Udom Thai

As followers of the Rocky Mountain Oyster have probably figured out, Mr. Oyster and I have no ability whatsoever to feed ourselves. Instead, we rely on others to prepare delicious and unique food that we can enjoy in exchange for a reasonable fee. 

Being fans of Thai food, we've been on the lookout for delicious Thai that's close to our jobs and house in the south suburbs. Tuk Tuk suffices for a quick weekday lunch, but Thai Monkey Club is our true favorite for Thai. The Monkey Club, however, requires a long trek up to Broadway - that's no good on a weeknight when I'm craving spicy curry. 

Based on some outstanding Yelp reviews and its close proximity to our neighborhood, we tried Udom Thai at Dry Creek and University for a very late lunch this past Saturday. 

Udom Thai is situated in a nondescript location in a strip mall next to a King Soopers and a few other small chain restaurants. It's not far from the SouthGlenn shopping area and Land of Sushi, both of which lie a few blocks to the north on University. 

We showed up at the somewhat odd hour of 3 pm on a Saturday for a very late lunch. Despite the shining reviews, the restaurant certainly wasn't busy when we arrived. In fact, it was empty, and even the staff was absent when we first walked into the dining room.

We were soon greeted by a woman who emerged from the kitchen, apologized for the very short wait and immediately seated us. The interior of Udom Thai was clean and sparsely decorated, with light green walls and dark tables and chais.  

We started off by splitting a small bowl of Tom Yum Chicken Soup ($5.95). 

Tom Yum Chicken Soup

The traditional Thai soup was made with lemongrass, lime leaves, galangal, straw mushrooms, tomatoes, onion and cilantro, and was packed with chicken pieces. The soup was tangy, sour, and sweet, but with a very light and clear broth. We loved every sip of it.

For his main dish, my husband ordered the Drunken Noodles with chicken ($8.95), spiced "hot."

Drunken Noodles with Chicken

The noodles had a perfect chile heat and a great flavor to the sauce. The dish was packed with vegetables and substantial pieces of chicken. One thing I wasn't crazy about, however, was that many of the noodles were congealed together. Nonetheless, this was a pretty solid plate of Drunken Noodles, although I do prefer the more peanut-heavy concoction made by Thai Monkey Club.

My main plate was - no surprise here - the Panang Curry with chicken ($9.95 + $1 for brown rice), spiced "hot." I ordered brown rice in place of white rice, which cost an additional $1.

Panang Curry

The curry broth had a good flavor, with chile heat and the sweetness of coconut milk. It was packed full of carrots and bell peppers, but I was perplexed by the addition of peas to the mix of vegetables. They were too sweet for my liking, and certainly didn't seem authentic. Like my husband's Drunken Noodles, I really enjoyed the curry, though I prefer the analogous dish at Thai Monkey Club.

Service at Udom Thai was outstanding, although we were dining at off-peak hours and we were the only ones there.

Udom Thai served up some tasty and quick southeast Asian dishes, and stands out as one of few good Thai places in the south suburbs. We'll likely swing by in the future for some weeknight dinners.


Everyday Dining

7 of 10

Pros: Great service, good food
Cons: Boring strip mall location

Website:
http://udomthairestaurant.com

Land of Sushi

One frustration about living in the south suburbs is, as Westword points out at every opportunity, a lack of interesting local dining options. In particular, my husband and I have struggled to find a local sushi restaurant that compares to Sushi Den or Sushi Sasa closer to downtown.

I was therefore intrigued - and surprised - to see a Centennial sushi restaurant I'd never heard of win "Best Sushi Restaurant - 2012" from Westword recently.

That restaurant was Land of Sushi, and it didn't take long for us to decide to give it a try.

But if it weren't for the gushing from Westword, I probably would have steered clear of Land of Sushi. Nothing about the exterior of Land of Sushi is particularly appealing. Not the name, nor the glowing red letters that spell it out, nor the strip mall location across from the newly redeveloped SouthGlenn area.

