Chow, Baby
Hot, Hot, Hot There is much that is mesmerizing at Sikhay Restaurant. Chow, Baby was immediately hooked by the Laotian video karaoke and could easily spend hours trying to match the pretty pictures to the words in the pretty alphabet. The Laotian/Thai/Vietnamese menu is in English but no less fascinating for that, with entries like "Pad Kra Pao (Frog) with white rice." Sampling various nasal-clearing condiments on the table's center tray, Chow, Baby was inspired to poetic analogies. Shrimp paste: acquired taste. The buffet ($5.95) looked pretty good -- that day's selections included beef and broccoli, chow mein, and a few unidentifiables -- and the hot pot sukiyaki ($9.95 lunch, $10.95 dinner) was enticing. But the menu's greatest-hits selection of Southeast Asian dishes captured Chow, Baby's heart. The crisply fresh, cilantro-stuffed spring rolls ($2.50) should please even the most delicate taste buds. The shrimp pad thai ($6.50) was perfectly adequate. Ah, but adventure lurked in the papaya salad ($3.00), a concoction of julienned green papaya, garlic, tomatoes, and approximately 900 Thai chile peppers. Chow, Baby took two bites from the bowl of fire and gasped for water. The server delivered it, laughing, "I told the cook to make it not too hot for you," and confessed to reducing the usual number of peppers by 80 percent. Normally sensitive to being singled out for its Anglohood, in this case Chow, Baby, had no defense. No tongue, either. That's the papaya salad at Sikhay Restaurant, 3301 NE 28th St. Readers, consider yourself dared.
Speaking of Frogs The reports of the demise of Jon's Grille were greatly exaggerated. When Jon Meyerson, owner of the popular burger barn and TCU hangout, died in November, friends and regulars feared the spirit of the Grille would die, too. Under the management of Jon's sister Janis, however, the Grille's burgers are still as tasty, the shakes are as thick, and the chili cheese fries are as smothered as ever. Last week Chow, Baby, who avoids the University area when school is in session and often when it's not, could no longer ignore the siren call of Jon's Golf Burger. The made-from-scratch hickory sauce topped a mound of grated cheddar, a couple of bacon slices, and a grilled burger. The prices are friendly to a college budget: $3.39 for an old-fashioned hamburger up to $4.69 for a double cheeseburger "run through the garden."
Old-fashioned faves include the BLT with five, count 'em, five slices of bacon and the marvelous garden salad with homemade dressing. Chow, Baby never gave Thousand Island dressing a thought until getting a spoonful of Jon's; it's especially great on the chef salad, or heck, as a dip for those seasoned fries. Fries and dip, a chocolate milkshake, and large windows for people-watching -- now that's a magnificent hangout.
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