More Thai? Sawatdee Café shows the market is not yet saturated
Published Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Digg
delicious
Facebook
Mixx
Reddit
Stumble It!So between you and me, I have to ask — does Fairbanks really need another Thai restaurant? I'm happy to report that if the restaurant is the Sawatdee Café, the answer is an enthusiastic: Yes.
Tucked in between Fourth and Fifth avenues at Lacey Street downtown, this charming café offers an extensive menu of both classic Thai and American dishes. An easy walk from downtown hotels and businesses, the Sawatdee has a good mix of small and larger tables and a bright, welcoming atmosphere. A cheery greeting from the hostess made us feel like honored guests instead of just paying customers, and we particularly enjoyed the interesting and amusing Asian inspired décor. (Don't miss the waving golden kitties at the front counter).
While we came to try the Thai food, the range of American choices is worth noting. Burgers, sandwiches, chicken and seafood are all listed at reasonable prices, and the kid’s menu was great, too. One large group at another table included several youngsters who were simply delighted they could have something less complex than the grownups. We noticed the children were made to feel welcome as guests, too, and not just tolerated as part of the grownup paying customer package. It was a refreshing change from the trend I've seen around town lately that even well-mannered young folks are somehow in the way at restaurant tables.
What the grownups at our table found on the menu of delights was delicious from start to finish. It may be a law in Restaurant Land that you have to start a Thai dinner with chicken satay, ($8 for six generous skewers) and everyone knows I'm not one to bend the rules. The platter arrived still sizzling and accompanied by what I am officially declaring as the best peanut sauce in town. Much spicier and darker than other sauces, it was laced with tons of red chili flakes and complemented the golden crisp satay to perfection. While it’s great on chicken, I also can verify it’s just dandy when eaten straight off a spoon. If there had been jars for sale, I’m sure we would have all purchased one to haul home.
We ordered three main dishes to share around the lunch table and found each one nearly perfect. The Ga-Ree Gai ($11.95) is a mild yellow chicken curry with cubes of perfectly done potato and savory onion bits swimming in velvety smooth curry sauce with just a hint of coconut milk. The small side of cucumber and onion salad had a satisfying crunch and a bright tangy dressing, and alternating bites of curry with the cucumber salad was a delight. If you’re timid about curry, this is the perfect place to start to educate your palate for the delights of spicier things to come.
I decided to be adventurous and order Pad Sweet Pea ($11.95) instead of my old reliable (Pad Thai) and I discovered a delightful new dish. Tender slices of sautéed pork combined with garlic, tomatoes and tons of amazingly plump pea pods were dressed in a lovely light brown sauce with a hint of sharpness that accented rather than overwhelmed the meat and vegetables. Our only complaint was that the pork slices seemed a bit scant in this dish, with just four or five slices scattered about. The hearty eater at our table raved about the very tender and flavorful pork, however said next time he'd order two portions just so he could take one home.
Vegetarian diners will be pleased at the number and variety of combinations available at Sawatdee and I couldn't wait to dig in to an order of Gaeng Ped Tao-Hoo ($10.95) that featured tofu in red curry sauce, with coconut milk, peas, zucchini, pepper and basil leaves. I was pleasantly surprised when the hostess asked “medium curry?” instead of assuming I'd want mild. This dish was the absolute hands down favorite of the entire dinner. The red curry sauce packs a welcome wallop and has a long slow finish that is immensely satisfying, with that slight, lip burning tingle that curry lovers constantly crave. The amount of tofu packed into the bowl was truly astounding and the vegetables were cooked to that exact crisp tender point that can be so hard to do correctly. Though sharing dishes at these dinners is the usual rule, with each bite I became more and more possessive of MY red curry. It's a dish I can't wait to have again and one that curry thrill seekers will just love.
Each of the entrees came with a mound of jasmine rice, and we truly appreciated the gracious and elegant service throughout the unhurried meal. We liked hearing our order given to the chef in Thai, and I noticed even the ticket was written in Thai, which confirms that the food at Sawatdee is the real deal. There's so much more to explore on the menu, including an incredible number of seafood dishes from scallops to snapper to prawns and shrimp. As with the curry, you can order as spicy or mild as you like in nearly all the categories (barbecue, curry, noodles,) and classic Thai iced tea and iced coffee are available as well. With prices ranging from $9.95 to 13.95 for generous portions, Sawatdee offers an incredible number of menu choices at family-friendly prices. And there's one more claim to fame that an On The Menu reader alerted me to just the other day: Sawatdee has an animated commercial making the rounds on YouTube — check it out at www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZKWA6bIHEI&feature=related and then hurry down to Foruth and Lacey and enjoy what's sure to be a truly fabulous meal at Sawatdee.
Joyce McCombs lives in Delta Junction where she hurries toward curry whenever she can. She has lived in Delta Junction happily since 1983 with her husband Steve, her favorite dinner companion.
Community Discussion
Newsminer.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full user's agreement.
Your reviews should have some pictures with them. The food sounds delish!
Good grief, Rockstar...
Woah Rockstar-
How'd you get from Thai Food to obnoxious children? And not even obnoxious Thai children.....
