While in California recently, my boyfriend and I decided to have Thai food for dinner. Searching the Internet, we found Thaiphoon, located in Palo Alto.

We arrived at 6:30 on a Sunday night and were seated immediately. We were greeted by our waiter and provided with dinner and drink menus. After perusing the fairly diversified martini list we made our choices. My boyfriend, having chosen his drink more quickly than I, found an appetizer that would please both of us.

Within minutes of placing our drink and appetizer orders, our martinis appeared. My boyfriend had ordered a coconut martini, which came with a rim coated in sweetened coconut flakes. Unlike many coconut drinks that are heavy with coconut milk, this drink was light with a hint of sweetness. My drink was a blueberry martini, which was garnished with a lemon slice. This drink was light and had a delightful blueberry taste.

Having enjoyed a few sips of our drinks, our appetizer of chicken satay arrived. At this point, we ordered our main dishes and dug into the chicken. The four skewers of chicken lay atop a cucumber salad. The chicken was warm and tender and had a slightly sweet taste from the coconut milk in the marinade. The peanut curry dipping sauce balanced the flavors of the marinade.

For our entrees we ordered two dishes to share. The first dish was stir fried mango chicken, which was listed as a mild dish. As explained on the menu, this entrée was “chicken sautéed with fresh mango, cashew nuts, bell pepper, onions, and water chestnut.” These ingredients had a nice combination of flavors. My boyfriend and I disagreed about one ingredient, though. I thought the mango had a metallic taste, but he thought it tasted fine. Absent the mango, both of us agreed that it was a tasty entrée.

Our second dish was Mongolian beef, which was rated with a spice level of medium. This dish had slightly more heat, as it contained pan-fried beef, leeks, onion, and chili peppers. While this dish did not have a range of flavors like the chicken, it was delicious in its own way. Served with crispy rice noodles, it provided a pleasant variety of crunchiness and tenderness.

It must be noted that the waitstaff at Thaiphoon were very attentive. Both my boyfriend and I drink large amounts of water when we dine. In fact, we have had waitstaff that have offered to leave pitchers of water to make their jobs easier. At this restaurant, a staff member frequently checked on our glasses and kindly refilled them. The waitstaff also were attentive to our dining needs while not being overbearing, which can be a difficult balance to achieve.

Our dining experience at this Palo Alto restaurant was very good. If you are in the Bay Area and are looking for some delicious Thai food, Thaiphoon should be the destination of your choice.

The mission was simple: we were away for the weekend in Boston and wanted to find a happening restaurant for fun, food, and drinks. We were staying at a great hotel, so I called down to the concierge and advised him of his mission and that we were looking for an 8:30 reservation. Within 5 minutes, he called back and told me that he had secured a reservation at the Excelsior and that we were going to love it. With a bold statement like that, I could only assume that a man with that much confidence knew exactly what he was talking about.

The hotel called a cab for us, and we took the 15 minute drive over to the restaurant. Wanting to check out the entire scene, we arrived around 7:20. It was a cold and wet New England February evening so we were happy for the doorman and his umbrella that escorted us to the front door. Once inside we were immediately greeted by the hostess who checked us in and escorted us to the bar that dominated most of the first floor. We found a spot at the corner of the bar and were  greeted almost instantly by a smart looking, all-in-black dressed bartender. He gave us drink menus and also a regular menu as we advised him that we might do an appetizer while we waited for a table.

I ordered a Devine Strawberries for my date, and I had an Exceeds Apple, an over-the-rocks concoction of Stoli Vanil Apple Vodka, Liquor 43, and Pineapple & Cream. The bartenders worked efficiently and even though it was fairly crowded, they never looked harried. Unfortunately, the drinks got mixed reviews from us. The Devine Strawberries, which was a martini with Stoli Strawberi, Fresh Strawberry Juice, and Sparkling Wine, got rave reviews from my tantalizing dinner partner. My drink on the other hand was neither apple tasting or exceeding in any way except for my disappointment.

