About this time each year, I start thinking about moving to
Thailand. The lowering gray skies, the blustery 4:30 p.m. twilight, and
the dank procession of soggy mornings all make me pine for the gentle
waves of the Andaman Sea and the heat of a fragrant green curry with
just a kiss of sweet basil. Instead of braving the 20-hour flight to
Bangkok, though, I just stuff myself with as much Thai food as possible
during the long winter months.
It’s no easy thing to run a Thai restaurant in a city where there
are hundreds of them, and even extraordinary cuisine sometimes seems
mundane simply from overexposure. That’s why cozy Buddha Belltown is
such a nice surprise. With just a handful of tables, a convivial bar,
and a dance floor for late-night festivities, this Thai restaurant aims
to be more than just another noodle shop competing for your pad kee
mao dollars.
Managing partner Monte Clark, who
purchased this review through
the holiday magic of Strangercrombie, told me that he and his
partner set out to do things differently. They started with the
menu, which is admirably lighthearted. A much friendlier kiss system of
spiciness supplants the traditional star scale, and evocative,
titillating language enlivens the description of each dish. My friend
and I couldn’t resist the Lovely Rad Nah ($9) for example, enticingly
sketched as “sensuous stir-fried, wide rice noodles and a medley of
vegetables in a thick, sweet, yet surly bean sauce.”
But beneath the menu’s fanciful descriptions lies a passionate
dedication to authenticity. The chef ran a restaurant in Bangkok for
many years, and our congenial server told us that the restaurant’s goal
is to offer “real” Thai food. Not Thai fusion. Not Thai/American. Just
plain old delicious, satisfying Thai.
The magnificent pad thai ($9) proves they’re doing something right.
Instead of dousing their noodles and tofu with a tomato-based sauce,
Buddha Belltown features an authentic Thai recipe. Their homemade sauce
incorporates tamarind paste, which adds a pleasing bite, a hint of
smokiness, and a depth that tomato-based sauces simply don’t
approach.
Sadly, too many restaurants turn the glory of fried tofu into
something that looks (and tastes) predigested. Buddha Belltown serves
it up light and crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. In our
appetizer plate, the Karma Sampler ($10), the fried tofu came with a
garlic peanut sauce that was so perfectly spicy, sweet, and sour that I
poured the remains of it over my pad-thai noodles. Also gracing the
Karma Sampler were delightfully crisp fresh spring rolls, and a few
nuggets of Cuddly Crab Darlings, which decadently combined crab and
cream cheese in a deep-fried pouch.
Then it was time to begin eating in earnest. The steaming bowls of
noodles, curries, and stir-fries that arrived in happy profusion were
uniformly tasty and well presented. A few sprigs of cilantro stuck up
like tiny trees from the Luscious Larb Salad ($8.50), a spicy, salty
mixture of ground chicken, lemongrass, red onion, and fresh lime. When
I closed my eyes, I could hear the bleating horns of the
tuk-tuks near Siam Square.
The steaming bowl of Massaman Curry ($9.50) transported me even
farther south, to the placid shores of the Gulf of Thailand, where fat
coconuts ripen on the towering palms. The chicken and potatoes in this
rich, sweet, curry were tender, with just the right amount of spice to
keep things interesting. And I’ll definitely be back for the chef’s
favorite Pad Nam Plik Pao ($9.50), crispy pieces of fried chicken in a
gravy of soy and oyster sauce, chili paste, with a hint of sugar that
makes this dish taste like entrée and dessert all in one.
Directed by Buddha Belltown’s chef, we sampled nine dishes and
quaffed several varieties of cocktails from the extensive bar menu. At
last, we couldn’t eat another bite and it was time to go. Returning to
the wet reality of the Northwest, we barely felt the chill wind
whipping down Second Avenue. What better testament to the pleasures of
dining at Buddha Belltown than to say that my friend and I left
stuffed, soused, and thoroughly contented? 