Spoon

 

The Westside branch of Spoon is a modern, trendy space located near Georgia Tech.  I went there for lunch around 1pm one day and is was half-packed.  The menu is fairly standard for a Thai restaurant - curries, stir-fries and noodle dishes with some seafood specials thrown in.  I won't go on about how authentic the cooking is but the family who runs Spoon is from Bangkok, so that should mean something.

My friend and I split the tempura veggies to start.  The dish contained a healthy (or not so healthy) portion of battered and fried onions, sweet potatoes and summer squash.  The batter was not as light as Japanese tempura I have had and slightly greasy.  The veggies were tasty though and we managed to eat them all.

Panang curry is one of my favorites but I decided to try something new.   I went with the Ginger Stir Fry plus extra vegetables and tofu.  I also requested that it be a little spicy.  When my lunch was served, I was pleased to see the amount of different vegetables included - broccoli, carrots, squash, mushrooms and onions.  Slivers of ginger added extra ginger flavor beyond the sauce and the chili level was low.  The texture of the tofu was mushy rather than chewy but I guess it was just quickly pan fried.  The portion size was perfect for lunch and I would have been full even without the starter. 

Spoon is a decent lunch option and the price is fair.  At dinner, the prices are higher and specials are closer to $30.  Their menu is available on their website although some of the information about the restaurant is not accurate due to some errant cutting and pasting of content and a failure to edit.  

*Disclaimer - I failed to ask if my dishes contained fish sauce but the cooks are willing to accommodate dietary restrictions.