Restaurant Review: Pinto Thai in Normal Heights

We stopped last week into the brand new Pinto Thai Restaurant (it’s been open maybe a month), on Adams Avenue across from Rosie O’Grady’s.  Anyone who’s lived in the area can tell you that the their location (most recently a BBQ place) has not proved to be a particularly good one for restaurants; it’s been a kind of revolving door for the last several years.

That said, we had remarked in February about the dearth of Chinese, Japanese, and Thai restaurants in the immediate vicinity.  Oh, sure, you can go down to El Cajon Boulevard or University, or down into Mission Valley, but Normal Heights, while dotted with decent Mexican restaurants, has been lacking that essential Asian element.  So we were thrilled to see that within a month of our declaration, Pinto Thai and a little hole-in-the-wall Chinese (surprisingly decent, but probably not lasting, since no one seems to ever be inside) both sprung up on Adams.  We must be psychic!

Pinto Thai wedges restaurant and kitchen into a postage-stamp tiny storefront, boasting seating for twenty inside if everyone gets reeeeaaaally cozy.  There’s also a small patio, but the traffic on Adams Avenue doesn’t make that idea very appealing.  The decor inside the tiny place is cute – it wants to be upscale traditional and we think it almost makes it.  Perhaps if the restaurant is actually around in a year or two, the owners can spend a little extra money finishing the “upscale” part.  That said, it’s pleasingly cozy and inviting.

Their menu is extensive, covering all the basics but adding some chef’s specials to the mix.  The prices are on par with other higher-mid-level Thai restaurants we’ve visited, ranging from about $6 to about $12 per plate (depending on the chosen meat).  We ordered an appetizer and two entrees: the chicken satay and Pad See You, both mainstays on Thai menus everywhere, and the chef’s special pumpkin curry.  We also ordered a couple of Thai iced teas.

The iced teas arrived first – and although they’re very similar in taste everywhere, we’re used to getting very little tea in our very small cup full of ice.  Pinto Thai’s iced teas, though, were huge – easily over 20 ounces – and went easy on the ice.  Let’s just say that we could have been full on the tea alone.  A split is in order next time!

The satay arrived soon after, pairing a four pieces of beautifully-cooked of chicken on sticks (and, really, who doesn’t love food on a stick?) with a truly peanut-y peanut sauce.  Most peanut sauces, we find, taste too much like sweet peanut butter; this sauce had all the beautiful nuttiness of peanuts without the cloying sweetness.  In fact, we loved the subtle tangy nuance at the end of each bite.  There was also a small dish of marinated cucumbers.  Eaten together, the trio played off each other’s strengths – we came away with a sense of perfect balance between sweet, tart, spicy, savory, and nutty flavors.  Our one complaint: the peanut sauce seemed just a little too greasy, like perhaps it should have been sopped up before serving (just like peanut butter separates, the sauce seemed to have a bit of peanut oil on the top).

Then came the entrees.  She had ordered her favorite Thai menu item – Pad See You (or Pad Se Ew) – a rice noodle dish tossed with broccoli, eggs, and brown sauce, and added chicken.  She says that she really gets a sense of how a restaurant cooks its dishes when you try your favorite item; but like every Italian’s spaghetti is different, every Thai’s Pad See You is different.  So she tries to keep an open mind.

The Pad See You from Pinto Thai was lighter than usual – with a tan-colored sauce rather than a dark caramel, which was refreshingly different.  He actually remarked that he doesn’t typically like Pad See You (heresy!) because it’s too “burnt”-tasting for him.  This, however, was pleasingly sweet and salty, with no charred bits of noodle mixed in.  The chicken – incredibly juicy and not a bit rubbery – was liberally included in the dish (many a plate has been eaten of Pad See You with three tiny chunks of rubbery chicken!).  The broccoli – often undercooked – was toothsome and sweet.  She was greatly impressed.

He ordered the chef’s pumpkin curry – with big beautiful hunks of pumpkin and red bell pepper floating among vibrant green basil leaves in a bright red curry sauce – and added duck.  Now, we both love duck.  If you read our review of Bite Bistro in Hillcrest, you know how much we adore a well-cooked piece of duck.  Unfortunately, we’re not as fanatical about large pieces of duck fat and skin.  Especially when served in a bowl of curry – where it’s next to impossible to separate the meat.  It’s nothing against duck fat or skin – and we know a lot of people really love the stuff – but neither of us really enjoys the texture.  So the curry – while tasty – suffered from an unfortunate propensity toward fatty duck. 

