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October 16-22, 2008
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• Culinary courier
Columbus’ historic voyages changed the world’s menu
by Bill Daley
• Food Bites
Food happenings around town
No leap of faith
Buddha Café will have you rubbing your belly
by Clay Fong
Mindful of provoking a deity’s wrath if I dislike the food, I fear restaurants named after religious figures. After all, who isn’t intimidated by omniscience and omnipotence? Perhaps this concern best explains my hesitation upon entering North Boulder’s ecclesiastically named Buddha Café, although one acknowledges this deity’s innate gentleness. Once I was inside, this eatery’s welcoming neighborhood vibe eradicated any fears that my criticisms could create a karmic deficit. The colorful but not garish décor helped me relax, as did the staff’s quiet and earnest manner.
A comfortingly predictable Thai menu offered the expected array of curries, rice plates and noodle dishes. Like many Thai restaurants, prices are based upon which protein you choose as your meal’s foundation. For example, let’s say you want to try the pad kra prow, a stir-fry of pepper, onions, carrots and basil in chili sauce. If you want this dish with tofu, it costs $8.95. If you’re feeling flush, you can get the deluxe seafood version consisting of shrimp, squid, mussels and scallops for $12.95.
At lunch however, there’s a multitude of $6.95 specials, regardless of protein choice, and friend Lisa and I both ordered from this value menu. A hot-and-sour-style soup was included in our lunches, and it had a deep peppery flavor that outshined the typical thin broth with a few small tofu cubes all too common to Thai restaurants.
Next, we savored the $12.95 Super Combo Appetizer plate, a throwback to the pupu (platters of yore). Showing more of a Pan-Asian than exclusively Thai bent, this Far East smorgasbord included cheese and crab wontons, chicken satay skewers, egg rolls and an original creation called Buddha Golden Bags, consisting of fried wonton skins wrapped around potato. Although the satay sauce suffered from oil separation, the appetizers were all hot and flavorful, and Lisa happily popped one of the crisp wontons in her mouth, rhetorically asking, “What’s not to like?”
For her entrée, Lisa requested pad thai, the benchmark noodle dish spiked with pepper, lime juice and peanuts. Her requested spice level was mild which, in retrospect, was a misstep in our ordering. The low spice level failed to do this dish justice. The noodles were texturally fine and all the other ingredients, such as the crisp and cool bean sprouts and soft-steamed tofu (it’s also available fried), were fine examples of their type. Unfortunately, our self-inflicted lack of heat prevented this dish from reaching its full potential.
I’m a curry man, and I ordered a green version with chicken and medium spice. This level of hot was just right, adding bite without discomfort. While less salt would have nicely rounded out the flavor, this version still delivered the proper balance of creamy coconut milk and pepper that draws me to Thai food. It’s also worth noting the jasmine rice was properly cooked with a slight firmness that complemented the chicken’s tenderness and the creamy curry sauce.
While it’s not fancy or high end, the Buddha Café succeeds as a low-key neighborhood spot where you don’t have to dress up. It’s certainly no leap of faith to say this restaurant offers decent ethnic fare at reasonable prices. As the weather turns colder, it will be an ideal spot to enjoy a humble but rib-sticking meal of warming curry.
Buddha Café
2719 Iris Ave., Boulder
720-565-0506
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Clay’s obscurity corner
Lemongrass
One of the highlights of the lunch at the Buddha Café was a refreshing lemongrass soft drink. This cold beverage resembled a less-tart lemonade tempered with just the right amount of sugar. Lemongrass also contributed a subtle floral perfume that added depth and complexity to the flavor. But what exactly is lemongrass? Not a fruit, it’s a grassy-looking herb used to add flavor to several Southeast Asian dishes including Tom Yum soup. The flavor resemblance to lemon is attributable to citral, a naturally occurring chemical compound found in plants such as lemongrass and lemon verbena, as well as in citrus fruit.
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