The bar scene was a valid attempt at being hip. The decor was modern and filled with shades of red, tan, and burgundy. The lighting was spot on and had just enough darkness to set a mood and just enough light to allow you to see people in your party. The music was a little on the loud side so if you wanted to have a conversation with the people in your party you would have had to scream. The crowd was also a very eclectic group — young people wearing jeans and sweatshirts ordering shots, older couples, and even a Boston Celtic out with his wife.

At 8:45 (yes, that is 15 minutes late and after I had to go to the manager to find out the situation) the hostess came and took us to the elevator that would carry us to the second floor and the location of the dining room. The elevator ride turned out to be one of the highlights of the evening. The glass elevator gives you a wonderful view of the two story high wine closet.  A “well stocked wine cellar” was given a whole new definition!

Upon arrival at the dinning room, a host escorted us to our table. We had an excellent window table that was actually next to the aforementioned Boston Celtic. The dinning room held some of the same decor traits of the bar, but was much brighter. Though for a romantic evening, the lighting may have been too much.

The waiter promptly arrived and presented us with menus and took our water order (we went with straight Boston tap). When he returned in a few minutes I ordered our wine choice of a sparkling Italian — Adami, Vigneti Giardino. My soul mate and I continued our conversation as glasses were brought and our bubbly was presented. We also made our dinner choices. My dinner companion chose Roast Organic Amish Raised Chicken ‘Under Brick’ and I went with the Char-grilled Carved Lamb Loin. After ordering I took a final sip of my first glass of the wine and found an unpleasant surprise - a piece of broken glass. After picking the shard out of my mouth, we immediately called over the floor manager. To his benefit, he acted immediately. He comped the wine and went to get a new glass for me. We appreciated his efficiency and went with the”no harm, no foul” philosophy.

When our meals arrived they were exquisitely presented, as my fanned out lamb looked like it had come from a food magazine photo. This was unfortunately the highlight of my meal. The accompanying red pepper jam completely overwhelmed the lamb and the cauliflower gratin was a solid side dish but not special. My partner’s chicken was much better than my lamb selection. The chicken was moist and incredibly tasty, but the Celery Root ‘Pappardelle’ and Pancetta Alfredo that completed the plate was bland.

The service for the Excelsior can best be summed up in one thing that I saw as we were finishing our meal. A wait staff person was meticulously measuring the place setting he was positioning for a now open table. He paid attention to the smallest detail. And our waiter, the manager, and the wait staff were all superb at their jobs and well trained. Unfortunately, the food did not live up to this high level of service. Although nothing was “bad” that we had, nothing was exceptional either. When we look for our next night out in Boston it won’t be at the Excelsior.

Often on Tasty Thoughts we review and talk about “fine” dining — fancy restaurants, exquisitely presented foods accompanied by quenching drinks. But we believe that food and eating is all about serving great tasting food in the right setting. On a trip down to Maryland, we experienced exactly that in the Silver Spring Mining Company in Bel Air, a family restaurant that offers unique menu items at extremely reasonable prices.

Nearly famished, two of my children and I visited Silver Spring Mining Company last week. I had visited before, but this was the first trip for both of my kids. My plan was two-fold: I wanted to get their superb Sour Beef and Dumplings and I wanted my kids to experience their famous Crab Pretzel.

We were escorted to the rustic-motif dining room and settled ourselves into a comfortable and spacious booth. A friendly waitress, Sally, came over within a few minutes to take our drink order, let us know that there was a special on ribs tonight, and that it was the best deal in the house. Suddenly, my food choice had changed… the kids and I were on a mission for ribs!