Last weekend, we arrived to a nearly-full Land of Sushi at around 6:45 pm on Friday evening. The sparsely-decorated, L-shaped restaurant was smaller than I expected. It had no real waiting area, and a couple tables were placed far too close to the entrance. We sat at the small sushi bar, where our dishes were placed on plastic placemats with a fake wood pattern on them. After an initial mix-up between waiters, we were situated with drinks and menus.

We were soon glad we had arrived when we did, as the restaurant quickly filled to capacity, and a small crowd waited for their tables outside.

And although I often cringe at Westword's characterizations of suburban-restaurant ambiance, Land of Sushi certainly reflects the influence of the surrounding Centennial demographics. The restaurant was packed with families, waitstaff shuttled giant boats of sushi and sashimi to tables, and the atmosphere was casual, quiet, and mellow.

To start our meal, we ordered the Fatty Big Eye Tuna Sashimi with Avocado ($16).

Fatty Big Eye Tuna Sashimi with Avocado

I regret that the picture turned out a bit blurry on this one; it doesn't do justice to the beautiful presentation. The fatty big eye tuna slices were buttery, tender, and fresh. The creamy avocado atop each slice was an excellent compliment to every bite.

Our next plate included four orders of salmon sashimi ($2.5/ea, $10 for four orders as shown in photo) and an Ebi Tempura Roll ($7.5)

Ebi Tempura Roll (Front), Salmon Sashimi (Back)

The Ebi Tempura Roll was packed with tempura shrimp, crab, avocado and lettuce. It was the least interesting thing we ordered at Land of Sushi and was really a very average American-style sushi roll. The tempura batter was way too heavy on the shrimp; each bite left me with an unwanted mouthful of panko.

The salmon, however, was perfect. Thinly sliced, fresh, and delicately marbled with fat, I could have eaten several more orders of the fish.

Still hungry, we moved on to our final dish of the night, the Green Monster Roll ($13), which consisted of a green soy paper wrapper stuffed with tuna, crab, fried red snapper, and avocado.

Green Monster Roll

Land of Sushi has plenty of authentic Japanese dishes on the menu, but this certainly wasn't one of them. It was delicious nonetheless; I loved the combination of seafood, delicate sushi rice, and creamy avocado. The soft soy paper was a perfect alternative to nori as a wrapper, and contrasted with the slight crunch of the fried snapper.

Service at Land of Sushi was efficient and attentive. Our neighboring diners seemed to mostly be regulars, and that's no surprise. Despite the no-frills atmosphere, the sushi is good, service is quick, and the location is convenient.

We're looking forward to throwing Land of Sushi into regular rotation on our dining schedule. The restaurant certainly delivers on sushi quality, although it doesn't stand out like Sushi Den or Sushi Sasa downtown in terms of ambiance and authenticity.



Casual Dining

  (7 of 10)

Pros: Great sushi, quick service
Cons: Boring location and decor


 

Marco's Coal Fired Pizzeria, Vallagio

Note: This is a follow-up review for my first and second visits to Marco's, both at the Ballpark location downtown.


I can't stop eating at Marco's Coal Fired Pizzeria.

After two lovely visits to Marco's Ballpark location, we've been long overdue for a trip to their south suburban spot at Vallagio.

Vallagio is some sort of newish integrated living community, with a variety of shops and restaurants placed alongside condos and lofts. Parking is a lot easier at Vallagio compared to their Five Points spot, but it lacks the downtown atmosphere and proximity to, you know, other cool stuff.

Unlike the Ballpark location, we definitely didn't need reservations for the the two of us at 7 pm on a Friday night. The Vallagio spot has a more spacious interior than Ballpark, and it also has a very large patio area. The patio was packed on the warm night we visited, but the indoor seating was only about half occupied.

We sat indoors and quickly got settled in with a couple of beers. Then, it was time to order the dish we'd both jealously eyeballed on our neighbors' tables at our last visit: the Meatball Sliders ($9).

