Last night with three of close friends, I tried a new Thai restaurant in the Short North called Basil. It opened a couple weeks ago alarmingly close to another neighborhood Thai restaurant. My favorite part was the ambience. Seductively lit by crystal chandeliers, it’s filled with deep dark wood and exposed brick. A few nonchalantly placed fragrant white lilies gave the room a cosmopolitan, Chicago-like feel*. For our appetizers, we ordered the Fried Tofu, Shrimp Rolls, and Grilled Vegetable Salad. Out of the three, the latter was the freshest and tastiest. The sauce accompanying the tofu was too heavily peanuted, and the rolls were so deep fried I couldn’t take more than one bite without visions of a grimacing cardiologist. We ordered spicy Panang with chicken, Eggplant Basil, Red Curry, and Bha Mee noodles as our entrées. The Panang and eggplant were prepared with the restaurant’s namesake ingredient and were adequate. The Bha Mee noodles were succulent, save for their elusive fish balls.
Our servers and bartender treated us warmly and readily answered our 42 questions about the menu. They even carried out trays with free glasses of freshly made Thai iced tea for everyone in the restaurant, which was a nice and very appreciated touch. But with such a similar style and cuisine as the other Thai eatery down the street, it’s impossible not to compare them. Basil boasts the superior aura; its competitor serves better food. Basil is also open for lunch, unlike its counterpart. Either way I’m hopeful that both will be able to thrive heartily.
*Many Cbus-ers describe favorite local spots as feeling like “you’re not in Columbus.” The reasons behind this unnecessarily inferior thinking beckon a separate post.
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