Before all of my plans went out the window, I ordered the Crab Pretzel. Sally returned with our drinks (water for me and Sprite for both kids), and she was ready for our main course order. Both kids decided on the kid’s barbecue ribs with French fries, and I went with the Honey Bourbon Baby Back Ribs. Sally left to put our order in and returned within a few minutes with our Maryland Crab Pretzel. They describe the appetizer as, “Imagine a ballpark pretzel oozing with Silver Spring crab dip and topped with Cheddar Jack cheeses, then baked in the oven.”  Well, I am here to tell you that it should just be described as heavenly.    It is a perfect combination of cheesy, gooey, tasty, warm satisfaction. 

The kids and I ate about three-fourths of the HUGE dish (imagine the largest soft pretzel you have ever seen smothered in crab meat and melted cheese), and then our ribs arrived.  I had ordered a baked sweet potato and coleslaw as sides for my meal.  The sweet potato came with a fantastic honey cinnamon butter that I put inside the potato so it could start to melt.  With that done, I dove into my ribs!  They were amazingly tender and completely falling off the bone!  They had a dry rub on them and then were covered in a delightful tangy and sweet sauce.  My fingers were covered in the sauce as soon I began devouring the ribs.  I took a quick bite of the coleslaw, and it was a perfect compliment to the rib sauce — creamy and not too mustardy or full of vinegar.  Before I knew it, the kids had devoured their ribs as well and were working on the fries.

We were able to eat every last bit of the ribs and most of our sides, and Sally returned to give us our check.  To my surprise the total meal was only $35 (with tip).  It was an excellent, feel-good family meal at that price.  If you, your friends, and family want to have a great, filling meal, don’t pass the opportunity to visit the Silver Spring Mining Company in Maryland.

One of our usual haunts on our nights out without at least one of our four kids is Michael Timothy’s Bistro in downtown Nashua. It is one of those restaurant and jazz bars that have become so popular in all corners of the country. But Michael Timothy’s is a cut above the average bistro. The decor, food, drinks, and staff make it one of the best eating establishments in all of New Hampshire and one of the better ones I have visited anywhere.

On a Wednesday evening (the one weeknight that we ever have a chance of being childless), we visited Michael Timothy’s arriving at 5:00. Since it was pre-dinner time (they start serving at 5:30), we went and sat at a table in the bar area.  After just a short wait, a lovely waitress named Lindsey handed us wine lists, menus, and drink menus. She said she was going to check in the kitchen for the specials and be back to take our drink orders. My darling Michele and I had decided that it was a martini type of night so we put the wine menu aside and settled on the drink menu. Michelechose a fruity number called “Sa rah with an H“, and I chose a spicy martini called “Hot and Dirty” with blue cheese olives instead of regular olives. Both drinks were expertly prepared and nicely garnished.

Lindsey told us the specials, and we decided on a meal of one appetizer, two salads, and a soup. We are going the healthy route, so this mix sounded like a good fit for our evening consumption. The appetizer chosen was the most interesting we could find on the menu, Foie Gras Brulée which was a rich foie mousse served with toast rounds. The soup was the special — a reduced duck broth with mushrooms. Our two salad choices were the White Truffle Caesar Salad and the Warm Baby Spinach and Beet Salad.

After another round of drink orders, our appetizer arrived. It was a generous serving that was excellently presented with a sliced grape fanned on the top of the brulée. The taste was absolutely perfect. It was a savory pate that was warm and perfectly matched its presentation.

Our salads did not disappoint either.  The Caesar salad had a little bit of a mustard taste to it, which gave it a unique flavor.  The spinach and beet salad had a little bit of an issue: it was missing the beets!  When Lindsay returned to our table we made her aware of the issue and she apologized profusely.  Whisking the dish away, she went back to the kitchen.  While the kitchen worked on a new salad, I worked on the soup special.  It was a delightful combination and a wonderful light soup.  The duck broth had a delicious flavor and warmed me on a cold New Hampshire winter evening.   The new salad was returned, this time with with beets, and it was worth the wait.  The perfect combination of the dressing, a poached egg, and the chilled beets was ideal for my palate.  As we were enjoying the salad, three staff members made stops to our table to apologize for the salad redux.

