Thanks to all of you who commented and/or e-mailed me with suggestions and tips on cooking. And to give myself a little credit, I can boil an egg! (Thanks, Rich!)

Fortunately for me, I have a partner who cooks. And cooks very well! We have unbelievable dinners on the most random nights. An exotic Mediterranean chicken dish on an average, run-of-the-mill Wednesday. Or grilled salmon with a homemade dry spice rub, grilled corn on the cob, salad with strawberries and mangoes on an ordinary Monday. Last night, for instance, we had a Thai dish with tofu, peppers, zucchini (from the market downtown!), rice noodles, cilantro and Thai basil. It had just the right spice and flavor, a tough balance to strike when cooking Thai food. I’ve got leftovers for lunch.

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Have a look at this beautiful photo of shrimp pad thai, which was sent in by blog reader Angela.
Angela noticed the Thai cooking class mentioned in yesterday’s blog entry and thought she’d send in this photo of a dish she mastered.

According to Angela, she was addicted to the shrimp pad thai at Thai Orchid, but when that restaurant closed, she tracked down a Thai cookbook and decided to master the recipe herself.
“I was surprised to find that my rendition was just as good,” Angela wrote.

The first time I tried Thai food, I was hooked immediately. I adore the flavors of coconut milk, curry, kaffir lime, lemongrass, ginger and Thai basil. So like Angela, I decided to try and create two of my favorite dishes, pad thai and green curry, at home.

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Most of the time when a restaurant attempts to master two entirely different styles of cooking at once, I am suspicious.
Take Circles, for example, a short-lived restaurant in Vinton, which served French, Italian and Thai food. I never made it out to Circles because it didn’t last long; the owner closed up shop to move downtown and open City Corner, the buffet-style joint beside Corned Beef & Company.
But just the idea of Italian food and Thai food coming out of the same kitchen baffles me. I don’t know why — they both come out of my kitchen. Just not on the same night.
Fast forward to now, when I actually find myself advocating that you guys try out a quirky little place on Williamson Road that turns out Latino and Italian food.
El Buen Gusto opened near Civic Mall within the past several months. It’s located in a nondescript little brick building that looks like it could have once housed a check cashing service or something.

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