silver spoon

Es tut mir leid, I searched and couldn't find the relevant thread(s).

An afternoon Saturday stroll found the s/o and I on Rush just passing Silver Spoon; so THAT'S where it is, I mused. We meandered around hitting Johnathan Adler and Borders then worked our way back over to Silver Spoon for an early lunch. Empty; we were the only customers.

They were just setting out the frozen(!?) blocks of fish and I wasn't in the mood to plumb the nefarious labyrinth of proper secret Thai Q&A, so, no maki for me. The Thai menu's so disappointingly small. I suppose I should assert myself more aggressively in the face of that world-famous, obfuscating, hermetic Thai hospitality; the host's manner was meant more to deflect discourse than catalyze it.

I wasn't about to namedrop LTHforum people I haven't met and didn't remember if Silver Spoon is known to have an alternate menu.

Sigh...

We ordered:

potstickers: bland filling, but texturally pleasing(crispy, tensile). The dipping sauce, thankfully, had the necessary sweetness...too many Gold Coast area "Thai" restaurants are only too eager to serve plain, industrial soy as their sauce.

tom kha: always a baseline---I prefer it served in a hotpot with chunks of the requisite flora. There's is inexpensive so I didn't expect that sort of preparation. Turns out it's dead on "boiled galangal" soup, refined by the absence of vegetal slivers/chunks.

yum nue-here's where that sly, friendly deflection occurs: I originally asked if they offered laab kai. The waiter shook his head as if he didn't understand my request(and I know I pronounce fricking larb gai correctly). I decribed the dish; the ground chicken, the roasted rice powder. No go. I decided, screw it, and went for beef salad-kicked myself for not specifying, "Thai spicy."

Hey, it turned out nicely. Perky, tangy, and most-unexpectedly, relatively spicy. My only complaint is that the beef itself could've been charred a tetch more(meaning not boiled).

Dining companion had the massaman. I thought it a decent, fresh-tasting rendition(i.e. not out of a can). He declared it suffered from the inclusion of peanut sauce...understanding that this particular curry shouldn't be overwhelmingly peanuty. Of course, he's ordered from places that interpret this dish as potatoes and beef/chicken in diluted Jif. So, no real complaints here.

Aside, from b.s. quasi-language difficulties it was all-in-all a decent Ameri-Thai experience I nudge just a notch below Opart/Roseded(and certainly nowhere near the triumvirate of authenti-Thai establishments beloved by this board). It's definitely the best of the awesomely crappy "Thai" available in the vicinity. I plan on ordering in.

Of course, upon exiting, belly full, I happened to notice the Zagat and Reader reviews posted in the entranceway: extolling the "authentic" dishes and Thai curry maki available.

I know others have posted on Silver Spoon relating similar experiences as have diners who easily enough encountered the dishes I wish were SIMPLY LISTED instead of forcing this ridiculous rigamarole. If I'd anticipated this lunch I might've checked out Erik M's learned website.

Maybe it was just an inexperienced staff, maybe they read my party wrong. Perhaps their location simply demands blank responses. I figured asking for a Thai dish not on the menu by it's Thai name would award me some points. Nope.

(and I know laabs aren't obscure...that's why I made the request...it was odd they don't include them among the salads)

---come to find out reading the Aaron Deacon quotation on Silver Spoon's website that they, at least on one occasion w/o prompting, offered laab kai to him when he ordered nam sod.

---too many variables, maybe I should stick with tom yum, pad thai, and chicken satay...I'm sure the servers would prefer it.

Christopher Gordon wrote:Perhaps their location simply demands blank responses.

You mean, immediately ajacent to the Royal Thai Consulate?

Of course It looked interesting(aside from poorly plastered-over former tenant's sign), but was closed.

Christopher Gordon wrote:Of course It looked interesting(aside from poorly plastered-over former tenant's sign), but was closed.

Really! I wonder if it was Silver Spoon that drove them out! Seriously, have they really moved? Because their website still shows them at 700 Rush. Maybe they are going to re-open somewhere closer to TAC. By the way, here is one of the threads on Silver Spoon links you were looking for previously. And the other.

Oh...I don't know if they've moved...it was a Saturday afternoon and the entranceway was gated. I definitely would have explored if it were otherwise. Thanks for the links.

My obtusinosity, Christopher -- I thought your reference to the "former tenant" meant the Consulate -- i..e., the Consulate had moved on and it's sign was plastered over! Anyway, let's hope the consulars are getting good maki rolls and beef salads Monday through Friday!

Well, I wondered...! -such auspicious placement for a Thai restaurant.

Mr. X requested Thai food for our picnic before this week's Theatre on the Lake production. I have been anxious to try Silver Spoon again, so I volunteered to pick up dinner. I had brought a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, which nestled in the lunchroom fridge for the day.

The biggest challenge was selecting "foods that would travel well." Given the hot, steamy conditions outside, I avoided sushi. Mr. X wanted pot stickers; I wanted to try some more unusual dishes. Our feast included the afore-mentioned pot stickers, chive dumplings, kanom buang yuan (thin omelet stuffed with shredded coconut, shrimp, bean sprout and tofu), cucumber salad, banana blossoms salad, red curry with chicken and sticky rice with mango to finish. Oh, we also received a free spring roll with our order. (Yes, there were only two of us.)

It was a wonderful, filling spread. He liked the pot stickers. (I did enjoy the one I got to taste.) The chive dumplings were liked by me -- he found the taste/texture unenjoyable. The banana blossoms salad was a big hit. (His first time, my second.) The kanom buang yuan was a new dish for both of us. We enjoyed the flavors and textures, but found it difficult to eat with the provided "sporks." I would like to try it again with a real fork and plate. The only disappointment of the meal was the red curry. Lots of sauce, not much chicken, very mild. (I had not requested any particular spice level in our order.) The sticky rice and mango was delicious -- incredibly fresh, flavorful mango was balanced with the sticky rice and coconut sauce. The sticky rice was a bit difficult to manage with the sporks though.

This was one of the more unusual picnics I've had, but one of the tastiest.

Silver Spoon
710 N. Rush
312-944-7100