We found out the hard way that Silver Creek is closed on Sunday evenings, so we went around the corner to Siam Terrace. We’ve always liked Siam Terrace and tonight only boosted our opinion of this awesome Thai restaurant. We started with their Pot Stickers. They were quite tasty. We were both feeling adventurous, so Sarah opted for Mock Duck with Curry and I tried their Lava Trio, which is shrimp, crab, scallops, and calamari fried up with mushrooms, onions, and sweet red chili. We also split their excellent Pineapple Fried Rice. Both meals were outstanding. Easily the best Thai cuisine we’ve had since…well, since the last time we were at Siam Terrace.    

Tonight we finally made it to Pasha in the Village Green Plaza at the corner of Windsor and Duncan in Champaign. The Mediterranean cuisine at Pasha came highly recommended by friends, however the recent bout of snowstorms has kept us local for the past few weekends. But the sun came out today and we planned a shopping/dining trip and hoped the crowds would be thinned by folks staying home to watch the Daytona 500. On that score, we were right; very light crowds everywhere today.

Unable to decide on one appetizer, we got two. The Tzatziki was ok, but not as tangy as the awesome tzatziki at Parthenon in the Greektown neighborhood of Chicago. It went ok with meat, but was rather weak on bread alone. Our other appetizer, the Feta Cheese Plate, was quite good. Very fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and slices of feta all drizzled with olive oil and garnished with black olives. Good stuff.

For dinner Sarah got the Beef Mediterranean, which was beef sauteed in a tomato based sauce with green and red peppers, tomatoes, onions, and potatoes served with rice. She was disappointed. The beef was quite chewy, like stew meat, and the sauce was rather plain. I ordered the Pasha Special, which is a mixed grill of gyro, chicken kebab, shish kebab, and Adana kebab (ground beef and lamb). It was served on bread with rice. I wanted a chance to try several meats, and the Pasha Special works perfectly for that. My meal was outstanding. The meat was perfectly cooked and very tasty. Both meals were also quite large. We brought home enough for another meal.

So Three Spoons for our first visit to Pasha. With so many interesting items on the menu, I’m sure we’ll be back soon.

Note: Pasha’s entrees fall between the Family and High End category, with most in the lower range.

Tonight we stopped in at the Flat Top Grill on 6th Street in Champaign. Flat Top Grill is basically do-it-yourself stir fry. You don’t do the actual frying, but you assemble the ingredients and sauce. You can have your stir fry with rice, on a salad, with Mu Shu rolls, or in a soup. There are more sauces than you can shake a chopstick at, so concocting the perfect sauce takes some practice. Still, with some many veggies, sauces, and meats, you’d be hard pressed to not find a tasty combo.

Tonight we both had stir fry with rice. Sarah went with a peanut sauce and chicken, I mixed sweet and sour, plum sauce, and Korean BBQ with beef and pork. I also had a TsingTao beer. Both meals were delicious, although we learned that you really need a good 3 or 4 ladles of sauce, as recommended by the staff, to get the right flavor. The website has several interesting suggestions for combining sauces. A little research before you go could make all the difference in your meal.

The pricing scheme at Flat Top is a bit odd. Lunch is about $5 less than dinner, although the size of the bowls is identical. The difference is that at dinner, they have seafood (shrimp, catfish, calamari) available as well as meat. If you don’t like seafood in your stir fry, you can save some bucks by stopping by for lunch instead of dinner. Also, the unlimited bowl is just $1 more at dinner, while it’s $2 more at lunch. The only reason I can see for going with the unlimited bowl is if you wish to try two completely different things and only fill each bowl partway. Either that, or you have one heck of an appetite. 

The Champaign Flat Top Grill is just off Green St in Campus Town, and as such has a mainly student clientele. This is reflected in the choice of music. Personally I could do without rap music with my dinner, but I guess you play to your main audience.

So Three Spoons for Flat Top Grill. Excellent stir fry (if you mix it right) and fast service. Do your homework before you go.

Tonight we returned to Bangkok Thai to give them another try after the disappointing first trip. It was much less crowded tonight, so we got a table right away. Tonight we started with the Egg Rolls, which were served very hot and fresh. The egg rolls themselves were tasty, but the sweet/spicy sauce that came with them completed the picture. Very good.

I decided to try the Combo Fried Rice. I’ve always like fried rice and usually get it along with some other entree, but tonight Sarah and I decided to get the fried rice and the General Tso’s Chicken and share meals. The fried rice was okay, although I’ve certainly had better. I got the impression they made up a big batch of fried rice earlier in the evening and just kept it warm. It just wasn’t as fresh as I’d like. The General Tso chicken was good without being too sweet. Together with the fried rice, it made a decent meal. And this time we actually brought some home. So for this trip Bangkok Thai just squeaks a Three Spoons rating.