Thursday, March 23, 2006
Thai Palace
While Hollywood may have once considered Covington representative enough of the Deep South to film the Dukes of Hazard here, Newton and Rockdale Counties are cosmopolitain enough to have a large variety of ethnic restaurants. In fact, Conyers has not one, but two Thai places. I've only been to one of them so far, the Thai Palace.
The Palace is located in Old Town Conyers, which is the oldest part of town. Unlike Covington Square, which has kept much of its traditional look, Old Town Conyers has gone for a more bohemian look, painting the buildings in wild colors. The buildings look almost like a section of Atlanta's Little Five Points, although Old Town Conyers hasn't attracted quite the same crowd.
Thai cuisine is notorious for using very spicy food. Most of the spiced dishes here can be ordered at a mild level. Venture above "mild" at your own risk.
Many of the entrees are heavy on vegetables and seasoning, with the meat almost added as a condiment rather than letting it take center stage. Since the meat does not heavily influence the flavor of such dishes, you can order many items on the menu with your choice of beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, or tofu. There are a few items, though, that are mostly meat in curry sauce. Most of their traditonal items are served alongside a large, ornate aluminum bowl of rice (which is trying unsuccessfully to look like it is actually a silver bowl of rice). Entrees typically cost around $7-8 each.
I don't normally order apetizers, but they have one that is too good to miss. Their chicken satay is excellent. If you're not familiar with satay, it is thin strips of meat served with peanut sauce and a cucumber relish. However, I'm not sure that description does the Thai Palace's chicken satay justice. It's like saying fillet mignon is just dead cow.
One touch that I especially like is the effort they put into garnishes. It's not uncommon to find a carrot transformed into a butterfly or a vegetable flower sitting on your plate.
If there is one downside, this is not a place to eat if you are in a hurry. They take the time in bringing the food out. But unless you have something very urgent on your agenda, it's worth the wait.
Contact:
Thai Palace
914 Commercial St.
Conyers, GA
770-785-7778
The Palace is located in Old Town Conyers, which is the oldest part of town. Unlike Covington Square, which has kept much of its traditional look, Old Town Conyers has gone for a more bohemian look, painting the buildings in wild colors. The buildings look almost like a section of Atlanta's Little Five Points, although Old Town Conyers hasn't attracted quite the same crowd.
Thai cuisine is notorious for using very spicy food. Most of the spiced dishes here can be ordered at a mild level. Venture above "mild" at your own risk.
Many of the entrees are heavy on vegetables and seasoning, with the meat almost added as a condiment rather than letting it take center stage. Since the meat does not heavily influence the flavor of such dishes, you can order many items on the menu with your choice of beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, or tofu. There are a few items, though, that are mostly meat in curry sauce. Most of their traditonal items are served alongside a large, ornate aluminum bowl of rice (which is trying unsuccessfully to look like it is actually a silver bowl of rice). Entrees typically cost around $7-8 each.
I don't normally order apetizers, but they have one that is too good to miss. Their chicken satay is excellent. If you're not familiar with satay, it is thin strips of meat served with peanut sauce and a cucumber relish. However, I'm not sure that description does the Thai Palace's chicken satay justice. It's like saying fillet mignon is just dead cow.
One touch that I especially like is the effort they put into garnishes. It's not uncommon to find a carrot transformed into a butterfly or a vegetable flower sitting on your plate.
If there is one downside, this is not a place to eat if you are in a hurry. They take the time in bringing the food out. But unless you have something very urgent on your agenda, it's worth the wait.
Contact:
Thai Palace
914 Commercial St.
Conyers, GA
770-785-7778
Saturday, March 11, 2006
A different sort of drive through
My wife and I were at Thomas's Country Buffet yesterday, and we noticed one of the back doors was open. As I said in my review, Thomas's used to be a train station. I could see a yellow Union Pacific locomotive waiting on the tracks outside. I made a comment about that to the waitress, and she said, "Oh, the engineer just stopped here to pick up dinner." That's definitely not a sight you see every day. I just assumed railroad crews brought bag lunches with them.
