Q: Why did the blogger take the vegetarian to a Pinter play?
A: To get his hands on the Asian fusion tapas of course.
I am going to another great SHN show tonight “The Caretaker” by Harold Pinter. I am going with my friend Arthur who is a vegetarian, so I thought Asian tapas would be a safe call. I was right. We went to the E&O Trading Company on Sutter Street, just a stone throw from Union Square, and right next door to the Stockton Sutter garage. The restaurant is large open and airy, with a mezzanine that looks out over the main room. I would describe it as casual elegance. It is suitable for a suit and tie, but you would probably be ok with jeans as long as you are not sitting with me. The staff was friendly and welcoming. Mercedes, our server was very sweet, and had some great suggestions. Normally I don’t stray from my usual, but the “Thai Lemon Basil Martini” was calling out to me. It was a hit! For dinner we decided on three small plates, and a bowl of fried rice. We started with the “Indonesian corn fritters with sweet chili soy sauce”. They were incredibly light and delicious. Following close behind that was the “butternut squash dumplings”, a light dumpling served with a red curry lemongrass sauce and Thai basil oil. After that we had “Portobello mushroom satay with soy coconut milk glaze”. It was served with pickled vegetables that complimented the smoky grilled mushrooms. All three appetizers we tried were amazing! The way every exotic element balanced and deftly complimented each other resulted in many audible “ooh’s and ahh’s”. To finish off the meal we shared a bowl of “vegetarian Koda farms organic brown rice stir fry” with tofu, mushrooms, and market vegetables. It was as expected, delicious. The vegetables were bright and fresh, a little smoky and a little spicy. For desert we had a banana cream tart, and a pineapple tart, with coconut ice cream. The coconut ice cream was infused with lemon grass and my only complaint was that there wasn’t more of it. It was the best coconut ice cream I have ever tasted.
As you know, I like to include a picture or two, but sometimes I worry that my friends are going to stop going out with me if I don’t put the camera away. So tonight I only managed to snap one of our deserts. But all the dishes we tried looked as good as they tasted. If you want to try this place out, you need to do it before May 2012, because they are closing for a remodel. I am looking forward to trying it again when they re-open if not before. You can check out their web site here, or look them up on facebook.
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