Wild Papaya And The Perfect Curry

I am continually amazed at how much I have learned about the restaurant industry from writing a food blog for nearly three years. Of course, it seems obvious that if you study something for that length of time, you would naturally pick up a few things along the way, but that honestly wasn't why I started Exploring Food My Way. One of the two most important lessons I've learned so far is that despite your server being the primary point of contact with a restaurant when choose to dine out, slow or "off" service can be caused by far more than just the server's lack of experience or enthusiasm. Knowing when to legitimately gripe about service takes time to develop.

The other important lesson I've taken away from this experience is the extreme volatility of the food service industry as a whole. Servers, cooks, chefs, heck, even the restaurant itself can be there one day and gone the next. I know a server who in one year worked in thirteen different restaurants. That isn't to say that there aren't some longtime stalwarts that have been around for forty, fifty, or even one hundred years (restaurants, not servers). These are clearly the exception to this generalization.

Back in February of this year, fellow photographer and camera salesman extraordinaire Dan at Campus Camera, upon finding out that I write restaurant reviews advised me about a restaurant that was serving up great food, Shorty's Subs and Salads. Even better, the restaurant was just down the road from the camera store. I didn't have time to try it that day, but I returned with a few days to find the restaurant oddly dark at a time when it should have been open. Between the time Dan had told me of the restaurant and a short while later, they had closed up shop.

Fast forward eight months later, I happened to be driving down Main Street in Kent when I drove by the old Shorty's location only to discover something had opened up in its place. Curious, I pulled in to discover Wild Papaya Thai Cuisine. My attention firmly gotten, I noted that it was roughly 5:30 on a Sunday evening and I was suddenly hungry ... for Thai food. I parked my car and approached the main door:


Wild Papaya Thai Cuisine was located at 1665 East Main Street, Kent, OH 44240 and can be reached at 330-677-0916. Parking was in the large lot in front of the building. You can check out their web presence by visiting their website or their Facebook page.

Since I never managed to eat a meal at Shorty's, I was unfamiliar with how the interior looked before Wild Papaya took over, but I have to say that the decor was quite contemporary with a bit of traditional Thai art thrown in for good measure. When I arrived, I was one of only two tables that were occupied. I'm happy to say that within thirty minutes, another six or seven tables were seated.

My server left me with the rather sizable menu in order to take care of recent arrivals at the hostess stand:








As I looked through the menu, I saw a lot of the usual suspects: Pad Thai, Tom Yum Goong, Chicken Satay, just to name three. But I also saw some dishes that were more indicative of a serious commitment to stay true to traditional Thai cuisine. While the menu also listed several Chinese dishes (to be more accurate, I should call them Americanized Chinese), the Thai dishes looked far more interesting. I decided to start out my meal with the Tom-Sum (papaya salad):


Staying with the traditional version of this salad, tonight's dish was made with green papaya which had yet to ripen. Thus, the fruit wasn't particularly sweet (think green tomatoes versus ripe tomatoes). The papaya had been shredded thinly along with carrots and had been dressed in a dressing of nuoc cham -- typically a mixture of lime, fish sauce, chile, cilantro, sugar, and rice wine vinegar. This combination of flavors gave the papaya "slaw" the qualities of sweet, salty, spicy, and acidic. All of the flavors were nicely balanced and the spiciness of the chile was quite subtle, yet still present.

The two yellow hunks of meat placed on top of the salad were chicken that was hot, juicy, and nicely grilled. I could tell based on the flavor of the chicken that this was the same protein used for the satay appetizer. The salad was actually quite large and could definitely be split among two or three diners. My only complaint was that two pieces of chicken seemed a bit light for the amount of salad on the plate. A third piece would have rounded this salad out to the point where one person could eat it for their entire meal.

As I was contemplating what to order for my entree, my server helpfully suggested the Siam Duck. She indicated that it was one of the cooks specialties. While I was a little leery of the $17 price tag, I decided to go ahead and trust her suggestion. A few minutes after finishing my papaya salad, this appeared at my table:


Accompanying my entree was a bowl of Brown Rice:


Before I talk about the Siam Duck, I would just like to go on record as saying I really appreciate an Asian restaurant having both steamed white AND brown rice available for diners. While I certainly don't mind white rice, I know that brown rice is slightly better for me and knowing that it is available, I will always order it over the white. To make it even more enticing, Wild Papaya gave me the choice of either to accompany my meal at no extra charge.

