as one would expect--deserves extensive description. But in the interest of accuracy, I'll defer on this to someone who has a more definite understanding of the actual names of the menu items served. Unfortunately, I was seated too far away from the menu-selection summit talks to hear the names of everything ordered. But I didn't need to; I placed my trust in my "foodbuddies." I did, however, later hear Gary opine that giving him a menu was like handing a loaded gun to a drunk. If so, I can assure you that it was no mere six-shooter, because when someone does finally post here with the list of courses, we'll see around a dozen bullet items.

In total, it was an enjoyable afternoon and evening of cerebral, emotional, and gustatory attractions, shared in amicable cameraderie. This is a fine example of why I'm glad to be a part of LTH: reading and writing posts with other electronically virtualized members can be fun, but actually getting into the city and sitting next to real people in a real theatre, then later sharing real food makes for a much richer experience. (Sorry if it seems I'm just stating the obvious, but it's also my way of publicly acknowledging it.)

My thanks, again, to all who helped make it happen.

--Matt (aka mhl)

mhl wrote:
I want to thank Kristina and Rob (trixie-pea and PIGMON) for organizing this most-enjoyable two-part event. Also, kudos go to Kerensa and her Steep Theatre cohorts for delivering an engrossing performance.

Matt,
It was our pleasure. I would like to second your applause for Kerensa as well as her comrades at the Steep Theatre. There were some very strong performances in this production.

I would also like to thank Gwiv for ordering up every single item on the Thai menu at least once. Supporting TAC's local economy is a worthy cause.

As usual, it was my great pleasure to spend time with a splendid group of LTHers.

Hats off to Kerensa!

Convinced by this post that it was safe to go back in the waters of TAC, I ordered some delivery last night. Forgive the unprincipled transliteration

namprik kapi w/ pla tuu

sai krawk issan

omelette w/ green curry

gai yang w/ curry rice

A few random thoughts:

The food in general was very good.

It seemed that the prices have escalated a bit (no problem for the quality and quantity, but worth mentioning)

Flame grilling, apparently over a gas flame, is adding a nice new dimension to the dishes. They might have had this capability before, but it seems the equipment is being better used if that is the case.

Sausage was great, better than before, particularly because of the flame charring.

Thai mackerel with shrimp paste/ chili dip and battered vegetables was exemplary. Green curry was good as always.

One low spot: Gai yang (which I had high hopes for given the grill) was a bit overly-marinated such that the meat, particularly the dark meat, had broken down to a point verging on mealy. Rice was just OK. The curry powder isn't what it was. Couldn't be.

Coincidentally, the night before I was speaking to the woman who owns the new J-Thai and Sushi place (was Banana Leaf) on Southport and asked why gai yang is so scarce here. She said that the window of opportunity for the dish is too short: the chicken needs to be cooked after an hour of marinade, any more is too much. I take her point.

By the way, I wasn't there for the Ameri-Thai menu, but to try the sushi. I found the fish to be excellent for this kind of place, and the sushi chef had some skills. Mackerel was particularly fine. (I like Mackerel, you see.) The J-Thai lady is no fan of sushi herself, but has it because it fits the concept I suppose. Her in-laws own Thai Ave.