Bodhi Thai Bistro in Berwyn [Pictures]

Opening announcement post

Bodhi Thai Bistro
6211 W. Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn
(708) 484-9250

Stopped by tonight with My Bride. Dinner and Movie night.



They did a nice job on the old building. Park on the Oak Park side.

There were a few tables occupied and we were seated right away. We had our appetizers picked out by the time she came with the water.

Spring Roll Thai Sushi?



The wrappers were less translucent than the spring rolls at Thai's Oak Park on North Ave. Warm too. Dipping Sauce? Excellent!

Crab Rangoon for My Bride




Not greasy at all. Smooth. Cooked a little lighter. Sauce? Excellent! Perhaps a touch of fruit?

Pad Woon Sen



You can identify most of the ingredients. Chicken and some egg. I sometime prefer a little more crunch in my vegetables and a little less rubber in my mushrooms.

Pad Thai



My Brides favorite! She was mentioning it was a bit sweet and when I tried it is wasn't too bad. We then noticed there was a thin layer of sweet sauce on the plate under the food and if you eat it with a fork, it is all sweet. Eat it with chopsticks, it is regular and good Pad Thai with a sweet finish. Almost like a dessert.

All in all a very good meal! Reasonably prices as the meal clocked in under $30 (no drinks). The sauces for the appetizers and on the entrees really shined.

I wandered around a bit afterwards and there is a private room in the back for you to have a meal with, perhaps, 30 of your closest friends.

Door to the back room



(menu images soon)

(Movie? Lars and the Real Girl)

With the Opart and Sticky Rice connections, I think there may be both opportunity and need to push them to share some of the back-of-house Northern Thai dishes with those in the know (a la, us). Everything you describe here sounds warm and competent but quite standard AmeriThai, but I know they can break out the Isaan, and draw some foodie attention in addition to those Berwynites who can't get the (rather boring) Oak Park Thai delivered. We had Mama Thai last night just to take a break from Yum Thai in Forest Park (and to give them an opportunity to adjust after Eddie's departure), and man, was it bland.

Good movie choice, and thanks for checking Bodhi out.

Thanks for the reminder!

You can view the menu here.

[secret menu dance]

I started graciously, by the rules, complimenting the space and the range of menu offerings. Then I crumbled. Observer principle to the wind, prime directive defied. I wanted hidden-kitchen Thai, and asked for it.

They make their own Isaan (off menu), and it's delectable.
They make one-bite salad.
They make the halved garlic-glove, actually-charred, really Thai spicy beef salad that fell off even the secret menu at Yum Thai a few years ago (I did specify "with the garlic cloves?"). More char than I saw on the whole Carbonathon.
They make the jungle curry with the real fermented paste on request.
They have unsweetened sticky rice, and it comes in a pitched wicker cylinder with the density of a baseball.
If you can believe the waitress, they have fresh durian, "not frozen," "no, not canned" (again the debate will rise what one considers "fresh" and if it's even possible to get a fruit that hasn't been chilled to the states), and whatever it was, it was silky and musky and excellent in the coconut tapioca pudding.

Bodhi has a delightful young staff on both sides of the window, and at least right now, a great stock of ingredients, and some extra time for really carefully preparing their mise. Some of this can be chalked up to a slow quarter in which to open, and the fact they're having a blowout Thai Valentine's Day menu ("with many items normally not offered on the regular menu") in two days. I can't promise you what I had today will be there on your next visit; I don't know this place yet. But what I had today was really damned good. It doesn't have the TAC-level attention on some components - charred beef was wonderfully-flavored but too well-done in the center, sticky rice was dense but lacked viscosity - and I certainly didn't ask about fried chicken or on choy (though they did have fried chicken wings as a special), but it certainly had Yum Thai pride. I was all too busy slurping the chef's compliments vegetable broth with kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, actual slivered shallots, American broccoli, and cilantro, which was completely distinct in bouquet and consistency from the yum or kha they also offer. Other data points suggest an amuse is common here, a nice touch.

So, good, or just good for Oak Park (area)? I'm too entrenched in the latter to be truly objective, and too cynical to really fall in love these days, especially with places where the good stuff is hidden and may not always be there. What I can tell you is that they're nice, know how to put a plate of fresh garniture together, and have some big ideas I hope survive the winter.

Less controversial than the ensuing food discussion should be the decor, which I think Panther undersold with his characteristic temperance (my cap is tipped; can't do it). This has to be the most appealing modern interior space for dining in the greater OPRFFPGBCA area (Klas certainly takes the cake for most appealing sooty hunting castle brothel interior space). Some event planners at the next table over were brainstorming showers and receptions. Cute, confident, citrusy zing. Dug it.