Anyone who has ever watched me evaluate a meal for the blog knows that I rarely dig into a dish thoughtlessly. If the protein has a sauce on it, I taste it. I tend to taste components of the entree before taking the all-inclusive bite. I had been hesitant to order an expensive entree (one of the most expensive on the menu), but upon getting my first taste of the yellow curry, my taste buds exploded with nervous energy signalling the "YUM!" center in my brain. I suddenly realized I was in for a epicurean roller coaster ride.

The sauce was complex, sweet and salty with a hint of vinegar to balance it out. While the menu listed the dish as being served at "one chile pepper" which meant hot, I asked for the dish to be served at "two chile peppers" meaning hot and spicy. While I certainly could've handled much more heat, the spice level was a nearly perfect match for the extraordinary savoriness of the sauce. Honestly, gentle reader, you could have put that sauce over a leather boot and it would've been good.

The duck, which had been clearly finished in the deep fryer due to the crispiness of the skin, was moist and juicy and the skin was crispy without being greasy. Because duck has a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, it must be rendered off during the cooking process or else the result is chewy, rather unpleasant fat that is often better removed than consumed. Tonight's duck wasn't the best I had ever eaten, but I would say it was deftly prepared and tasted very good. Combined with the yellow curry, it was an absolute home run. The broccoli, while steamed, was a bit on the lukewarm side and while the squash and zucchini were softened from the steaming process, the carrots were crunchy to the point of being noticeable.

Those minor quibbles aside, whatever I didn't finish at the restaurant (which was about half), I took home with me and eagerly consumed the next day for lunch. While not as good cold as it was hot, just the thought of the curry sauce accompanying the Siam Duck made my mouth water like the unwitting subject of a Pavlovian experiment.

Dinner tonight at Wild Papaya Thai Cuisine wasn't inexpensive at roughly $28 for my meal with water and tax. That being said, I had enough food for two complete meals at $14 each which isn't bad if you are watching your wallet and need a place to split dinner for two. While this might be a tad on the pricey side for your typical Kent State student, it also means that the place won't be overrun with college students looking for food on the cheap.

Needless to say, I recommend that you give Wild Papaya Thai Cuisine a visit to try out the Tom-Sum and Siam Duck for yourself. I currently live on the west side of Akron and I would be more than willing to drive the thirty minutes each way just to have another dinner there. Of course, now that I have tasted this amazingly wonderful curry, in order to try other items from the menu I will undoubtedly have to bring friends with me when I return; hopefully they'll be willing to trade a bite of heaven from my plate for a bite of theirs.

Grabbing A Nosh At Nosh Eatery

I first learned of Nosh Eatery & Creative Catering many months ago from my longtime friend and partner in the Veggie-Vegan Project, Paul. We had been discussing potential restaurants to include in the project and Paul had heard that Nosh was to have a fairly good vegetarian and/or vegan selection. He also knew that they would be based out of Hudson, but unfortunately, that was the extent of his knowledge. Fast forward to Labor Day at the beginning of September and I found myself at the annual Taste of Hudson again. Per usual, I made my cursory walkaround of the entire event before deciding which booths I would visit. Wouldn't you know it? Nosh was one of the booths.

Based on the strength of the food at the Taste of Hudson, I finally got around to stopping in for a bite to eat at their actual location. Their storefront was south of downtown Hudson quite a bit and located at 5929 Darrow Road, Hudson, OH 44236. They can be reached at 330-650-6674 and they have the usual trio of a website, Facebook page, and Twitter account so that you can keep track of them.

Nosh Eatery was among a group of four businesses occupying a small building. As usual, the shared parking lot was more than ample and I had little difficulty finding a parking spot. Here was a shot of the storefront for Nosh Eatery:


Once inside, I was asked if my order was for eating in or taking out. After indicating that I would like to eat in, the woman behind the counter gave me a paper menu and told me I could sit wherever I'd like. I picked the table furthest from the front door (to minimize the mixed lighting), sat down and proceeded to study the menu:



In addition to the options on the menu, daily specials had also been chalked onto a board hanging above the coffee machine on the back wall.

I decided to start out my meal with one of the soups du jour, a Bowl of Tomato and Basil Soup:


The soup was piping hot, had just a bit of texture to it, and had a deep tomato flavor. The soup had been pureed, but not completely as there were still small bits of tomato to be found within. The garlic and basil flavors complemented the soup nicely. In lieu of crackers, the soup had come with a small grilled flatbread quarter that had been seasoned with salt, herbs, and of all things, caraway seeds. It was inventive and delicious and if there was anything to complain about for this dish, it was that the dish only came with one of the "crackers."

