Let’s talk curry.
Better yet, let’s eat curry.
My new favorite place to do that is Jasmine Thai Cuisine in downtown Everett.
Order, if you will, any of the Jasmine Thai noodle or rice dishes because they will not disappoint, but their curry is some off-the-charts stuff.
Let’s take a recent lunch as an example.
I walked into the restaurant — conveniently located a few blocks from the newsroom — on a somewhat brisk day and was immediately cheered by the restaurant’s delicate decor.
The menu is extensive, so you Thai noodle worshipers shouldn’t worry, but I went right for the curry. The green curry with chicken ($8.95) with a heat range of two, or medium.
Back at my desk, I opened the container and the aroma of basil wafted out. I spied the green beans and pieces of eggplant floating in the lime-colored, coconut milk-based broth.
Ah. Hot and with enough spice to get my glands going. The basil almost had a medicinal effect on me — I felt healthier eating it. The beans were crunchy and fresh, the chicken moist and even the eggplant kept some texture and resisted when I bit into it. How do they do that?
At an earlier lunch visit with a friend, I ordered the yellow curry with chicken ($8.95). A bountiful bowl appeared at the table with the curry the color that rice turns when you add turmeric. The curry was thick, with lots of chicken, potatoes, onions, peas and crunchy carrot pieces the size of half dollars. Divine.
My friend ordered the mas-sa-mun curry with chicken, a mixture of potatoes, onions, carrots and peanuts in sweet, red coconut milk ($8.95). My friend said she found the broth too thin but I had no such complaint. I took her leftovers and I sent my yellow curry home with her.
We also ordered two appetizers.
One was the chicken satay ($6.95), which arrived as four hearty skewers of grilled chicken breast marinated in coconut milk and served with peanut sauce, pickled cucumber and toast. The chicken was juicy, tender and crisp.
The other appetizer was a serving of eight pieces of fried tofu ($5.95), which were light and delicious and actually fine on their own, but came with a dish of sweet plum sauce and ground peanuts for dipping.
Every meal at Jasmine Thai starts with a complimentary bowl of hot and sour soup and a small lettuce salad topped with creamy dressing.
The soup is not your throwaway soup by any means; it’s full of fresh mushrooms, lemongrass and tofu.
At this visit, the waitress brought our table a surprise complimentary dessert of pumpkin custard, served in adorable little round dishes with little matching spoons.
The custard was wonderfully rich and did not overwhelm in the pumpkin department. My friend confessed that had she been alone, she would have licked the little bowl.
The service at Jasmine Thai is extremely friendly, and when I ordered take-out, I still was served a complimentary bowl of soup and a little salad.
On other visits to Jasmine Thai, I have enjoyed the Thai basil with beef ($8.25), a dish infused with basil and with lots of beef, and the golden cashew chicken ($8.25), again with many fresh ingredients, among them bell peppers, baby corn and broccoli.
Though everything I’ve had so far at Jasmine Thai has been tasty and made with much care, I’m probably going to be counting on the curry as my fallback food for the fall season.
Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424; goffredo@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
