We went to Thai Bistro on a Friday evening. The restaurant is on the north west corner of Biddle and Stevens in a strip mall with plenty of parking. The interior is unspectacular American mall décor--hardly evocative of Asia--but clean and well-lit. The food, on the other hand, is as good as any I have had this side of the Pacific. The menu promises that all dishes are cooked to order. Our experience suggests that promise was kept.
Chicken satay is an often disappointing appetizer consisting of dried out chicken fragments served with an overly sweet peanut sauce. At Thai Bistro this dish features large pieces of thick chicken breast, juicy on the inside, and nicely seared on the outside. The peanut sauce was refreshingly not too sweet, although the gelatinous consistency was less thanoptimal. The complimentary salad of cucumber, red pepper, onion, and pineapple was a pleasant palate cleanser before our main courses.
We asked for the panang curry with beef to be served “Thai hot.†It was spicy enough to satisfy our fire-eater, but the heat didn’t overwhelm the subtle flavors of the cilantro and the cocoanut milk. The beef slices were tender and were nicely complemented by the crispred pepper slices.The eggplant and basil had a remarkably nice texture, farfrom the mush that sometimes results from this delicate vegetable sitting insauce for too long. We ordered it with tofu, served in large chunks. The bean sauce was flavorful and light. All portions were quite large, and we had enough to take home for later in the weekend.
We stopped by briefly on Saturday to sample the soups. The Tom Kha Gai (chicken cocoanut soup) was rich and creamy. The Tom Yum(Thai spiced soup) with shrimp had a flavorful clear broth with lemon grass andgreen and white onions. Onceagain, the portions were so large we needed to take some home.
Most of the dinners are under $14, under $9 at lunch, exceptfor the chef specials which range up to $26 for the barbecued lamb. There are numerous brands of beer and shortbut inexpensive wine list. Thai Bistro is to be praised for including several local wines.
In short, Thai Bistro serves outstanding, authentic Thai food at reasonable prices.
Thai Bistro, 535 Stevens Street, Medford, 772-6200. Hours 11 am-9 pm Monday through Thursday and Saturday; 11am-10 pm on Friday. ClosedSunday.
Tags: Thai Food
