Taste of Thailand - Fridley

Me and Mr. Eng were way past due for a dinner outing. So being the opportunist I am, I chose the place right next door to my job that I've wanted to try for awhile. So after getting off of work, I ran 100 feet to my car in the pouring rain, drove the 1/2 block over to the place, ran 100 feet from the car into the restaurant and arrived completely soaking wet!

Mr. Eng arrived awhile later, and I was still soaking wet (can you tell this bothered me.). He sat down and we chatted and perused the menu. I ordered a diet coke and he stuck with water. Chad didn't even order any Dew. He must be getting soft on me. Finally after about a year, we decided on our food:

Curry Puffs
I've been wanting to try these for awhile. Taste of Thailand doesn't have a website, but I described these as Asian Empanadas! The dough on the edge was "braided"in the same manner. The inside was a mushy awesome yellow curry filling. I'm not positive what it was, but I think there were potatoes and some veggies in there. They were served with slices of sweet cucumber, and I have no idea why.

Special Spring RollsThey have 2 different versions of spring rolls. I believe these have more herbs in them. Again, no website, and I have a shitty memory. However, these were one of the best spring rolls I've had. The wrapper was not gummy at all, and the filing wasn't too sparse or overflowing. The peanut sauce had a big kick of lime to it...or was it the spring roll? Chad and I both couldn't decide if the lime kick was from the sauce, or the spring roll itself. My final verdict after trying it both ways is the sauce. The spring roll also had some pronounced cilantro and mint going on. The meat filling was lacking (i think it was just shrimp in there) but it was a tasty spring roll overall.

Chad's Red Curry with Green Beans

The waiter asked us what spice level we wanted, and Chad decided that since his girlfriend was out of town (heheheheee) he would go hot. This arrived, and doesn't it just LOOK fiery? I tasted a bite of it and it was indeed fiery. Not in an immediate way, but as we know, Thai spice builds, and from the look of Chads empty water glass and face-wiping action at the end, it did indeed build.

Massaman CurryI've never had massaman before, so I figured I'd try it. I got my spice level "medium well"and chose chicken as my meat. As I understand from research. the massaman curry is sweetly spiced with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and the like. I found none of those elements to it. The potatoes were in large chunks, and the meat was kind of skimpy. The curry sauce itself was nice and runny as it should be, but it was overall quite sweet. The peanuts helped add some savory to it, and the spice level was good. But I found it overall lacking in balance that Thai cuisine aims for. There wasn't much savory or salty - just a lot of curry and sweet. It wasn't bad...because is there really ever a BAD curry????

Overall, the dishes were just so-so. They were a little one dimensional (maybe a few more veggies in Chads curry, or more in mine) but I'm sure that's just how the cuisine is meant to be. I would have liked a bit more complexity, personally.

Greats
-Curry Puffs
-Spring Rolls
-Talking Chads ear off for like an hour and a half
-There isn't a 4th.

Not so greats
-The atmosphere is nothing special
-Sweet Curry
-One dimensional stuff
-It was freezing in there (but I was also wet.)

Enjoy! - Apple Valley. The 2nd Round.

Being that we had a pretty great experience at Enjoy! for their Thanksgiving course meal, Mr. H and I decided to try them again for our 4 year anniversary. So off we went on the long trek to Apple Valley!

Upon entering Enjoy!, it felt the same as before. It's clean, modern, and slightly trendy but no so annoyingly so like some of the places I encounter in the western suburbs (Maynards COUGHCOUGH.) It's beautifully decorated, but still feels welcoming and cozy despite the large space.

We scored a booth (right next to the one we had before) and ordered some drinks. Me, a glass of the Enjoy! cabernet, which is quite good at $6 a glass, and Mr. H ordered some beer (sorry Mr. H, beer isn't memorable!) We were pretty starving and were glad when the bread came. Enjoy! has my favorite starter bread - the white bread is crusty, soft and warm. The wheat bread has raisins in it (i think?) but not in a gross way. They are small and sweet. The butter is soft and and not all cold and hard like some places serve it.

We figured out what we would order after looking at the menu forever. I was really torn between the Lobster Ravioli and the Canneloni (Stuffed with beef, pork, veal, spinach and tomatoes with mozzarella, ricotta, red and white sauces.) Mr. H was between a Seafood pasta (Sea bass, shrimp, scallops and prosciutto with white wine and linguine) and the Prime Rib (Au jus, horseradish cream and mashed potatoes King 26.95 Queen 22.95.) We decided on the Canneloni and Prime Rib, respectively.

Our food came out pretty fast (10-15 min) and we were starving.

Canneloni

As you can see, there was about 10 pounds of cheese on this thing (the white sauce is just sauce though - not cheese.) Let me tell you, I like cheese. I like about twice as much of it on stuff than most people. But this was so much cheese it almost gagged me. I had to pull some of it off and set it aside in order to even get to the pasta, which fell apart through all the fuss. I found the meat filling to be lacking, and it contributed nothing to the dish. The clear and concise bites I DID get were sorta...gristly. The sauces alone were ok, the white sauce was a tad too rich and cheesy, and the red sauce was robust. In my mind, I imagined nice chewy pasta with savory and somewhat spicy meat filling, with some sharp cheese and garlic accents in the sauce. I ate it all anyways because I'm a pig and I was hungry, but I didn't quite "enjoy" it as thoroughly as I wanted to. (har!!)

Prime Rib

I'll admit, I am no prime rib aficianado. I've had it before, and it speaks to me as steaks younger, prettier brother. This dish for me, was lacking. The meat was done to a good wellness, it was moist enough, but the flavor just didn't sing. It just tasted like a plain 'ol piece of meat. It didn't sing and shower me with warmth (yes, food can do those things to me.) The mashed potatoes were garlic overload. I mean, I really like garlic. I like it so much that when I chop it, I don't mind that the smell lingers for a few hours on my fingers, even after washing. But this was like a wallop of creamed..garlic. It can be overdone. The most pleasant thing I found was the au jus..for ONCE it wasn't a saltsophere of hell. It was savory and mild.

I was quite disappointed with Enjoy! I will definitely go back to give some other things a try...but I won't be using them for special occasions or big-money dinners again.

Greats
-The atmosphere/decor
-The patio is awesome - it wraps around the length of one side, has a pond next to it, statues, and a good variety of seating.
-The bread. Mmmmmmm.
-Decent wine prices and selection - something for everyone!

Not greats
-The cheese pile on top of the canneloni
-The kind of bland prime rib
-The fact I didn't pick Lobster Ravioli
-There was a goddamn crying baby right next to us! I know people out there have babies, but dammit get a sitter! /insensitive bitchiness