Zen Culinary is all style and no substance. My coworkers and I visited for lunch today as our favorite authentic Thai place had a wait out the door and we were pressed for time. The interior walks a fine line between between tacky and chic. The hostess was barely audible and managed a thin smile. Zen Culinary is in a highly developed and thriving business corridor. At noon the dining room was at 15-20% capacity. This should have told us everything we needed to know.
The waiter preformed at novice level. We mentioned we were on our lunch break after waiting five minutes to be greeted. Sodas and water soon followed. He spilled water all over the floor and my ankle whilst refilling our glasses.
Two of my companions ordered chicken sandwiches, one with miso soup and the other tots. My friend and I both had the yellow curry, one with pork and the other with chicken. The miso soup came out first with soup around the the saucer. It was extremely salty. The chicken sandwiches came next, bland and slathered with butter. Both of my dining companions had to wipe off the excess butter. A few minutes later our curries came out. A huge plate with a scoop of rice and a cereal bowl with curry. The portion looked so small! I asked for mine to be very spicy. It was close to flavorless. The pork was done well. There were about 6 small slices of vegetable and a few large potatoes. The curry was rather thick. I can look past bland food cooked well but cannot over look under cooked rice. It was extra crispy! One would think an Asian inspired eatery would master rice before attempting anything else.
If you're looking for authentic Thai cuisine--walk out the door and across the parking lot to the real Thai restaurant. You can't miss it--there's usually a line out the door!