While many of the sandwiches caught my eye on the menu today, when I saw that today's special was a Philly-style Cheesesteak, I decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a try:


Filled with luscious expertly grilled cuts of beef shoulder, caramelized onions and peppers, sauteed Chanterelle, fresh thyme, and Havarti and Gruyere cheeses, this was a sandwich with which to be reckoned. The roll (part of a baguette from Great Lakes Baking Company just up the street) was split, buttered, and then grilled to not only give it texture, but also prevent the roll from "sogging out," a dilemma many other sandwich places have yet to solve. From my first bite to my last, I enjoyed this sandwich immensely. It was hot, melty, chewy, earthy, beefy, and savory. If someone had said, "make a Philly-style inspired sandwich but elevate it," this would be the result. The only criticism I might levy would be that the portion size seemed a little small for $7.75.

Inspired by the flavors up to this point and noticing that Nosh's Facebook page had advertised fresh cobbler today, I asked about the dessert selections. Indeed, fresh Strawberry Cobbler had been baked earlier in the day:


Rewarmed and plated, the cobbler was accompanied by fresh chevre-infused whipped cream and a small scoup of buerre noisette ice cream. The plate was finished with some powdered sugar and small streaks of raspberry coulis. I remember the whipped cream from the Taste of Hudson and while you could taste the goat cheese flavor in that version, today's whipped cream was a bit lacking. The brown butter ice cream, however, was heavenly. The cobbler itself was infused with lots of strawberries and if the cobbler topping had been a bit more cake-like in consistency, it would have reminded me more of a clafoutis than a cobbler.

Overall, I found the cobbler to be just borderline on the sweet side -- a cup of black coffee or an espresso would have cut the sweetness to the perfect amount. That being said, I finished the entire portion and would have no qualms ordering -- or recommending -- this dessert again.

My meal at its inevitable conclusion, my server brought me the check and before tip, it came to $16. While I did question the value of the cheesesteak sandwich, everything I had eaten today at Nosh was fresh, hot, and quite frankly, delicious. As was made evident on the daily specials board, today marked the fifty-fifth day of operation. I'd suggest you give them a visit soon so that they can add many more numbers to that ticker.

Authentico Mexicano, Por Favor, Sin Queso

People often ask me where I get the inspiration for the restaurants I review. Most often, I review what is around me: where I work, where I live, where I go on vacation. Sometimes I stumble upon a restaurant out of sheer dumb luck. Other times I have readers email me and tell me of a place that I haven't reviewed that I just have to try. A very important part of my information gathering process is reading other food blogs. You may have noticed the list of blogs I follow on the right hand side of this blog. I link to those blogs because I think the authors have something interesting and relevant to say and want to encourage you to them out for yourself.

Just recently, I came across a food blog started at the end of June, Dreaming of the Next Bite, that I hadn't linked to and when I went to check it out, I discovered a fellow native Akron/Canton blogger who is interested in covering the local restaurant scene. As I dug into Yvette's blog, I stumbled across several restaurant reviews that she had done in the North Canton area that sounded very interesting. But it wasn't until I came across her review of Jojutlas Mexican Grill that I sat up and took notice.

What caught my eye were two very important distinctions between Jojutlas and nearly every other "Mexican" restaurant in the area: fresh corn tortillas grilled in-house and the very prominent lack of cheese melted over every single menu item. Now, don't get me wrong, gentle reader, I love Mexican American as much as the next gringo, but I know better (and when pressed, most servers of Mexican/Latino/Latina origin will admit) that using gobs of melted queso fresco is an American adaptation.

My whistle thoroughly whetted by the idea of a queso-free meal, I made the trek down I-77 to the Portage Street exit (The "Strip" is off of Portage Street). You will want to go west on Portage Street until you see the Rockne's road sign. Jojutlas Mexican Grill was in the building directly behind Rockne's. Technically the restaurant was located at 4934 Portage Street, North Canton, OH 44720 and can be reached at 330-470-0037. In addition to their website, they also have a Facebook page.

After parking in the ample lot out front, I approached the front of the restaurant:


Inside, I discovered another refreshing surprise: a menu consisting of just a few choices that were simple and straightforward:



Most Mexican American menus that I've seen are usually loaded with a myriad of options from which to choose. Tonight, the decision was narrowed down to between the fish tacos that Yvette had tried in her review and the Tacos al Pastor. Ordering at Jojutlas was a cross between a Chipotle-esque process and a full service restaurant. I placed my order at the window under the hanging menu and told her which sides I wanted along with any additional condiments (e.g., salsas). I then paid for my meal at the other end of the line, took my drink and receipt, and sat at the table of my choice.