Sign this guy (Michael O'Connor, Mayor of Berwyn) up for Check, Please!

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/bodhi ... 2042880067

One of the greatest reviews I've ever seen in any medium. Please disregard my earlier bubbling and run with this. Ah, politicians, ever so glib, fluent, and cultured.

This is fantastic news! Who can help to create a translated "secret" menu?

Two more visits to Bodhi under our expanding belts, and they continue to impress. What's not perfect is still delicious and a clear cut above other options in the area. Sampled dishes have included:

Sweet potato and corn fritters - bird's nest style cakes with taro binding the shredded yam and sweet corn kernels (some of which pop slightly in the oil, really neat - perhaps some of this is preserved corn?), served with a piquant, sweet fruit sauce topped with toasted peanuts. As Panther mentioned above, their sauces are excellent and either completely homemade or carefully doctored, because they're something special.

Gui-chai - extremely rich homemade chive dumplings with a peanut-buttery stick to the roof of your mouth rice shell served with sweet soy. I've had these on three occasions and they've been remarkably consistent.

Isaan sausage - charred, coarse, chunky, excellent homemade Isaan, slightly funkier than Yum Thai but not as complex as Spoon, still quite remarkable and with good garnishes which include very large planks of fresh ginger, finger chilis, and crisp lettuce for wrapping

Tom Yum - an above-average version with fresh ingredients and a rich perfume; their standard version of the soup includes some tomatoes, which usually make me frown (along with baby corn) when I see them on a Thai menu, but they don't detract here.

Spicy beef salad - the standard straight off the menu is really tasty, even without the garlic cloves and extra chilis I requested on the first visit. Clearly charcoal broiled (as is their satay). Good beef, again perhaps slightly well done, I've forgotten to specify rare.

Pad Thai - as cited, a sweet rendition, but also a good one, with plenty of wok hay and admirably toasted oily ground peanuts aplenty. Contrast with Penny's on Chicago, which uses squeaky, coarsely chopped raw peanuts which throw off the balance of most dishes.

Pad See Ewe (for the PSP) - also a slightly north of standard version, heavy on the sauce with lots of caramel notes, Chinese broccoli, egg, good fried tofu. I might ask for it dry (or even "crispy," as they will do at TAC or PS Bangkok with a quick dunk in the fryer next time.

Masamun Beef Curry - coconut-rich curry with good beef and peanuts. The sweet potatoes have been slightly undercooked and I haven't seen signs of the menu-promised squash and avocado, which would offer something a bit different.

Pad Prik King - a sleeper hit, which has disappointed me at other local places but is elevated here by fresh crispy string beans and slices of a richer and fattier pork than the standard tenderloin. A warning that this is an all-oil curry in the Lao Sze Chuan boiled beef mode, perfect on rice.

All of this other than the Isaan is off the standard menu; a few other items (lime sole, coconut scallops, clay pot shrimp, steamed mussels with eggplant, marinated squid) also make this a change-of-pace type Thai place. I've felt bad about pressing them on the back-of-house items in this early phase now that business has started to pick up, but they have been kind enough to offer special items with advance notice, so I'll try to get an event going soon.

A final word: the desserts are stellar. Thai custard incorporate taro paste and coconut milk into a perfect browned flan, large tapioca and rice pearls float in steaming coconut milk (sometimes with slices of fresh fruit), and the steamed sweet sticky rice bundles with black bean, coconut, and banana are little stomach bombs of joy.

With the "bistro" name and expanded menu, they're certainly targeting upscale American Thai aficionados, but I think delivering on a more homey level reflecting a mix of good taste, training, and pride.

Takeout from Bodhi is well-packaged and even a touch artful. From top, bodhi rice and tapioca pearls with lychee in coconut milk, lemon grass chicken (Americanzed, done well), and the lime sole, which is simply poached and perfectly balanced.

My wife and I grabbed an early dinner here yesterday to satisfy a long-standing Thai craving and a lack of willingness to drive from Oak Park into the city at 5pm for Sticky Rice. A glimmer of memory of Santander and Panther discussing a Thai place on Roosevelt in Berwyn helped me search out this thread, and I'm glad I did.

Influenced a bit by what we read here we started with the sweet potato and corn fritters - which are perfectly described by Santander above - and the satay, for which the chicken was indeed nicely charcoal broiled. Their sauces are indeed worthy of note, and better than any Thai in the area (and in fact, than most Thai spots in Chicagoland outside of the most notable like Sticky Rice or TAC).

