Today, the Lunchmen took a crowd of seven across the river to that strip mall at the end of Knox Abbott that looks like a colonial plantation fallen on hard times. Once there, we were in for some of the best Thai cuisine Columbia has to offer.
I'm surprised about how many people in Columbia have not heard of Golden Chopstix. Big Spur came with us to lunch today, and even though he has been around Columbia longer than in-door plumbing, the name was unknown to him. Check out the picture of the goodness that has just been waiting on him to show up. He liked it so much that he claimed that he would come back for dinner, by himself if necessary. I was impressed by Big Spur, considering last time that I convinced him to go for a lunch featuring curry, albeit Indian curry, he swore off all food from the sub-continent.
Golden Chopstix serves up traditional Thai and Vietnamese dishes that will tickle your palate with rice, spice, and everything nice. Their spring rolls are fresh and delicious. The soup selection is amazing - I highly recommend a bowl of the Tom Kha Kai Chicken for a comforting fall dish. Whether you order Vietnamese noodles, one of the many Thai curry dishes, or a standard such as fried rice, you really can't miss with this menu.
We were accompanied by the Dude at lunch today, who was not too shy to order an appetizer of spring rolls before tackling a mean order of Shrimp Pad Thai. That is a bold and respectable move. The Dude was pleased, which is significant because he is the resident expert in our midst on Asian food. Tex had Pad Thai as well, placing his order for "medium" heat. For a man that likes heat, "medium" doesn't quite cut it at Golden Chopstix. He and I both had to add a little red pepper to our dishes to give that extra kick that makes Thai food such a wake up call at lunch. I was glad that the Queen of Frozen Cuisine also came out today to see how good an Asian dish can be when it has not been frozen for months inside a wee plastic box. She had some Pad Kee-Mao that rocked her frozen, plastic world.
If Thai and Vietnamese sound too exotic for you, you can be a sissy and order some fried rice or a teriyaki dish. I only ask that if you do go this route, man up and order a Laotian beer for lunch. They've got Beerlao at Golden Chopstix; according to Beerlao, their brew "is made with only the choicest ingredients, like hand-picked indigenous rice varieties, spring water originating from the foothills of the Himalayas, Hallertau hops, German yeast and French malted barley." I can neither confirm nor deny these allegations, because I simply had a pot of green tea at lunch.
Before you pass judgment on me, know that I rectified this mistake on the way back Uptown by swinging into Vella's with Tex, Rabbit, and the Publican and grabbing a cold Sam Adams Octoberfest at the bar. Friday lunch is a great institution, and that's the way to do it, my friends.
- Tank
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- The LunchMen
- Rabbit, Tank, and The Publican are three dudes just trying to get through the work week here in Columbia. Rabbit is a Columbia native, Tank is from Charleston, and The Publican hails from Greenville. Rabbit's favorite lunch spot is the No Name Deli on Elmwood, where you may find him putting down a grilled chicken salad and a side of vinegar pasta. The Publican usually wants to find food to cure his all-too-common hangovers. Tank claims no favorite lunch spot - he lives for the thrill of the hunt.
Tried the pho here last week, it was very poor. The broth was gunky (like miso soup, where the miso has separated from the broth) and had weak flavor, almost as if they boiled some water and threw in a bouillon cube. There were less garnishes than I'm used to as well, and the beef was not the thin rare beef traditionally used in pho, but rather a gray, flavorless, thicker, pre-cooked sirloin cut (or something similar). I was bummed out.