My Meal Cost: $11.42 plus tip. Health Rating A. Yelp 3 stars
The lovely Mrs. C is off camping with her family so I have a week to fend for myself. As good a reason as any to indulge in some food that she is not crazy about. So my first choice is a place where First Daughter and I usually go when she's in town visiting. Mix Bowl is our go-to place for bonding without mom, although mom did join us on our last trip there and found several items on the menu that she not only felt she could eat, but that she actually liked, but still not a place she would embrace wholly.
Mix Bowl is in a former fast food place. This is also the place where Daily Bulletin columnist David Allen wrote in 2009 that he had tried all 144 items on the menu over the previous few years (don't we love food obsessions?). I'm sure he's been back. The current menu lists 113 numbered items (including the beverages) but I counted another 37 items which seem to be sub-items from the numbered items which are designated with a letter (A-D). This brings the total to 150.
The inside has been remodeled a few years ago and they've taken out the big fish tank in deference to additional tables. There are both tables and booths in this sit-down, full service restaurant. As you might guess the food is Thai, which includes a lot of spicy dishes designated in the menu with a chili. They also have an asterisk which indicates dishes which "most order," a nice guide for those who are unfamiliar with Thai cuisine.
Dining here with First Daughter we order "family style" and share three to four items one of which is usually an appetizer. Of this variety of dishes, some I've really liked and some a little less so, but everything has always been very fresh and well prepared. Because I was dining alone this time, I decided on the ever popular (even if now somewhat boring) Pad Thai. This is a noodle dish with tofu, veggies, and in this case bean sprouts, chicken and shrimp, in a fish sauce based sauce giving it a nice punch of umami (that earthy taste that has been added to sweet, salty, sour, and bitter). This is not one of the spicy selections but is one of those indicated as "most order."
Looking over the beverage menu I knew from experience that I wasn't a big fan of Thai Iced Tea (or coffee) which comes with cream and is highly sweetened (both also can be ordered with Boba). Not wanting to do "Lipton" iced tea, I decided to try the Ice Chrysanthemum Tea. Not a good decision as, while it didn't have cream, it was way over sweet and I'm sure that my blood sugar suffered tremendously.
Word of Warning: They do not take credit cards. They do take ATM cards but if you do opt for that you'll have to pay at the counter so they can capture your PIN number. Only a minor inconvenience but one you should be aware of. You can add your tip with an ATM if you so desire.
Why didn't you go camping?
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