Friday, June 26, 2009

Spiral Gang Does Best Thai

Andy, JayRay, Sarah, Eddie G, Nicolas, Erin


The best part about dining with my Spiral Diner buddies, aside from getting the chance to chat about the latest vegan happenings in the city, is having the opportunity to feast at any of our favorite veg-friendly establishments to share meals we wouldn’t typically order for ourselves.

On our latest excursion, we hit up Best Thai in Addison. The restaurant is known to offer a wide selection of vegetarian dishes, many of which are (or can easily be made) vegan. But as Drew mentioned on his review of the place, Best Thai also provides a completely separate vegan menu with some unique faux meat creations.

So at our table full of seasoned vegan palates, we slapped on our bibs and went to town on some awesome vegan eats!



Veggie Dumplings: These delicious little snacks were gone in seconds! Each dumpling was filled with a vegetable paté and served with a sweet soy glaze.



Best Thai Fresh Salad Roll: Your basic summer roll (lettuce, carrots, etc.) served with a house peanut sauce. The rolls were fine, but I wasn’t crazy about the sauce. I generally prefer a heartier peanut sauce to accompany this particular appetizer, but everyone else seemed pleased with its consistency.



Spicy Eggplant with Soy Duck: Okay—few of us are duck experts. I apprehensively ate real duck once in Germany (out of respect to the family I was staying with), but I vowed to never eat the stuff again. That said, the dish was not bad. I did find the eggplant to be a little overdone, but we all thought the flavors came together quite nicely.



Soy Salmon in Panang Curry: The favorite of nearly everyone at the table. I, on the other hand, loathed the dish! I grew up on the coast, so something about fake seafood just freaks me out. But if you're into faux fish, make sure to order this curry without fish sauce.



Peanut Special Soy Duck: This sweet and savory dish is made with fresh vegetables, choice of protein, house peanut sauce, and topped with crunchy peanuts. While I found the sauce too light for dipping, I felt it was right on the money in this stir-fry. The gang didn’t seem to love this dish as much as I did, so I snagged the last little bit of it and let them battle for the salmon.



Crispy Spicy Soy Beef: Pan seared soy beef with a sweet and spicy soy glaze. We ordered one serving at level 3 heat, and another at level 5 (the highest). I favored the spicier one—and I’m sure Jamey would’ve inquired about a level 10 had he been there.



Pineapple Fried Rice with Soy Ham: A large serving of rice with pineapple cuts, tomatoes, scallions, soy ham, and topped with carrot shavings. The ham was a little Spam-ish in texture, but the taste was dead-on.

All this food for just $15 a head (generous tip included)—what a deal!

I suggest you guys check out Best Thai this Sunday. Since both Spiral Diners will be closed for their annual family vacation (scoops on that later), I can’t think of a better place to stuff your face with so many fabulous vegan dishes!



4135 Beltline Rd., Suite 112
(972) 386-3353



9 comments:

Jamey said...

I will absolutely have the Crispy Spicy Soy Beef level 10 next time - that looks awesome! I can't get past getting the "Duck" every time.

Oh, and they also have a vegetarian buffet every 1st Sunday, so since Spiral is closed July 5th as well - I think Best Thai sounds like a good idea...

Eddie G said...

As JayRay would put it -- *sho nuff* :D

Jen said...

wow, just wow. i've been craving panang for a while now, and now i just want it more.

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

Sweet, delicious Thai food! I never got to hang around Dallas that much so this entry makes me long for home.

miss v said...

wow! i had thai last night for din-din, but it was nothing like this. those faux-meat meals look fantastic. i've never had real duck... but i'm diggin on the crispy spicy beef.

Anonymous said...

this place looks delicious! wish there was on in los angeles!

Drew said...

Love it!

Classy&Sassy said...

Yo, that crispy soy beef looks awesome!

Also, Thai2Go, the place I wrote a first look on for the CofA earlier this week, offers soy meat...so maybe that would be a good place for a visit?

Eddie G said...

No way, Lisa--that's awesome!