It also was not labeled as “hot” (or even “medium”) on the menu – but we’d ask for it mild when you go, unless you were bottle-fed the stuff.  As curry usually is, it was sweet and peppery on the tongue – but going down the throat it became quite hot and was surprisingly hard to finish.  Not because it didn’t taste good (it did); we just like to retain the lining of our esophogeal tracts.

By the end of the meal, we were too full to even consider a plate of sweet rice and mango – although we did notice that the table next to us quite enjoyed their beautiful dish of the stuff.  We had leftovers for lunch the next day and full stomachs (even if the curry did leave us slightly scarred).

The service at Pinto Thai was prompt and friendly (in fact, they seemed to be even a little too concerned with their customers – perhaps because they’re so very new?), the menu was extensive and creative (there were even several salads to choose from, not a strong point on many Thai menus), and the food was plentiful and excellent (just don’t expect the curry to be mild unless you ask!).  And, even though the space is tiny, we noticed several people coming in to pick up takeout (just don’t ask them for a takeout menu because they don’t have them; call ahead or come prepared after checking out their website).  The only part of the place that we didn’t like, overall, was the fact that something in the kitchen kept cycling on and off and making the overhead lights sort of sputter (as the electricity is often stretched in our house between appliances and lighting); we think they may need to invest – sooner than later – in some updated wiring!  But it’s definitely a cute neighborhood place with good food worth checking out.  Maybe if enough of us do so, Pinto Thai will stick around in that space for a few years!

Restaurant Deal: Bleu Boheme’s “Early Bohemian” Prix Fixe Menu

We know, we know…  We already have raved enough about the fabulous Bleu Boheme restaurant in Kensington.  But we can’t help it – we had to post this incredible dinner deal!  If you have a free early evening, it’s well worth checking out the delectable early dinner prix fixe menu they began offering a few months ago.  At only $22 per person for three courses, this is a great value on fabulous food.  Trust us on this one, okay?

We decided at the very last second to take a trip over to Bleu Boheme – she got home late from work, he didn’t feel like cooking, and he thought it might be fun to go over to Kensington on a Friday night.  It probably goes without saying that our arrival at 5:57 barely squeaked by as qualifying for the prix fixe, but the staff was incredibly accomodating.  Even though they were all booked up for the evening at their cozy “regular” tables, they were able to seat us at their bar, right next to the drippy candlestick.  Our only complaint about that seating arrangement was that the bartender seemed to be spending more time flirting with a couple of women at the other end of the bar, so she had to ask twice for her drink, but overall the service was still exemplary even at the bar.

For appetizers, we ordered one french onion soup and one salad.  Now, one thing to note is that their appetizers for the prix fixe are significantly smaller than their regular portions – we’ve had the onion soup before and it came in a huge rammekin.  The size of this soup was much more manageable as an appetizer, and came with just the right amount of cheese (we found it too cheesy in the entree size, in the past).  Full of beautiful robust onion flavor, this soup hit the mark perfectly.  The salad, too, was smaller than an entree size.  It was fresh and tasty – but we found it to be extremely heavy on the dressing.  She took her first bite and had to wipe the (tasty, even for non-bleu cheese lovers) dressing off her chin.  It seemed as though there was more dressing than lettuce, which was a bit disappointing.  Our reccommendation would be to definitely order the dressing on the side.

For our entrees, we ordered one Boeuf Bourguinion and one Koulibiac de Salmon.  The beef stew was incredible, with large tender chunks of meat and vegetables in a tangy wine gravy.  The salmon was equally delectable, in a puff pastry lined with a mushroom paste and spinach and served with perfect mashed potatoes.  The salmon was well-done, and so was stronger than seared fish, and the pastry was quite rich and topped with a cream sauce – but it was surprisingly easy to eat.  We didn’t feel overly full at the end of the meal (although we did have enough of the beef stew to bring for lunch the next day), but we did feel satisfied.

Dessert was a small scoop of chocolate mousse garnished with a mint leaf.  It was cloud-light and airy, with an intense chocolate flavor that ensured the evening end on a high note.  The serving looked paltry at first, but was just the perfect amount to satisfy without stuffing.

There are several choices for each of the first two courses, and the second course was full entree size – at less per person than some of the regular menu entree items!  Definitely worth a trip to Kensington for a great deal at one of our favorite restaurants!

Mini Review: Jyoti-Bihanga in Normal Heights

First of all, we apologize for dropping off the face of the planet.  We actually have a bunch of reviews saved up – just no time to post them.  We promise to add more reviews as soon as there is time…  But in the mean time, here’s a quick one, cut short by the fact that we ended up getting take out rather than sitting down for a full meal.  Still, it was worth a mention (and a shorter review, by far, than the others we’ve failed to type up thus far).

