I haven't dined at Brookside Thai in some time, though friends keep telling me to go there. Last time was way back before their renovation which has made the restaurant much more appealing.
Located on what I call the Broad Street Restaurant Row in Bloomfield, Brookside Thai is worth a trip. Had dinner there a couple of weeks ago and got take-out the other night. We were very happy with both.
The first night we had appetizers of Tod Munn Pla, which is minced king fish and string beans blended with red chili paste, deep fried, served with cucumber sauce and ground peanut and a special Shrimp Roll which was shrimp marinated in fresh cilantro sauce that is wrapped in thin rice sheet, golden fried and served with plum sauce.
I thought the Tod Munn Pla, a favorite of mine, was good, tasty, but a little too firm in texture. The Shrimp Roll was fantastic we really liked that, almost ordered another.
The appetizers and entrees are reasonably priced, we all appreciate that these days.
For our entrees we had Kao Pad Kra-Prow Seafood fried rice with fresh basil, chili, garlic, with shrimp. You can get it with shrimp, calamari or mixed. This was so good.
And we had the Massaman Curry with avocado, that dish was delicious also. It was always favorite of mine at the old Deja Vu in Montclair which made the dish with avocado, since then I have found that most Thai places serve it with out avocado, much my disappointment.
Apparently I am not alone in this see the Chowhound thread Massaman Curry with Avocado evidently avocado is not a traditional Thai ingredient.
With dinner we drank a St Urbans Hof Riesling Qba it is a delicious and very reasonable winr that landed #56 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2008.
It benefits from some air to reveal its floral, apricot and slate aromas and flavors. This is a really great wine for asian food and it can be found in many NJ wine shops.
On our take out night, we had the Kanom Jeeb appetizer,Thai steamed dumplings: marinated shrimp, pork and mushroom served with a special sauce.
Pad Cee-Ew,stir-fried flat rice noodles in black bean sauce with garlic, egg, Chinese broccoli, we chose the beef but it can be had with chicken, beef, or pork.
Pad Puk Boong Fai Dang, stir fried Thai watercress in black bean sauce and fresh garlic.
Pad King chicken sauteed with ginger, black mushrooms, sweet peppers and scallions.
All were very good except the Pad King which I thought was just OK.
Brookside Thai
Authentic Thai - family friendly cooking
380 Broad Street at Pitt Street, Bloomfield, NJ 07003
973-566-0057
Open Every day
Monday to Thursday
11 am to 10 pm
Friday and Saturday
11 am to 11 pm
Sunday
11 am to 10 pm
(Monday - Friday:Closed 3 pm - 5 pm)
I just had dinner at The Tewksbury Inn in Oldwick last night.I must tell you something is not right here. The first sign of trouble was the exterior porch entry that was in dire need of scrapping and repainting. The second sign was that on a Sunday nite I called up and asked if I could still get my table even though I was to be 30 Minutes late and they said, sure, we can accommodate you.
Well,I ordered a bottle of Robert Biale Zinfandel and at $80/bottle you would think it was properly cellared. Wrong, this bottle was ice cold and when the young waitress uncorked the bottle it had crystals formed on the underside of the cork. Not good. They offered to decant and it was corked, so another bottle was brought out and it was better.
The Port Judith Calamari has always been a
standout for its cornmeal crusty exterior but not this dish. The recipe and the execution has changed and not for the better. Limp and unappealing this is not what I remember as a former standout app.
My daughter ordered the Papardelle and normally she tears through her pasta, not last night. The pasta was limp and unappealing and she said didn't taste very good. That's a nine year old's perspective.
I ordered the leg of lamb and when the dish arrived I was unclear what the protein was. I have previously had leg of lamb and this presentation had excess fat and was not prepared as requested medium. It was only saved by a decent wine reduction with good flavor. The meat was lifeless and fatty.
My wife had the chicken bistro which previously was another standout dish, not tonight. It was overcook and dry. She is a midwestern girl and for her to not eat the mashed potatoes you know there is a real problem. We ended with servicable strawberry shortcake and my wife had a cappucino, which she preferred not finishing because of its lack of flavor and
weak taste.
Overall, we were extremely disappointed in one of our old time standbys. It seems that they changed the wallpaper in the main dining room and forgot to check the front entry for wear as well as the stairways, which showed old, dirty carpeting in need of
refreshing. So if anyone can shed some light on this place. PlEASE DO. Regretfully, we will not be going back and will not recommend to anyone.
Posted by: Peter Kingsly | Monday, June 22, 2009 at 10:29 AM