Time for Thai

Every once in awhile I get a hankering for a papaya salad that I can't shake but the last two I have head were not the papaya with peanut combo that I craved. I set out to Lime to discover if my fantasy could be realized.

Lime is a neighborhood joint that is a good option if you want thai in clean, non-neon surroundings. The menu is straightforward with the typical noodle dishes along with an assortment of curries and beef/chicken/shrimp dishes that contain variations of basil, lemongrass, chilis and lime. The service was friendly and accomodating, albeit not very bright (maybe "dim" is the theme!), but who needs bright and informative when you have a (papaya) vision?

Things that were ordered by me: papaya salad and red curry shrimp
Things that were ordered by my friend: chicken satay and chicken fried rice

I got the papaya salad and there were not peanuts nor peanut sauce but the papaya was fresh. The sauce, however, was VERY spicy, in fact as I got to the midway portion of the meal I started to worry a bit about my ability to follow up this spice with more of the same (the red curry has chili peppers in it). I kept pluggin away though, despite my burning tastebuds as if with short term amnesia--my thoughts resting on the cooling powers of papaya and forgetting the sauce in which it was coated. It was amidst this cool/hot cycle that I realized that this was in fact the sensation I had the last two times I ate papaya salad, at which point BAM! I realized that the peanut papaya salad I remembered may in fact be an imposter..much like "Chinese" food in America. So, long story short, I need to stop fooling myself and just go for the noodles or chicken if I am really just looking for a vehicle for peanut sauce.

My red curry shrimp was delicious, the shrimp could have been a little plumper but the sauce was light and the vegetables cooked but still with some crunch.

My friend said his chicken satay was good (and I tried his peanut sauce--I think I have an addiction) and his rice was fluffy with thin flat pieces of chicken which were such a nice change of pace from those unsatisfying little cubes that have been known to pop up.

Now that I have accepted the papaya concept I can move on and focus on the overall Thai food experience and in this case the food experience was quite pleasurable. I could see myself going back there again but the more imminent act I will take will be putting this delivery menu at the top of the Thai pile.

Let's talk tacos

I am getting very tired of the guacamole and chips push. I went to Dos Caminos "would you like our specialty guacomole?" Then to Papatzul, a new place in SoHo, "How about guacomole and chips?" (first 5 minutes at table), "Would you like a drink or some guacomole?" (7 minutes into table seating). ENOUGH! If mexican restaurants are going to survive in New York they need to stop having the guac crutch and start taking themselves a little more seriously.

What I want is La Esquina food without the wait (their cheese-encrutsted corn and fish tacos would not be held at the border were there to be bombs strapped to them).

ANYway, some Mexican restaurant news I have to report is this: Papatzul (55 grand st.) is not worth a visit (crappy service, overly-sweet sangria and unappealing menu) but La Palapa (6th ave off of Washington Pl) is. Yes, the fish in my tamale was overcooked, but the fish tacos (hunks of fresh tilapia) were delicious and the tamarind margarita a grand invention. Other perks were the accomodating waitress, tacos a la carte and the sinfully indulgent queso fundido with chili.

In short, I'm still looking for some Mexican food I can rave about, but in the meantime I will settle for La Palapa where I can sit down, have a drink and enjoy decent food without the avocado push.