Mara Ginsberg - HER LIFE Magazine

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cravingsBlue Spice ThaiBy Joanne DiMarcoPhotos by Todd Bissonettefor By Todd Joanne Bissonette DiMarco PhotographyPhotos by Todd Bissonette forTodd Bissonette PhotographyWhen Angela, the publisher of HERLIFE Magazineasked me to review Thai cuisine, I thought,oh please no. Thai food outside of a big city isusually disappointing. Then I remembered Blue Spice Thai.They have a location on Central Avenue in Albany and a secondlocation in Clifton Park. I met the Chef/Owner, Teddy Somboon,when he won the Iron Chef competition at the March of DimesSignature Chef’s Auction last year.My companion and I surprised them on Wednesday night.Luckily, they had a copy of HERLIFE on the coffee table in thewaiting area, so I opened the page to the review and my pictureand told them I was there to write about Blue Spice Thai. Themanager promptly came over to welcome us and sat us on abanquette in the dining room. The restaurant is decorated in arelaxing shade of, you guessed it; blue with a beautiful waterfeature down the center of the dining room. I knew we werein for a treat when I looked at the menu. Along with typicalThai fare, there was a list of house specialties, as well as anextensive seafood selection, and appetizers and salads, all withtheir own unique twist.I began my meal with the Fresh Basil Rolls. The combinationof crispy carrots, spicy cucumber, aromatic basil andrice noodles made for a light, delicious, fresh tasting flavorexplosion, finished perfectly with the honey tamarind sauce.My companion’s Kanom Jeeb Dumpling was a tasty morselof ground pork and shrimp in a steamed dumpling finishedwith fried garlic and cilantro honey soy sauce. My companionsampled the Singha Beer that he compared to a lager and enjoyedimmensely. If there was one thing I would have changed,it was the wine list. There were only two options available bythe glass, Sterling Chardonnay and Sterling Merlot. I opted forthe Chardonnay. To be fair, the “by the bottle list” was moreextensive.We moved right on to the main course and my SiamChicken was both beautifully presented and incredibly delicious.It was almost addictive. I couldn’t stop eating it. CrispyChicken in a spicy sauce that combined tamarind, peppers,26 HERLIFEnewyork.com
tomatoes, fresh pineapple and basil, all served in a hollowedpineapple boat. My companion order Beef Pad Thai andalthough he enjoyed the flavor, as soon as he tried my SiamChicken, he quickly switched over. There was plenty for both ofMy Raspberry Lemon Dropwas good and refreshingwith lemon soaked cake,raspberry filling and a pastrycream on the top, but theFried Ice Cream with plumsauce was to die for.us and I took some home for lunch the next day.For dessert, I opted for something called a RaspberryLemon Drop while my companion tried the Fried Ice Cream.I was really glad I shared my entrée with him since dessertbrought a reversal. My Raspberry Lemon Drop was good andrefreshing with lemon soaked cake, raspberry filling and apastry cream on the top, but the Fried Ice Cream with plumsauce was to die for. The tartness of the plums was the perfectcomplement to the smooth ice cream and the crispy coating.It was a warm night, so instead of a cup of hot tea, I had theIced Thai Tea unsweetened, although I was tempted to try theGinger Lime, sweetened version. It had a unique flavor fromthe ginger that enhanced impeccably the deserts we chose.I seldom mention price when talking about a restaurant,but in this case, it bears mentioning. Our dinner includingdrinks, tax and tip was $72. For a threecourse dinner of this caliber with drinks,I was impressed by how affordable dinnerwas and I left with a shopping bag ofleftovers. The March of Dimes SignatureChef Auction is coming up again on October18, 2011. I understand Chef Teddy will beback to defend his Iron Chef title. I will bethere to cheer him on!Blue Spice Thai has several locationsincluding 19 Clifton Country Road, Clifton Park,NY. For more information call 518-557-2116 orbluespiceny.com.Joanne DiMarco is a woman about town, professional networker and Vice President for Marketing andTalent Acquisition for Select Sotheby’s International Realty. She travels all over New York State andhas a passion or the food and entertainment the region has to offer.HERLIFEnewyork.com 27
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Mara Ginsberg - HER LIFE Magazine

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