On Monday (henceforth classified as the most God-awful hot day of the year, when it was 85 degrees at midnight at our house with all the windows open), we had taken a drive (mostly to be in the air conditioning) and had no desire to cook.  Driving down Adams Avenue, he suggested stopping at Jyoti-Bihanga, a vegetarian restaurant run by a strange spiritual group but specializing in some incredible veggie cuisine.  Now, two things: veggie cuisine can be incredible, so don’t send nasty e-mails telling us how inedible tofu is; and just go there with an open mind about the group, I think they’re generally very peaceful and loving (we once attended a free concert given by their now-deceased leader, which was truly bizairre, but that’s a tangent we need not bring in).

The first thing to know when you go to Jyoti-Biyhanga is that parking is tough.  Like, you’ll be driving around for a long time.  Don’t tempt fate and park in the liquor store parking lot next door – there are signs all over the place that say you’ll get towed.  We scored rock-star parking across the street, but you might have to park down one of the always-crowded side streets.  Like anywhere off Adams Avenue, they’re lined with large apartment complexes that boast plenty of living space but no parking spaces.  Just trust us this once: it’s worth driving around a little bit.

The restaurant itself is welcoming, with high ceilings and an open feeling.  The tables, however, are covered with easy-to-clean-but-ambiance-free sticky plastic tablecloths.  This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t go and eat here (we have before), but know that this isn’t a white linen affair.

Happily, neither are the prices!

Most menu items will run you between $4 and $10.  We ordered a (generous) entree-sized portion of their homemade “neatloaf” (which also can be ordered vegan – sans milk and egg products) and mashed potatoes and an entree salad.  Within seven minutes, our food was packed up and ready to go and we were out the door $20 poorer (including tip).  Considering the fact that, at so many other places, an entree alone costs over $20, we were pleased.  If you’re strapped for cash, you could easily eat here for under $6.

We got home and unpacked the food, and the first thing we noticed was how flavorful everything smelled.  The neatloaf gave off a really sweet, nutty smell complimented well by the mushroom gravy on the mashed potatoes.  The red lentil vegetable soup (an optional side for the neatloaf) smelled full of veggies and not full of salt.  The very fresh salad was paired with a tangy honey mustard dressing (they have four or five to choose from).  It looked and smelled delicious.

And the taste did not disappoint, either.  The neatloaf had a fabulous texture and mouthfeel – like a real “meat” loaf with veggies mixed in – and did not have the typical soy aftertaste that so many veggie protiens do.  It was covered in a gorgeous sweet glaze that almost mimicked barbeque sauce.  On its own, the glaze was too sweet; on its own the neatloaf was nice but nothing super-special.  Together, they were magic.  And paired with the mushroom gravy and fresh mashed potatoes, it was like stepping into grandma’s house, if grandma’s house served only veggies.  The two worked together so well and the comfort food factor was over-the-top amazing.  The only thing we didn’t really “get” was the slice of buttered grain bread wrapped in foil alongside the dish, but it did go quite nicely with the soup.

The red lentil vegetable soup was a daily special, and since the neatloaf came with soup or salad and we were ordering a salad separately, we decided to try it.  Her only complaint was that the texture was almost smooth – like someone took a blender to half the soup but left chunks in the other half – and it was a little bit confusing.  The flavor, though, was fresh and well-balanced, with a hint of tomato and a satisfying lentil punch.  It would have made a fabulous light lunch or dinner.  Best of all, and unlike most soups we find in restaurants, it was not salty.  It wasn’t bland – but it didn’t cover up the beautiful vegetable notes with gobs of sodium.

Last was the gorgeous Enchanted Garden Salad, a mixed vegetable entree full of bean sprouts and shredded carrots and cucumbers and zucchini and cherry tomatoes.  The vegetables were all fresh, and although we’re big fans of home-grown tomato flavor, everything at least tasted good (the tomatoes were standard restaurant tomatoes, though).  The real kicker was the honey mustard dressing, which managed to be tangy and sweet (just as honey mustard should) and not too mustard-y.  There were hints of sesame oil and some slightly Asian notes to the dressing, giving it an interesting flavor that kept us pouring on more (we’re not big dressing people and we really used a lot of it that night).

Overall, Jyoti-Bihanga provides a truly good product that you can feel good about eating – their attention to detail and flavor is a refreshing change from “standard” vegetarian fare.  There is nothing fancy about this place or their food – but you won’t go away hungry or craving a hamburger (which can sometimes happen when eating veggie fare).  The bonus is that you can eat good food for cheap.  Just put your white-glove expectations to the side.

Edited to correct the spelling of the restaurant’s name and to add the name of the salad.