I've just started reading The Gospel of Food by Barry Glassner. In the first chapter he cites a study to support his assertion that enjoyment is undervalued in the science of nutrition. The study compares iron absorption in two groups of women, one group Thai, the other Swedish. When both groups are served the same Thai dish that the Thai women enjoyed and the Swedish women found too spicy, the Thai women absorbed more iron. The same held true in the reverse when both groups were served Northern European fare. Also, when both groups were served a flavorless paste that was high in nutrients, neither group processed much iron at all.
Since reading this, I have, of course, been craving Thai food. So today we finally paid a visit to Bulan Thai on Melrose. I'm sure you've probably already been there. It used to be called Busaba Thai? It had a wonderful write up in the L.A. Times last November? Lest you haven't, I must tell you, this is not your neighborhood Thai joint. And if it is, I am so freakin' jealous.
We ordered pretty basic Thai restaurant fare. As I sat down in the warmly stylish little room with the dark wood tables to wait for my picnic, I was feeling guilty about my hurried, boring order, consoling myself that next time we would have both the eggplant salad and crispy rice salad, and busaba pumpkin, and crisp fish with green apple. With coconut custard for dessert. This time, I just rushed in to grab takeout for Paul and I to enjoy in the kid-friendly great outdoors, you know the manicured lawn of the Wattles Mansion in Hollywood? We ordered sate, golden tofu, grilled dumplings, and papaya salad. I'm glad that we ordered such mundane fare because eating dishes that we had eaten in a hundred different Thai restaurants really made clear the fact that this food is good. It is anything but mundane. The flavors are sophisticated and refined. The presentation thoughtful. (I know, I know, you can't tell by the photo.) This food is lovingly, beautifully crafted. In addition, everything on the menu is vegetarian and the vast majority of items are clearly marked as either vegan or capable of being made vegan.
The golden tofu is four large rectangles of fried tofu served in a sweet tart tamarind sauce that contrasts with the round warmth of the toasty onions and dried chilis that rest on top. The papaya salad is fresh and crisp and spicy. The grilled dumplings are soft with a meaty filling of vegetables and tofu. The sate. The sate...is so good. So good that I found myself eating it without the peanut sauce. Usually I think anything dipped in peanut sauce is better. Actually one of our usual dishes at home is just a big pot of peanut sauce with various things to dip in it. (I'll show you sometime...it's good stuff.) But this sate was steeped in flavor, delicious flavor. Coconutty, with warm spices. Go, eat it. Mmm, feel those tasty nutrients coursing through your system.