My wife loves spicy beef salad, and found the menu standard rendition worthy of note as her new favorite in Chicago at this time. I opted for the pad prik king, which I found to be very enjoyable. Not a dish I would normally order, so I can't really compare it to other renditions, but I can say that they absolutely delivered on the desired heat - every mouthful contributed to an initially slow-building yet pleasant heat that never grew too overwhelming.

Bodhi pearls in coconut milk as pictured above were delicious, and I find myself craving more just a day later. Sticky rice with black beans and banana was quite tasty, though I thought the filling was just a shade too subtle.

Thai iced tea was a standard but good rendition, and I ended up trying both the lychee and mango drinks. I'd recommend the lychee over the mango, but anyone who has had the lychee drink at Penang should keep in mind that the Bodhi Thai version is significantly more watered down, yet still maintains a distinct lychee taste. At the same time, it is $2 vs $4.50 for Penang's version that is more concentrated and includes a few actual lychees in the drink itself.

All in all a very good Thai meal that really hit the spot, and gives us a very welcome option in the Oak Park area for more authentic fare. At this point I suspect I'm through with Alt Thai and other Arlington Heights area takeout options on work days, and likely to avoid any other suburban Thai options aside from the occasional craving for Amarind's crispy omelet batter and sticky rice custard - an appetizer and dessert that my wife and I both enjoy quite a bit but cannot find in any similar form at any other Chicago area Thai restaurants.

When we left at 6pm there were 2 other customers in the restaurant. Hopefully business picks up a bit for them at 7pm or later, but it still seems like this place could use a little love - it certainly seems worth it. My wife and I are already planning to stop back in next week with my parents to get them over there, and hopefully confirm our initial great impression of things.

I've yet to be disappointed by Bodhi; we've been ordering 2-3 times per month since they opened. They make two kinds of sausages, both excellent, the homemade gui chai hit the spot, and the chicken larb (order it Thai-style) is herbaceous, limey, and wonderful.

Tell them you are educated Thai diners and want whatever they've been cooking for themselves (I usually just say, "what do you have Thai-style tonight?") when you go in person and they may have recommendations.

I had spoken with a manager a few months ago about getting an event set up. After the GNR dinner and some rest time, I'll follow through.

We love this place. It has to be one of the most child friendly restaurants in the area where most kids actually eat the food.

Finally a really good Thai restaurant in the Oak Park area (I know Yum Thai gets praise here, but I have never really had a great meal there)! I went to Bodhi Thai Bistro last night with my parents, and I left a very happy man.

The décor was slightly minimalist, but warm and inviting. Our server was very accommodating and friendly, bringing out extra bowls to share things without being asked and giving her opinion on various dishes. The menu now states at the top to “Ask about our secret menu”, which we did (and the server stated it was her own menu for her employees, and although it was not written in thai or anything, it did not have any descriptions of the dishes).

The dishes we tried:

Miang Kam: This was listed on a chalkboard of specials as well as on the “secret” menu. I have not had this since living in Bloomington, Indiana 20 years ago at a Thai restaurant there, and I forgot how amazing it can be. The wrapping was lettuce leaves here, although in Bloomington it was either cha plu leaves or Basil (I don’t recall), but still it was a great dish with little explosions in your mouth as you chew of the Thai pepper, ginger, lime, peanut, roasted coconut, dried shrimp, onion and honey/fish sauce topping that you put together yourself.

Sweet Potato and Corn Fritters: A nice combo, although these may have been overly-fried (I wasn’t sure I could ever say that, but these were so fried and crunchy they took out any slight chew or suppleness of the ingredients). It sounds like that is not always the case from the other remarks on this dish.

Gui-Chai (Chive Dumpling): The best dumpling I have had in a long time, and definitely home-made.

Pad See Ewe (Crispy): My mom wanted some type of noodle dish, so we went with this one (with chicken), and I am glad we did because it was the best version of this dish I have had. Asking for the noodles crispy may have helped, but typically this dish can be a soggy, saucy mess, and this was a light and supple entrée that had variations in texture, a subtle sweetness, and very moist chicken. I would definitely order this again.

Spicy Beef Salad: Honestly the one slight disappointment for me. The beef was not as char-grilled as I had hoped, and the tanginess was lacking a little for me. I suppose I should have known better and asked for it Thai-style, but my parents were a little nervous about the heat level and having whole garlic in it.

Soft-shelled crab with Yellow Curry: A special, this was a very well prepared fried soft shell crab in a tasty curry sauce.

