By Peggy Haine
March 15, 2006
Ithaca is blessed with a plethora of international and other interesting restaurants - in fact, Tompkins County is rumored to have the greatest number of restaurants per capita of any in the country. But one of our favorites since its opening in 2001 has been Taste of Thai on The Commons. We are not alone.

On a recent Sunday evening, we found ourselves in the company of a slew of young people (note: anybody perambulating without the assistance of a walker seems young to us) enjoying the white-linened ambience, thoughtful service, reasonable prices and adventuresome cuisine at Taste of Thai. Our waiter, a Cornell University grad student specializing in pre-modern Thai history ("I only do this for fun," he said of his waiting gig), gave us a tour of the restaurant's dazzling menu, and we were off.

For starters, we enjoyed light pillows of deep-fried tofu, without the slightest hint of oiliness, served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce with crushed peanuts. The Taste of Thai lettuce wrap was an enjoyable do-it-yourself project, the Thai version of the fajita; half a head of iceberg lettuce provided wrappers for a delicately spiced chicken mixture served atop crisp little noodles. A trio of condiments, running the taste gamut from hot to sweet, allowed us to experiment with heat and flavor.

Soups were next. The Tom Kha soup was a satisfying blend of coconut milk, lemongrass, lime and galangal (a type of ginger) with straw mushrooms and chicken, its spiciness well modulated by the creamy coconut milk broth. The chef's comforting homemade soup was a mild, rich chicken stock trimmed out with squid, cabbage, baby corn, scallions, shiitake mushrooms and one plump shrimp.

From the large selection of salads, we opted for the Som Tum, a mix of shredded green papaya and carrots, tomatoes, green beans and peanuts in a spicy sauce. It looked cool and salad-y, but was surprisingly and delightfully hot and tingly. The kitchen will adjust the heat on any of its dishes to diners' tastes, from one to five, one being the wimpiest spice rating and five the regenerate-your-squamous-epithelial-cells rating. Heat lovers, we were very pleased with the dishes we ordered at ratings of three.

On previous visits we have enjoyed the complex flavors of the restaurant's curries - its red and green versions of Masaman - and are particularly fond of its Pra Ram Long Song, a curried, slightly sweet peanut sauce served over wilted spinach with a choice of chicken, pork, beef, tofu or prawns. Their Pad Thai - rice stick noodles with chicken, prawns, eggs and bean sprouts in a tamarind-laced peanut sauce - is always a good and safe choice with its mild flavors. But this night we ventured down the a la carte list, choosing the spicy eggplant flavored with stir-fried ground pork, red and green bell peppers, chili and basil, and we were delighted with it.

Desserts are unusual and light. We chose two: a tapioca special served warm with surprising kernels of sweet corn in it; and a coconut milk-based custard, also warm, and served in six tablespoon-sized ceramic cups. The waitstaff, disappointed that we hadn't chosen their favorite - an entire sliced mango served with warm, sweet sticky rice - brought one for us to sample, and we devoured it. Each of the desserts would have been a perfect ending to any of a number of perfect Thai meals.

Offerings are served on celadon-green dinnerware in a variety of elegant shapes. The walls, sponged a warm pumpkin color, are decorated with shadow boxes of Thai scenes, wood carvings of romping elephants and colorful Thai paintings, highlighted by indirect track lighting, which sheds a warm glow over the dining room.

What's the Ithaca connection? Owner Ariya Pancharoen told us his uncle had attended Cornell University and his mother, SUNY Cortland. When they thought of coming back to the United States to open a restaurant, Ithaca seemed like a good prospect. It has been, and we welcome their top-flight contribution to the local culinary scene.

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Taste of Thai is located at 216 The Commons. It is open seven days a week for lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; and dinner, 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. On weekends, it's a good idea to have a reservation, as the place can be packed. Call (607) 256-5487 to secure your table. And check out their Web site, www.tasteofthaiithaca.com, for a sample menu.

Restaurant stories in the Ithaca Times are generally done with full knowledge of the establishment's owners. The writer interviews staff members and is presented with a meal for two as a courtesy of the restaurant.

© Ithaca Times 2006
 

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