Meatball Sliders

These came on two buttery, garlicky rolls, topped with Caciocavallo and Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses, and with a side of tomato sauce. They were fantastic. I love that I could smother them in red sauce before taking a bite.

To follow up our sliders, we settled on the Del Re pizza ($18). Directly from the menu: Truffle and Porcini Mushroom Pecorino Sardo Spread, Fresh Mozzarella, Topped with Mushrooms, Proscuitto di Parma, Fresh Basil.

Del Re Pizza

The Del Re was tasty but just too rich. The creamy pecorino sardo spread, coupled with the generous layer of mozzarella, was too heavy tasting for my preference. I enjoyed the flavor of the proscuitto itself, but its saltiness and meatly flavor added another level of heaviness to the pizza. Fortunately, the mushrooms were the same wonderful, chewy porcinis as the ones that sat above my beloved Brooklyn Pizza at my last visit.

The two dishes were too much food for us and we weren't able to finish off the last couple Del Re slices.

The service at Marco's in Vallagio was very good, and felt more relaxed and less hurried than the bustling downtown location.

Overall we were just as happy with the Vallagio restaurant as the Five Points one. Go to Marco's at Ballpark if you're looking for a lively atmosphere and plenty of nearby entertainment.  Check out Vallagio if you want a quieter evening or something more kid-friendly.

Website:
http://www.marcoscoalfiredpizza.com/

Snooze

Snooze is another restaurant that's kind of a big deal, and I've been wanting to go for months now. I mean, this is a place that offers Red Velvet Pancakes, how can you go wrong?

The downside of being kind of a big deal is that everyone else is trying to eat there too. When we stopped by their Centennial location last Sunday morning, a quick look at the crowds standing outside idly made it obvious we were in for a bit of a wait. They also don't take reservations, which was frustrating.

We were told by the staff that our party of 2 would be a 15 to 25-minute wait. That stretched out to about half an hour before we were seated.

Snooze has a pretty jazzy looking interior, with pale green walls, giant orange light fixtures, and huge circular tables. It was, of course, packed to capacity.

Making a decision on our meal selections was tough. There were about five or six dishes we each wanted to try. I'll just refer to you to their full menu. You'll understand our dilemma.

My husband decided on the Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes. From the menu: Caramelized pineapple chunks with housemade vanilla crème anglaise and cinnamon butter.

Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes

These pancakes were every bit as rich and delectable as you'd imagine. Fluffy, white pancakes filled with sweet pineapple pieces and topped with a rich drizzle of rich sweet cream-cheesy "syrup" that was almost like a glaze.

The only problem? It was way too sweet and rich for the portion size. This is a hyperglycemic attack on a plate.

I didn't notice until after we'd dug in was that Snooze offers "a la carte" pancakes. I really wish we'd just ordered a single pancake alongside something with more nutritional value. The two enormous pancakes were just too much.

Anyway, moving on to my selection: the Breakfast Burrito. From the menu: Filled with scrambled eggs, hash browns, house black beans, cheddar & jack cheese, topped with salsa fresca and your choice of green chili or ranchero.

Breakfast Burrito with Green Chili

This monster was delicious, but why such a measly helping of green chili? I was expecting a far more generous smothering. The burrito was a little bland and would have been outstanding with more green chili flavor in each bite.

My portion was also too big, and even with some help from my lovely partner in crime, we had to push ourselves to finish three-quarters of it.

Our service was alright. Obviously it was a very busy place and I felt like we were rushed a little bit for the sake of table turnover.

I'd definitely return to Snooze, assuming I could get there early enough in the morning to avoid a substantial wait. The menu has too many delicious-sounding items that I have yet to devour.



Everyday Dining

 (7 of 10)

Pros: Great tasting food. Unique options. Cheap.
Cons: Long wait to eat, and they don't take reservations. Beware the full pancake portions (I recommend a la carte pancakes).

Website:
http://www.snoozeeatery.com