Friday, May 4, 2012

PINK SLIME INVADES THAI RESTAURANT IN TERRE HAUTE

EXOTIC THAI
1295 S. 3RD STREET
TERRE HAUTE, IN 47802
812-232-8898

The ONLY reason I am writing this is so that some other poor souls don't fall into the,  "I wonder if that Thai place is any good?" trap.
The place is called Exotic Thai and it is in Terre Haute, Indiana.
I have relatives there and have driven by it many times wondering what it was like. When I checked on line earlier in the year there were mostly very positive reviews on Yelp and UrbanSpoon. So when my usual haunt (Sushi Umi Grill) wasn’t open for lunch, myself and a couple of friends decided to give it a try. YUK, YUK and Gag! Lunch specials come with a soup, kind of a mild chicken broth with some onion in it, that was OK. When I say OK I'm being very kind.  They also come with a small salad with a kind of thick sweet dressing that was also OK as well.  For my entree I got spicy basil noodles, A.K.A. drunken noodles or Pud Kee Mau elsewhere. These were very different, with egg noodles instead of rice noodles. It was pretty bland to say the least. But lets get to the best part, THE PINK PAD THAI! It looked like a slimy pile of vomit deposited on the plate by someone that had downed a bottle of Pepto Bismol after eating some noodles and a little bit of chicken. Despite my visual revulsion I tasted it and, WOW, it was just sickly sweet with no other apparent flavor other than nasty! It got sent back and they still tried to charge us for it, but they eventually took it off the bill. By the way it was ordered with tofu not chicken anyway!  After the fact, I did some more searching for what Jamie Oliver has now coined as Pink Slime, and found my digust for this place is not alone!

GREAT STEAKS AND MORE IN TERRE HAUTE AT J. FORD'S

J. FORD'S BLACK ANGUS
502 SOUTH THIRD STREET
TERRE HAUTE, IN 47807
812-235-5549
What is it about Terre Haute?  Every time I mention that 60 minute or so trip out west on I-70 to someone they get that "look" on their face.  I remember driving there to visit friends that had gone off to Indiana State University many years ago, remembering the "smell", and not the other fun times that were had.  Well thank you EPA, it doesn't reek anymore, and the place actually has some bright spots.  Get out of the city and there are lots of nice little lakes, and a couple of great golf courses.  They are re-vitalizing the downtown area with some new shops and restaurants and they have a world class Children's Museum.  Head north on 41 at I-70 a few blocks and you'll find J. Fords Black Angus, a fine dining oasis sitting smack dab in between two motor lodges and across the street from THE WORST THAI RESTAURANT that I have ever had the displeasure of visiting.  J Ford's, on the other hand, is a "worth the drive" dining destination experience.  Chef/Owner Jeff Ford was previously the head chef at the Country Club of Terre Haute and took the top prize in a competition against 11 other top country club chefs.  Jeff and his wife Kelly opened J. Ford's in 2007.   We had a reservation for a group of six, dining out to celebrate my niece's amazing dance performance on a weekend night and the place was packed.  We had a short wait and were seated in the main dining room.  There also is a private dining room for groups/special events that had some festivities going on.  The atmosphere is appropriately dark and has a 50's/60's sophisticated lounge vibe to it.  Sinatra and some of his fellow crooners provided some background music via the ceiling speakers.  It was probably just our location, but Frank and company could have been turned down a few db's to allow for more comfortable conversation.  I'm sure that if we would have asked they would have done so.  J. Fords offers a full service bar with a nice beer and wine selection as well.  The menu offers just the right number of appetizers, soups/salads and entrees to choose from, it would be nice to see a blow away creative vegetarian entree on the regular menu.  A nice size chalk board lists the evenings special offerings.  We started off with a smoked salmon "pizza" appetizer with a horseradish sauce that was out of this world.  Dinner salads were crisp and just the right size to prepare our pallets for the main courses.  My Mother enjoyed her Airline Chicken Breast with wings attached, ready for take off.  My niece devoured her tempura battered fish that was one of the specials.  My Brother chose the enormous bone in Cowboy Ribeye which was delivered perfectly medium rare as ordered.  J. Ford's beef comes fresh from Chicago's Stockyards, which also provides their fine products to lots of great Midwest restaurants including Indy's own St. Elmo.  How crazy is this, I'm in a Black Angus restaurant and I ordered seafood.  Not usually a good move, but when my Brother saw that the Sea Bass was one of specials offered he insisted I get it, plus he promised to share his steak.  WOW.  It was expertly cooked and served with a super flavorful sauce that complimented, but didn't overpower the fish.  The service was professional and attentive without being clingy.  Now let's get to the bottom line, so to speak.  The pricing is upper deck with entrees in the $24 to $42 range.  Considering the top notch service, atmosphere and superior quality of all the ingredients, that is money well spent.  A great place for a business dinner, date night or a special evening with friends and family.  Next time I will get the Pork Belly, which I couldn't take my eyes off of at a neighboring diners table.