Within just a few minutes, one of the servers ran my food to the table and checked to make sure there wasn't anything else she could get me. Here were the Fish Tacos with my included side of Mexican Rice:


Here is a closer shot of the Fish Tacos:


The whitefish had been breaded "Azteca" style, fried until golden brown and crispy, sliced and stuffed into the homemade corn tortillas along with a jicama / red pepper / radish slaw, greens, and a drizzle of chipotle mayonnaise. Although the tortilla near the edge of the plate was a bit torn up, the other two were perfectly round and pliable. I picked one up, took an enormous bite and began to chew, allowing the ingredients to roll around in my mouth.

The heat from the fried fish was nicely balanced with the coolness and crispness of the slaw. The mayonnaise added a little bit of creaminess and spiciness to complement the other flavors. The tortilla was expertly made, adding a subtle "corniness" and was amazingly tender. Honestly, the only criticism I had was that the taco could've used just a touch of lime juice to really make it sing. Something as simple as including a lime wedge with the plate would've taken this from good to great.

For my included side, I decided to go with the Mexican Rice:


"White" rice was also available, which according to the woman taking my order was white rice with lime and cilantro. The Mexican Rice was fresh and each grain was tender and had a flavor that was unlike the versions of this style of rice that I've eaten at other Mexican restaurants. I quite enjoyed it.

Since additional sides were minimally priced, I decided to add beans to my dinner, too. My choice was between black beans and pinto beans ... I went with Black Beans:


The beans were whole and as such, had a textural element to them (as opposed to the more traditional frijoles refritos). The taste was also quite good, again a bit unusual but delicious. The beans had a rich earthy flavor that can only come from a long cooking process. Between the rice and beans, I managed to finish all three tacos and about half of each side.

In the end, my meal with the extra side of black beans and a bottled water came to roughly $10 before tip and tax. I should mention that because you pay after you order and before you sit down, it was a little weird leaving a tip before I actually had service. I paid with my credit card tonight, but if you have cash, you can leave a tip that is appropriate for the service you receive at the conclusion of your meal instead of prior to eating it.

So how would I rate this little out-of-the-way restaurant? Pretty highly, actually, and recommend that if you are in the mood for something a little more authentic and a whole lot less cheesy, drive down to North Canton and check out Jojutlas Mexican Grill for yourself. I know that I am already anticipating a return to try the Tacos al Pastor.

Making Time For Thyme

When I first heard John Kolar's name mentioned on the old Cleveland Plain Dealer's Food and Wine forum several years ago, it was being associated with a new venture out in Medina, Ohio, called Thyme - the Restaurant (warning: gratuitous use of Flash). I knew the eatery was an upscale kind of place, but unfortunately, I don't get out to Medina all that often (which is a shame, really, since there are so many great places to eat there). Happily, as I collected my camera bag and walked out to my car after work last Friday, for some reason, it seemed time to finally check out Thyme.

Reservations are a mixed bag with me. When it is just me going out for a meal that I intend to review here on the blog, I tend to eschew reservations if I think I can get away with just showing up unannounced. This ensures complete anonymity and impartiality. However, if I think I might have difficulty getting a table (Friday night at 7 PM qualifies), I will go ahead and make a reservation, sometimes under a different name. Knowing that the chef or general manager often checks the reservation books before dinner service starts, my last minute decision at 6:30 PM on a Friday night to eat at this time made this last point moot since unless the person answering the phone knew me by name, it wouldn't have changed my experience.

Thyme was located about a thirty minute drive from Montrose at 716 North Court Street, Medina, OH 44256 and can be reached at 330-764-4114. When I saw the street sign for the restaurant,


I pulled into the moderately crowded parking lot. Having been around in the mid 70s to early 80s, I immediately recognized that the building was a converted and modified Red Barn restaurant. The entrance to the restaurant was actually facing the parking lot:


Once inside, I marveled at the re-purposed space. Through the main doors to the left was a small bar area. The rest of the inside space was devoted to tables, which while cozy, didn't give you the feeling that you were sitting on top of your neighbor. During better weather, a covered patio was also available. Lighting was pretty dim, but fortunately the hostess sat me at a table with a small, but bright incandescent lamp pointed straight down onto my table. She left me to look through the menu:




After taking my order, my server promptly returned with several items for me. First up was a basket of herbed focaccia and a ramekin of softened butter:


The focaccia was fresh and delicious. I didn't bother to ask if the focaccia was house made, but it didn't particularly matter since it was so tasty. The softened butter had a slight sweetness to it and while it matched the slight saltiness of the bread, wasn't required to elevate the flavor of the bread.