As my lovely partner and I made our way to the door, a jazz band was getting ready for their evening set.   Any couples walking in were set for a great time of music, scrumptious food, inspiring drinks, and fabulous service.  Michael Timothy’s Bistro is a must stop for people looking for a great evening.

For a special holiday fare, we decided to go somewhere with a great reputation for creating special occasions - Bedford Village Inn in Bedford, New Hampshire. My delightful girlfriend, Michele, set the entire evening up (arranging for a babysitter and getting the reservation). She set the reservation for 8:30, but was told on the phone that it would be fine to come early and have a drink in the tavern that is attached to the main restaurant.

The babysitter set up shop at our house around 7, and we decided to head out then on the half hour drive that it would take for us to reach the BVI (as it is referred to locally). Upon arrival at the BVI, you get a feel that you are visiting an old time inn and arriving by coach after a long day on the roads of the 18th century New England. Being Christmastime, all of the windows of the buildings had electric candles in them and coupled with the glistening snow you had a sense that Berle Ives would be singing when you walked into the front door of the restaurant.

The BVI’s decor is early American with period items and replica paintings. Checking in with the hostess she informed us that our table would be ready “right at 8:30″ but that we were free to go to the Tavern for a drink and they would find us when the table was ready. Michele and I walked through the winding hallway to the Tavern where we were greeted with a mob scene. The Tavern was a square room with about 12 tables that were all occupied by people that had specifically reserved the Tavern for dinner (The Tavern was for informal dinning with a bar food menu). The bar comprised 6 chairs (which were all occupied) and the waitress station. There was no room for standing, but I decided to go to the bar and order two drinks from the frenzied solo bartender. The bartender seemed like a friendly woman who was completely overwhelmed with making drinks for the entire restaurant. She took my order of a Pomegranate Martini for Michele and a Dirty Martini for me and whipped them together in a little over three seconds, looking like Deion Sanders running a 40.  I carefully carried the drinks to Michele who was in a corner of a hallway trying to do her best to stay out of the way of all of the waitstaff buzzing around.  The Tavern hostess told us that there wasn’t much chance we were going to get a seat in the Tavern, so we went back and sat in the hall outside one of the dining rooms.  On the way to those abysmal seats another guest ran me over and I spilled my entire drink.  It wasn’t really his fault because there was nowhere for anyone to go, as the logistics of the waiting area were laid out by someone with the understanding of comfort equal to that of someone who thinks fingernails running across a blackboard sounds the same as a Mozart sonata.  To top off the entire pre-meal  festivities, Michele’s drink had a taste roughly equivalent to rubbing alcohol.

At exactly 8:30, the owner found us in our corner hallway location and told us our table was ready.   We were escorted to a front dining room that resembled the decor you would find at Tavern on the Green in NYC (and that is not a compliment).  At our corner table we sat down and waited a half hour for water and bread to finally show up.  This was all very puzzling since there were about 5 waitstaff working 5 tables in our room alone.  Although our waitress (name withheld to protect the incompetent) was friendly, she also had an air of cluelessness to her.

With all of the negativity spewing from my review so far, you would think that the food must also be less than expected, but that would be a poor assumption.  Michele ordered Crispy Herb Crusted Camembert, a Caesar Salad, and Thyme & Garlic Encrusted Lamb Loin.  I ordered the Hudson Valley Foie Gras, a Watercress Salad, and a Veal Chop. Every selection was tasty, creative, and well presented.  The food was actually heavenly when compared to the service and environment we lived through to get to it.  Throw in a delightful bottle of Argentine - Clos de los Siete and the consumption phase of the meal was quite impressive.

Great meals are meant to be events where every facet comes together.  And if you are going to spend $250 on an evening out, these pieces should be well done.  Unfortunately, the Bedford Village Inn’s incredible food was lost in a bumbling staff and poorly thought out environment.