The Leptologists Eat at Thai Mango

Paul: Thai Mango or Bangkok Grocery and Restaurant?
Candice: Are you in a Thai mood today?
Paul: Apparently. Which of those two sound good?

Interior

Candice: I could eat some Thai food. Let's go with Thai Mango.
Paul: Done. Thai Mango is on Bethel Road, across from Graeters in Northwest Columbus, about fifteen minutes from downtown.
Candice: I like the sophisticated interior.
Paul: The dark wood is nice.
Candice: The dining room is empty and it's 11:30. Not much traffic here today. By the time we leave only two other tables are occupied.

Gyoza Dumplings

Paul: The menu on the web was scanned in with Optical Character Recognition. The four beverages that don't allow refills say "(no refills)", "(ho refills)", "{no hefills)", and "(no refIlls)".
Candice: They got it right a quarter of the time.  Nerd.
Paul: Our waitress Jennifer memorizes our order. I'm always impressed when waitstaff don't need to write things down.
Candice: I order Shu Mai, the Calamari Salad, and Panang Curry Chicken.
Paul: I order Gyoza--

Calamari Salad

Candice: Of course!
Paul: --Chicken Tom Yum Soup, and Basil Chicken Fried Rice.
Candice: Both lunches come with Spring Rolls and they are the first to arrive.
Paul: They are tasty, but not fresh. Probably not made in-house.
Candice: I'm guessing not. They are hot and crunchy, but not made from scratch.
Paul: Your calamari salad arrives and looks very interesting.
Candice: And here are the gyoza and your soup. The soup looks awesome.

Panang Chicken Curry

Paul: How's the salad?
Candice: Sweet and tangy and the texture is not too bad. It's okay. I don't care much for cold calamari.
Paul: The dumplings are generic. The exterior is doughy and bland.
Candice: Yes, but they taste not too bad.
Paul: "Not too bad"? You're just hungry.
Candice: Probably so. They are a bit greasy too.

Tom Yum Soup

Paul: Wow! This soup is incredibly spicy. It's almost too hot to eat. It attacks the throat and invades the sinuses. Very nice on a blustery, chill day.
Candice: Let me try. Oh, yes, that is strong soup, but very good.

Basil Chicken

Paul: The entrees and the Shu Mai have arrived.
Candice: The Panang Curry is excellent. The sauce is good: creamy, spicy, and hot. My nose is running now.
Paul: And the Shu Mai?
Candice: Meh. Not anything to write home about, but not too bad.

Shu Mai

Paul: There's that phrase again. My basil chicken fried rice is all right. I expected the chicken to be more finely chopped. And the amount of Thai basil is less than I have liked. The rice is too sticky and squishy.
Candice: Maybe "all right" is too generous.
Paul: Well, I ate most of it. It could have been better to be sure.
Candice: That sums it up, doesn't it?
Paul: Yes, you're right about that.
Candice: It's a cute little Asian bistro. We got what we expected and nothing more. The best part was your soup. Everything else was--
Paul: --not too bad.
Candice: Yeah.
Paul: Was it worth the price?
Candice: Sure. Nothing we ordered was over six-fifty.
Paul: Worth the wait?
Candice: Not really. No one was here, but I wouldn't drive fifteen minutes for this lunch.
Paul: Worth coming back?
Candice: Only if I was in the vicinity.
Paul: I agree on all counts. It's a nice Thai place, but nothing too spectacular except for the soup. I'd not seek it out, but if I was in the mood for cheap Thai food and was across the street then, yes.
Candice: I guess we should have picked the other Thai place.
Paul: Maybe next time.
Candice: No, I think we've had enough Thai for now.

	Candice	Paul
Worth the Price?
Worth the Wait?
Worth Coming Back?

Spring Roll