The kitchen also sent out a small starter, an amuse bouche, to get my meal off on the right foot:


This was a warm potato and leek soup that had been drizzled with just a touch of chive oil. I raised the glass to my mouth, tipped it back, and drank the entire contents in one gulp. While nothing fancy, it was seasoned properly and the flavor had a pronounced potato and leek essence to it. The chive oil added a small amount of spiciness, but nothing overwhelming. This was definitely a nice way to start the meal.

Always a sucker for gnocchi, especially homemade gnocchi, after seeing that an appetizer-sized portion was available on the menu, I decided to start my dinner adventure with a pasta course:


This was Porcini Gnocchi with Sauteed Spinach, Mushrooms, Porcini Cream Sauce, and a Balsamic Vinegar drizzle. The texture of the gnocchi were ethereally light, occupying that wonderful spot between having a satisfying chew versus dissolving in the mouth. On some of the less coated pieces, I could taste the potato, another great indicator of being freshly made. The mushroom flavor was quite pronounced and while the fattiness from the cream sauce coated my tongue, the acid from the vinegar helped to cut through it. My only complaint was that when I finished the pasta, I was about to reach for a slice of the focaccia to mop up the remaining sauce when one of the food runners swooped in and removed the plate before I had a chance to do so.

Interestingly, my gnocchi had shown up mere minutes after placing my order. In between my appetizer and my entree, however, the wait was a bit longer. It probably only seemed excessive because the gnocchi had come out so quickly. Soon enough, my server returned with my main course, the Double Cut Grilled Pork Chop with Poblano and Bacon Macaroni and Cheese, Asparagus, and Smoked Onion BBQ Sauce:


I had asked for the pork to be cooked to a "medium" temperature and it was. The pork was flavorful, juicy, and seasoned properly. While some of the asparagus spears were a bit thin and wispy, overall they were grilled and seasoned nicely. The smoke flavor in the BBQ sauce was nicely present, but not overwhelming. The pork was nicely complemented by the sauce. However, the big winner on this plate was the poblano and bacon macaroni and cheese. Nice and crusty on top and creamy everywhere else, this was an incredibly delicious version of this American staple. The pasta -- straight up macaroni noodles -- was perfectly cooked and wasn't mushy in the least. While I know that most anything is better with bacon, the addition of the roasted poblano added a subtle sweet and spicy element that really worked.

Having nearly cleaned my plate before indicating that I was finished, my server asked if I was interested in seeing the dessert menu. I figured that since I had already experienced such great success with the regular menu, the desserts must be on par. Right? Here was a shot of the dessert menu:


When I looked at the menu and realized that Thyme only had four desserts, two of which were pretty routine -- namely the creme brulee and molten chocolate cake -- I was actually a bit disappointed. Coming to grips that my choice would be between a cheesecake and a pumpkin mousse, I figured that the Toffee Cheesecake with Candied Almonds, Bruleed Banana, and Toffee Sauce would be the more interesting of the two.

As I've mentioned before, when I anticipate eating something sweet, I will often pair it with something bitter, like espresso or coffee, which was exactly what I did tonight:


The espresso was properly brewed, with full crema floating on top of the murky, bitter liquid sitting below the surface. While I appreciated the raw sugar cube, I skipped it and went straight for the twist of lemon.

Fortunately, only a few moments after my espresso arrived, my dessert made its way to the table:


While the plate definitely gets props for verticality and use of multi-textured components, sadly, this plate could've done with a color outside of the "brown" family -- a sprig of mint would've done wonders to break up the monotone theme. The toffee sauce was pleasant and tasted like, well, toffee. The bruleed banana was nicely caramelized. The candied almonds added a nice textural element.

The toffee cheesecake had its good and bad points. While not overly sweet, it was also a bit "vanilla." I didn't get a whole lot of toffee flavor in the cheesecake and honestly, it needed something to counterbalance the sweetness of the dessert -- perhaps sour cream would have helped. Maybe if the caramel on the banana had been cooked a bit darker, the inherent bitterness would have contrasted better with the sweetness. It just needed ... something. Don't get me wrong, gentle reader, it wasn't a bad tasting dessert. It was just kind of unremarkable considering the level of food I had enjoyed until that point.

The check with tip and gratuity came to just under $50 tonight. Was it worth it? Yes, I think it was. Given that the only non-stellar part of my meal was the dessert (and by non-stellar, I don't mean bad), I would definitely return for another meal at Thyme - the Restaurant. I don't know that Medina has any other restaurants within city limits that are executing food at this high of a level. If you live in Medina and want a wonderful dining experience, definitely check out Thyme. If you live outside of Medina, I still think it is worth the trip.

Hopefully the desserts will attain the same level as the rest of the food in the future.