Bodhi Pearls in Coconut Milk: Excellent dessert with taro, squash and pandun leaf pearls in a warm and sweet coconut milk.

Sweet Rice and Black Bean Bundles: Steamed in banana leaves, this is a nice ending of the meal, but I think I still prefer sticky rice with mango over this.

The hot ginger tea was also very good, by the way, and a nice way after dinner to try and digest all of the food after gorging yourself. The chalk board menu also had grilled pork neck listed (I suppose like Tac Quick), but we did not get to try it, at least this time. Overall I thought it was an excellent meal at a reasonable price, and I strongly suggest anyone in the area to try it out. Thanks to Panther in the Den and Santander for finding and discussing Bodhi Thai.

Well, my wife and I did stop back this week to bring my parents for dinner as planned, on Tuesday. Sweet potato and corn fritters and satay were again quite good and well received by everyone. Miang kam was as described by borborigmy, from the specials menu, and quite enjoyable - definitely something we would order again given the opportunity.

My mother ordered the pad prik king with a bit less heat requested than my order of last week. It was still quite tasty, though even the mild was a bit hot for her tastes - something to keep in mind for any who don't enjoy spicy food. I tried the masamun curry with beef this time around, and while I enjoyed the curry I thought the beef a bit too bland and disappointing. I'd try it again with chicken the next time though.

My wife struck gold this time with her order of the Seafood Curry in Coconut Shell. She devoured this curry so fast that I never got to try any myself, and sadly cannot provide my own opinion. She tells me though that as much as she enjoys the green curry shrimp in coconut shell at Sticky Rice, this curry and the included seafood was better. I did eye one particularly large scallop at one point that has her thinking of trying the Chu Chee Scallops on our next visit, but in the meantime seafood curry in coconut shell is her new Plan B for any takeout nights where spicy beef salad is not in order.

Bodhi peals in coconut milk were again quite excellent and 2 orders disappeared very quickly. Mango with sticky rice made a nice finish with better mango than I had at Sticky Rice the last time I ordered this dessert.

Another great meal, and Bodhi Thai Bistro is now certain to join the Depot American Diner as a frequent local option for us.

After a long and chilly afternoon sitting on the front porch doling out candy to trick or treaters on Saturday, My Bride and I had a need for some nice and warm food.

Took a trip to the local Boston Market with $1 coupons in hand and were notified that they had run out of food and they will be honoring the coupons during November 5th through 10th.

Thinking about the other local options, nice and hot soup came to mind and Bodhi seemed like a good option as we have not tried their soup as of yet.

A great choice! The place was about half full with a large party at the round table in the back.

I had the Wonton Soup and My Bride, the Rice Soup and it did the job of chasing the chill.





The Wonton Soup

Nicely filled with wontons and fresh vegetables and the addition of a bit of the vinegar/chili sauce (ask for it) brought up the heat just right.

We also shared a ...



Thai Fried Rice

Which we brought most home as the bowls of soup did the trick well.

A surprise at the end of the meal the owner was sending out complementary...



Pumpkin Custard

Although listed as an daily special appetizer it worked great as a dessert as it was a touch on the sweet side. Beautifully prepared and each one coming out of the kitchen was unique as the size and color varied.

Always fresh with well balanced and rich flavors we always welcome another reason to stop by.

Just had dinner at Bodhi. Had the wonton soup and Shrimp Tom Yum. Both were fantastic. Had the Chive Dumplings and Shrimp in a Blanket as starters. Both were nice. We enjoyed the Shrimp better.

We ordered Miang Kam and Isaan sausage, we have never had any of them before. Miang Kam was interesting with an explosion of different flavors and very fresh ingredients. I would have liked it more if there was more protein. The tiny dried shrimp wasn't enough. We enjoyed the isaan sausage more. Unique flavors that jumped off the plate.

For desert had the Bodhi pearls. Amazing.

We really enjoyed the meal and can't wait to go again. We probably will go with more standard thai food that we are use to, so we can have a reference of comparison.

We still try (the very pretty and friendly) Bodhi about once every five orders from (the much funkier and tastier) Yum Thai, primarily because of lemongrass chicken, chive dumpling, and coconut pearl cravings, but Bodhi's run-of-the-mill curries and noodles have generally not been worth posting about.

Right now, though, they have an excellent batch of firey Sai Oua on special, and whoever is making the rolls is a studied hand, as the summer rolls came out tightly and evenly packed with perfectly fresh vegetables and herbs and a really nicely complementing tamarind-peanut sauce, thinner and less sweet than previous experiences. These and a few other hits made for a much more "secret menu" tasting meal than I've had at Bodhi in about three years.