The 'Fat Man Review' has been on hiatus for the past couple of years. Diet and all that... you know! Well I decided it was time to make a comeback in the food critic game; as I see 'The Skinny Man' has made a triumphant return recently and I don't want him to be the only voice of fine food and dining in the greater Edmonton area. I mean, he's skinny; what the fuck does he know about food. He's like the Ethiopians, the only thing he knows, is that with his obvious pencil thin figure; he doesn't have enough (do you see the venom that comes from one losing night of poker?).
I have been trying to give you a little glimpse of MDW's daily cooking, however; on the odd occasion (like any day with the word day in it), we dine out. Last night MDW had not one, but two 'things'; so we decided to try the Thanh Thanh Noodle House. It is located on 101 St. and 107th Ave, basically kitty-corner from the Brick. My esteemed colleague; 'The Skinny Man' is a big fan of the Thanh Thanh and highly recommended it to me. His last recommendation was the Boualong Laos and Thai Cuisine, which is simply the best Thai food in the city in my opinion. So I figured that the Thanh Thanh would be another winner. Not so fast skinny boy!
To begin with, trying to park on 101st street at 5:00 sucked. We ended up parking in the back at a pay parking lot. I don't mind paying for parking, however; the area scared the hell out of me. Being out of the bubble is always a little nerve wracking for me.
Now, I will admit that there is nothing wrong at all about the Thanh Thanh. The food was good, tasty and plentiful. The restaurant itself was very nice and spacious. The service was excellent as the waitress was prompt, friendly and helpful. The food was cooked faster and served to our table faster than any restaurant that I have ever been to. It was amazing. And you all know that I have 'time issues'. I don't like sitting around chit chatting and leisurely drinking a carafe of wine. Come to restaurant, sit down, take my order, bring food, eat, pay, leave. That's my idea of a great meal. That is what is was like at the Thanh Thanh.
We started with spring rolls and they were the same as the spring rolls I cook in my french fry maker. Not great, but fine.
Diana had a vermicelli bowl, with chicken and shrimp. The bowl was full, however; it was a smaller bowl than the usual Vietnamese restaurant which we frequent. The vermicelli was good, probably as good as the same dish at the other place. I ordered sizzling chicken and onions, with steamed rice. It was good, but not anywhere near as good as the sizzling dishes I order at the Ninh Kieu Restaurant. The sauce that the sizzling dish came in was not overly tasty. There was lots of chicken and lots of rice.
The main difference between the Thanh Thanh was in the price. As I said, Diana had the vermicelli bowl and the cost was comparable, however; it was a considerably smaller portion. My sizzling dish was much more expensive than my usual order. I usually order sizzling seafood and I get rice included, for about $15. The same sizzling dish at the Thanh Thanh was $22 plus $2.50 for rice. My sizzling chicken was about 3-4 dollars more than I pay at the Ninh Kieu.
Now, money is not always a big deciding point for me. How good the food is, is much more important. In this case the cost of the food, plus the fact that the food did not blow me away, leads me to be not all that enthralled with this establishment. Would I go again? Perhaps, depending on the circumstance. Would I make a point of going? No, probably not.
DDDD
MDW BBQ'ed a wonderful hamburger on Tuesday. She always cooks them on the Big Green Egg and the smokey flavor really comes through. On the burger we had the usual toppings: fresh tomatoes and onions, bacon, lettuce, cheese, BBQ sauce, mustard and relish. It was fantastic. I did my part by peeling, and cooking french fries in the; basically, oil-less cooker. I LOVE THESE FRIES. Cooking four big potatoes in one tablespoon of oil is great. Burger and fires: can't beat it.
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