Green Basil Thai Restaurant in Vernon Hills

I searched for a previous review, but it seems the last review was one I posted on another board and the link was down. This post was also about 6 years old.

We have been customers for many years, eating in occasionally and getting take out more often. The food is always good to very good. The food on our visit Sunday was excellent and noticeably improved in execution. No unusual dishes like you would find on the secret menus of some of the board favorites, but extremely satisfying for what they are.

I didn't try any of our daughters dishes (chicken satay, egg rolls, and chicken fried rice), saving room for our choices.

We started with a very generous portion of chicken larb. Even though it was not very hot, but we did not ask for it to be, the dish was one of the best versions that I've had. We cleaned the plate.

Next was Drunken Noodles with chicken, wide rice noodles stir fried with green beans, diced red peppers, some jalapenos, and fresh basil. This seems like a pedestrian dish, but it was delicious. Pork Pad Khing, was as hot as I needed it to be and the ginger red curry paste sauce was complex and wonderful. Last was the very enjoyable Spicy Basil chicken.

I have had all of these dishes many times at Green Basil and I consider them Thai comfort food, nothing challenging, but comforting in their familiarity. It is easy to forget what a difference good, fresh ingredients and great execution mean to even relatively simple recipes. The owner, Tom, left before we finished and we complimented our waiter (who has been there for years) on how great the food was. He said they had the same cook, but Tom had a consultant chef in to review their recipes and whatever happened is noticeable. I hope it stays this way. We have had discussions on this board in the past about varying quality in Thai restaurants. I have always perceived as the recipes and techniques vary as they do with a home cook, more than with a professionally trained chef.

If you live near Green Basil and haven't visited in a while, give it another try.

Green Basil Thai Restaurant
River Tree Court Shopping Center
701 N. Milwaukee
Vernon Hills
847.918.8858

I know that Green Basil has been mentioned before, but it may have been in a more general thread. I too am a fan. I have lunch there when I find myself nearby. I like their currys a lot, and if you ask, they will make it plenty spicy. It is a little higher end than most Thai places, and perhaps not quite as authentic as some, but the ingredients are always top notch.

-Will

Website looks appetizing - http://www.greenbasilkitchen.com/index.html

I was just looking at their menu on line, and because I'm in the mood to try making some Thai curries at home, I am curious - what should I be looking for in the grocery store to approximate what they're calling "bamboo shoots"? Because I don't think I've ever seen those in a produce section around here.

Katie wrote:I was just looking at their menu on line, and because I'm in the mood to try making some Thai curries at home, I am curious - what should I be looking for in the grocery store to approximate what they're calling "bamboo shoots"? Because I don't think I've ever seen those in a produce section around here.

Available in supermarkets in various sliced forms, both fresh and canned versions. If you Google bamboo shoots - you'll get images.

You find fresh bamboo shoots at a conventional grocery store very rarely, and if then, they're sliced in little rectangles just like the canned ones, only in a bag like baby carrots. I think I've seen them in the Jewel on Howard where they keep things like rutabaga, escarole and celeriac (and other "weird" vegetables) I'd never seen a fresh one until I started shopping at H-Mart.
Canned
Fresh bagged (even though the ones in this particular image are cooked, this is pretty much what I found at Jewel)
Fresh prepared There's a bin of these in water at H-Mart towards the back of the produce section
Fresh unpeeled

Ah, thanks to you both. I was thinking of the produce section; it slipped my mind that I have seen them canned.

I have seen fresh bamboo shoots at an Asian grocery store before, but I can't remember which one.

In any case, I had take out from Green Basil today. I normally like to get the cashew chicken, but got pad thai instead since my kids can't eat really spicy food. If I get cashew chicken, I want it to be spicy. I have had cashew chicken at many different places, but none are as good as the one at Green Basil.

The drunken noodle dish is also very good. In the chicago suburbs, I have not found a thai restaurant as good as Green Basil.

The food is more expensive than other thai restaurants, but I found the food to be consistently high quality.