Seriously Joyce-
We could have done without the "(Don't miss the waving golden kitties at the front counter)." Is a little class to much to ask for? That's what you get from a wannabe food critic from Delta, I guess...
Not sure what is wrong with some of the commenter’s above. Rockstar - we all don't breed every year, most of have only 1 or 2 kids. You had a bad experience or two and that sucks, but not all kids or parents are that rude and irresponcible. So please be more mindful about stereotyping kids and parents into a single group.
I think the Food critic's comment on the "golden kitties" was well placed, it clearly shows that Sawatdee does not have your typical Thai restaurant decor. It illustrates that the critic analyzed the atmosphere closely and was relaying that Sawatdee has an air of whimsy.
Well written review Joyce, I've written several in depth reviews of Disney restaurants that have been seen/reviewed by thousands on the DIS Boards and it is not easy to get the food descriptions and atmosphere down right. You did a very nice job describing the dishes you tried down to the subtle textures and spices. The only thing I missed in your review was how Thai Iced Tea tasted....mmmm.
...."Disney restaurants"...
Well, there you go. There's the problem. Most of us are grown-ups.
Disney restaurants! I'm going to laugh about one that all day.
I am surprised a few Trolls got in here in the midst of some flame war. The News-Miner admins should try to push them back over to the political areas of the site, and keep them out of sections of the paper that are more positive about the community.
I agree with Splat25 that this was a good review. The author discussing the decor give a sense of what the restaurant is like for readers. It lets people know what sort of mood and ambiance there is at the restaurant, and not just the food. I encourage a positive discussion about food and restaurants, and not angry trolls shooting off with a flamethrower of hate.
Rockstar-
It's like you read my mind... or understood my post.
Joyce made a silly, ignorant comment within a pretty silly article... and it's not ok to comment on that because....? Oh, maybe because holding people accountable is less important than feeling "warm and fuzzy". In that case, go ahead and regard those "kitties" as cute and chow down at a Disney restaurant. The rest of us will be over here, thinking.
I guess rockstar was born 36 years old. If he hates kids that much he would have commited suicide as a child. I also don't believe he wouldn't comment on "your picture of the bearded guy on the wooden sticks"...because he just did. THAT'S insulting.
That bearded guy is HOT!
(and that kitty is CUTE!)
Now, back on topic. I am glad to hear there is a nice place to eat downtown. I used to work downtown and it was inconvenient, to say the least, when lunch rolled around. I don't work downtown anymore, but I will go try Sawatdee. I like to try and eat in small, locally owned reataurants. The food is usually fresher and better prepared than the high volume national chains.
I can agree with you there AKbychoice. I'll go there and try it DESPITE the review.
I felt the same way as Rockstar until I had a child. Now I smile more.
... that begs the question: Rockstar, you do use birth control, don't you?
Wow
Come on folks! Where's all the negativity coming from? This person wrote a restaurant review! A review some people might even consider helpful and/or pleasant when choosing a new place to dine-in. ANY new independent restaurants to open in Fairbanks are a welcome site to me!
Alright! More great Asian food! Has anyone checked out the new Japanese sushi place on South Cushman. Great food, really nice people. Thanks for the great food review, I'll be stopping on in for some more great Thai food. As for the two above that think they are in a west coast city of 400 plus thousand - go there- enjoy - let us heathens somehow struggle along in blissful ignorance.
Very informative review. Well done Ms. McCombs.
Certain commentators should muse on the wisdom of keeping their mouths shut and letting the world wonder if they're idiots, rather than opening them, thus removing all doubt.
"Maneki neko" have absolutely NOTHING either to ANYthing Thai, nor have they ANY religious significance whasoever, not in any way, shape or form. Toiunowa, sonnanekoga hyaku-paasento wafu. And if there are present waving golden cats in every single Thai restaurant, then I am going to have to retire as a moosehunter, since I NEVER have observed any....not in Thailand, USA nor in Thai restaurants in three other continents, either.
Perhaps someone has been mistaking birth control pills for some other medication????
Meant to edit that to "...NOTHING to do either with ANYthing Thai...."
Foreign food restraunts are for folks that don't like steak and potatoes. We need more steak houses in Fairbanks. There are five that I know of and at least three times that many Asian restraunts. Nothing against Chinese, Thai, Korean, or Japanese people, or their food, I just prefer not to have to stand in line or make reservations and pay ten prices for dinner to get a steak. It is nice to read a good review.
I won't speculate on the meaning of the waving kitties, but I do know that every McDonald's has a a picture of the clown, and he's definitely a religious icon in this country.
Were the kittens Republican or Democrat? 'Librul' or conservative?? In favor of one-payer national health care, or against? Pro second amendment? Supportive of legalizing cannabis?? All of this must be answered before I can eat there...
...Unless, of course, the restaurant serves up an awesome spicy squid with bell peppers, carrot, and sweet onions, in a medium brown chili and garlic sauce, in which case I can get past what ever political leanings the kitties possess... just so long as they're not neo-con kitties..
Post a comment
Commenting requires registration.