04/19/02from The Oregonian's Diner By David Sarasohn
It's one of the simplest -- and most daring -- restaurant slogans around: "The Elegant Side of Thai Food."
Pad Thai wearing a tie?
In a town where Thai restaurants multiply like puddles in March, a town that shares Bangkok's enthusiasm for both mussamun curry and elephants, to claim Thai elegance is to lay down a chili-inflected challenge.
Sweet Basil carries it off, mostly by adding another ingredient to Thai cuisine: drama.
"I know there are a lot of Thai restaurants in town, so I decided to do something different, more on presentation," says chef and co-owner Tony Chulacharitta. "Someone thinks, 'I want to eat this. It looks good, it smells good.' "
Chulacharitta meets the challenge with huge, elaborately decorated platters of King Salmon Curry, crab dishes sheltered under giant shells, and Game Hen on Fire -- which is literally on fire. And even in a place heavy with Thai restaurants, nobody else finishes up a meal with a home-baked mango-raspberry pie.
The careful, brilliantly colorful decoration of the platters is matched by the lively design of the space, which matches good curry with good karma -- the Old Portland house was the original home of Laslow's.
"The Laslows did a very good job on that house," says Chulacharitta, and for the restaurant experience he had in mind, it was exactly what he was looking for. He's liked the idea so much that he's opened his second restaurant in a similar house in Gresham
. In looking for his space, and designing his dishes, Chulacharitta has had lots of help -- before and after coming to this country in 1994. His father runs a restaurant in Thailand, his aunt has owned a series of places in Oregon, and while his grandmother doesn't cook any more, she's still available with suggestions.
He also has his partner, Boos Supree, who energetically works the house on Broadway -- advising, urging and making sure the Game Hen on Fire doesn't incinerate.
Sweet Basil is flashy, lively and -- especially -- tasty. It turns out elegance goes with kaffir leaves.
The Scene On weekend evenings, hungry Irvingtonians crowd the entryway of this charming bungalow on busy Broadway. Painted in warm pastels and adorned with a few decorative Thai pieces, it retains the refinement of its former tenant, Laslow's Broadway Bistro. Polite white-tablecloth service completes the sense of elegance.
The Food Sweetness and spiciness strike a symphonious balance in each lovingly executed dish, be it a standard or a special. Vegetables are crisp, fresh and flavorful; meats are tender; curries are rich and harmonious. Even the jasmine rice is nice: White, black or both, it's cooked to perfection. Extra style points go to the artfully arranged dishes from the dinner specials menu (available dine-in only). The pineapple fried rice is served in half a pineapple, and the Game Hen on Fire arrives flambe. Also, the appetizer sample plate, a gorgeous display of four different delights, is a must-try. Katherine Cole
Hot, Hot, HotSpice lovers, choose your evil: Many dishes can be ordered "mild, medium, wild or extremely wild." For the average palate, mild to medium packs enough punch to satisfy. Straight from the SourceFor chef/co-owner Teeratharn Chulacharitta, mastery of Thai cuisine was just part of growing up. His father runs a large restaurant in Thailand, where Chulacharitta began observing chefs at work as a small boy. PricesLunch: $3.25-$6.25; dinner: $8-$15.
Your mission: Wear black, look earnest and eat splendid Thai dishes at Sweet Basil.
REVIEW THAI NATION Sweet Basil is the latest, greatest addition to Portland's swelling Thai scene.
by ROGER J. PORTER 243-2122 ext. 371
It is hard to imagine that less than 20 years ago Thai food was unknown in Portland, as obscure to us then as the cuisine of Cameroon now. These days it seems every neighborhood harbors a Thai restaurant. The latest entry in the Bangkok sweepstakes is a particularly appealing place, housed in the former Northeast locale of Laslow's and offering a substantial list of classics with a splendid collection of unusual dishes.
