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| - As a Tempe retread (my initials are still scratched into several corners on Rural from pavement being poured in 1989 and 90), I am rediscovering a few old favorite places and trying many new opportunities. Last night, Thai Basil had both star earning and star losing moments.
The "Gotta have THAI" monkey popped up on my back early yesterday. As the love of my life is out of town for a few days and does not have the same passion for Thai that I do, the monkey's timing was good. Since we are now within Orbit range, I went to my trusty Yelp mobile app and told it to Thai me. Thai Basil struck and away I went.
On arriving at 6 PM, there were 5 cars in the lot and on entering, about 20 folks seated at tables enjoying. The restaurant appears to be clean, though the lighting is dim. There is apparently a second seating area that I did not explore, so don't hold me to the customer count. I stood at the door for a moment (in TV terms, a moment is 1 1/2 minutes) and was greeted and seated. The host handed me a menu and walked away. I perused the menu for a minute, closed it and started waiting.
5 minutes passed, and I caught the eye of a server who brought appetizers to a table near mine. She came over and I asked if I could place my order. She nodded and walked behind the bar, tapped what turned out to be my waiter on the shoulder and pointed at me. My waiter turned and waved, then walked into the kitchen. 5 minutes later, he came out with his pad and pen. I ordered Som Tom, the yardstick by which I measure every Thai restaurant, and jasmine rice. I requested that the green beans and shrimp be left off. At the menu's suggestion, I ordered Thai Hot. He wrote down the order and walked away.
I was surprised that there was no request for a beverage order. I caught the eye of the server again. She came over and I asked if I could get a glass of water. She nodded and walked behind the bar, tapped my waiter on the shoulder and let him know about my desire for water. He turned and waved, then walked into the kitchen. 5 minutes later, he came out with my Som Tom, rice and a glass of water. He asked if I needed anything else, and when I responded no, he walked away.
Som Tom, properly made, should have lime, chile, palm sugar and fish sauce each of which brings tangy, sweet, salty and spicy notes with the crunch of fresh papaya. While the portion size was respectable, 2 cups of salad, the seasoning was totally off. There was no fish sauce or lime that I could detect. The spice came in at a solid 9 (5 makes my nose run, 8 makes my forehead sweat and 10 brings tears to my eyes), but without all the notes, this was a bad karaoke version of what should be a great song.
I put my fork down and caught my waiter's eye. He waved, then walked into the kitchen. 5 minutes later, he came to the table and asked if everything was satisfactory. When I replied to the negative, he said he was sorry and walked into the kitchen. A moment later, a lady came to the table and asked about my dissatisfaction. I asked about missing ingredients in the salad. She grabbed a fork and tasted, then she said it was very sweet. She offered to have the order remade. I agreed, and she took the salad to the kitchen, yelling in Thai that it was not right.
I nibbled on rice and sipped water while the order was remade. The rice was OK, not too sticky and not too dry. On the second presentation, the lady (who I found out is the manager) asked me to taste this version. I tasted, and it was a saltier version of the original. I could get the sweet, the fish sauce and the spice, but no lime. I asked if I could get some wedges of lime and she said she would take the order back and have it remade. By this point, it had been nearly an hour since I had arrived, so I asked for the order to go.
I finished the rice and water while I waited. Instead of bringing the new order out to the table, the manager waved me over to the bar with a go box. She had me taste and again, it was below par. I asked for some lime on the side, only to discover it was juice out of a bottle.
I paid my check and proceeded home. For the price, $8.95, the time and the multiple attempts, this Thai Basil is not worth the effort. The contrasts between Thai Basil on University and Thai Basil on Rural are kind of strange. As I have been made aware, there are 5 Thai Basil operations around the Valley...and being an adventurous sort, I will probably try them all.
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