Lotus Thai Restaurant

2803 Oak Valley (Near Target)

Inconspicuous on the outside (tucked into a mall storefront near Target), Lotus Thai Restaurant is surprisingly elegant inside with dark paneling, carpeting, simple colorful art on the walls. The taped music is Ann Murray softly singing old favorites. I think incongruous for an Asian restaurant, Lorri says—how international. We order phad thai and red curry from the luncheon special menu (reasonably priced, promptly served). Phad thai is one of my personal favorite foods of all time. Once I start eating it, I can’t stop. Lotus Thai’s version is not the best I’ve had, but I dig right in. Lorri is very impressed with the red curry—very tasty—just the right amount of hot. Each meal is served with salad (too much dressing) and spring roll (adequate but a little doughy). We enjoy the placemat printed with Thai language phrases: Chok-Dee means good luck; Aroi-Mak, very delicious. Halfway through we feel quite full and decide to take home part of our meals for leftovers but—before we know it, we’ve finished off both our plates. A sign of good food—too good to stop eating.

Verdict: Surprisingly elegant atmosphere; good food. A nice place for a fast lunch break getaway. Beer and wine available for dinner.

Food question of the day: What is the origin of curry? Most experts say that curry is an Indian word that was adopted by the British after they arrived on the subcontinent in the 17th century. Others say that curry (meaning spiced stew) had been in the English language for 200 years before that. For more detail on the controversy see–

http://www.menumagazine.co.uk/book/curryhistory.html