You have to be a careful reader to understand that menu, however. One rubric on the regular list is "House Specials"; a separate sheet notes "Dinner Specials"; finally, a blackboard near the entrance itemizes the "Specials of the Day." No matter--a special is a special is a special, and, to mix cultures, the categorical confusion will yield to the culinary Confucian. This blend is not entirely out of place, since a few Chinese dishes seep into the mix: a respectable wonton soup shares place with the great chicken-coconut-lemongrass soup known as tom kah gai ($7), which combines creaminess, spice and tang infused with the woodsy perfume of ginger. Loyal to its roots, Sweet Basil will appeal both to the novice Thai diner (are there any such folks still around?) and the veteran looking for new sensations.
Two obligatory dishes at the outset are maing kum and larb gai (each $8). The former is a do-it-yourself concoction, one demanding exquisite restraint, a micro-version of wrapped foods. Here a delicate stack of spinach leaves (in Thailand the green might be the betel nut's leaf) serve as envelopes for a smattering of little fillers: roasted shredded coconut, shallots, tiny lime wedges, raw peanuts, chilies and fingernail curls of dried shrimp. Less a test of the kitchen than of the presenter, this medley, perked up with a tamarind- and fish-based sauce, bursts with a variety of tastes, each able to stand on its own. This dish serves as an introduction to the rest of the meal, a pure form of what follows in more complex renderings. Larb is a pungent salad of ground meat (here chicken) tossed with mint and lemongrass in a spicy lime sauce; it's cupped into a large purple cabbage leaf and gets its crunchiness from the toasted rice powder, which also lends an aromatic quality reminiscent of roasted nuts. Sweet Basil's version is bracing and sparkling fresh.
One night the blackboard special consisted of grilled scallops and roasted portobellos showered with basil and multi-colored peppers; I have no quarrel with using local ingredients for traditional dishes, but this offering was less successful than other more authentic Thai recipes. One of the great treats at Sweet Basil is the roasted duck curry ($14) in a classic red curry paste; the bird is crisp but lusciously soft inside, and the addition of tomatoes thickens the sauce to a rich, sweet but not cloying consistency. If I were not trying to assault the entire menu, I'd gladly return to Panang seafood ($18). This ample platter of mussels, salmon, white fish and squid is bathed in a heady blend of kafir lime leaves, shrimp paste, coriander, cilantro, garlic and chilies. The name implies that the dish is Malaysian, and it's an example of the cross-cultural influences in Southeast Asia.
"Lovely Ginger" was less successful, though not at all bad: A plentiful handful of chopped ginger blasts into a stir-fry of mushrooms and beef, but the thin-sliced meat was overcooked and a tad dry. Normally I'm not a lover of fried rice, but the Thai pineapple rice ($12), studded with raisins, cashews, carrots and peas, intrigued me; it proved delicious, and a calm-down after the incendiary blaze of the curry dishes (our table insisted on heat). Another interesting dish, a plate of grilled pork in peanut sauce, arrived stacked like a triple burger with slices of soft tomato between each layer; a nice complex of flavors and textures.
Many dishes come with an order of jasmine black rice, molded into a heart shape; the bottom layer of this flower-scented rice is white, while the top is black. The latter somewhat resembles wild rice and is slightly sticky; because the grains tend to adhere to one another, the rice holds together well if you dip it into curries and other sauces. Curiously, the restaurant serves a plate of wild greens, but while it seems like an incongruously European touch, I found that blending the greens into several of the milder sauces worked beautifully and did not at all destroy their quality.
Whatever you do, eschew not the desserts--a spare but indispensable selection. The fried (really sauteed) bananas ($4.75) are pulpy-sweet and absolutely ambrosial. A trio of ice cream rounds out the limited choice--green tea, ice tea and coconut, all homemade. Bananas with any of the ice creams will make you dream of temples shimmering in the moonlight off the beaches of Takua Pa.
Sweet Basil is housed in three rooms, the first two more comfortable and pleasant than the rather utilitarian back room. Ask for the front section when you reserve. It's a homey place, with a fireplace and lots of ledges where you can put excess dishes--and there will be some, for the plates are quite large here. This family establishment could not be more friendly, and though service tends to be a bit slow (the restaurant has been mobbed of late), it's delivered with graciousness and reliable information about the cooking. All in all, Sweet Basil is a nice addition to the growing and groaning boards of Portland's Thai emporia.
