Friday, August 14, 2009

Fe, fi, fo, phở (deux)

I'm continuing my quest to see if I can find a bowl of phở that's better than King Market's phở. Next up, Thai Star Restaurant ...


A friend recently told me about a liquor store on East Thompson Lane that has a phenomenal wine selection. His only directions were, "It's in the Kroger strip mall." I went looking for that strip mall today, and I was hoping to find a new wine shop to add to my list o' favorites. What I found instead was an eatin' spot which I've now added to my list o' favorite Asian restaurants.

At first glance, Thai Star looks like the myriad "Chinese" restaurants that seem to be on every corner in Nashville -- all of which serve the same dozen dishes slathered in the same dozen sauces. However, I did a rather quick double-take when I saw the large "PHO Noodle Soup" sign in the window. Thank God no one was tailgating me because I immediately hit the brakes and pulled into a parking spot nearby.

Before I get to the phở, two things bear mentioning. First, Thai Star serves complimentary egg rolls -- fresh-made egg rolls -- with each dine-in order. Second, Thai Star has certain aesthetic qualities which should no doubt appeal to men who gotta eat ... and I'll leave it at that (you can e-mail me if you need further details).

Thai Star features two kinds o' phở: beef (with thin slices of sirloin and beef meatballs) and seafood (with shrimp and scallops). I was in a beefy mood, so I ordered accordingly.

First thing I noticed about Thai Star's phở was the fact that it was loaded with lots of thin slices of beef, which you can see in this pic:


[click pic for a mouthwateringly close-up view]

There were so many slivers of beef in that bowl, I was still finding them after I'd determined that I'd my fill o' phở, thus necessitating my having to ask for a take-home container.

Thai Star's broth had a subtle heat to it, which I, of course, loved. It was loaded with white and green onions, cilantro, noodles and ... celery. I do not recall ever eating phở that had celery in it. Now don't get me wrong, I love celery. I'm just not sure I want it in my phở (it adds an unecessary, er, unneeded, crunch, if you know what I mean).

My only real beef - no pun intended - with Thai Star's phở was the fact that it contained no basil. Not only that, the garnish plate was also basil-free. I asked my server for some fresh basil and, well, let's just say that the look I got ... I might as well've asked for some borscht. I wanted to say, "Phở's supposed to have basil in it, you know!" But I was enjoying that phở too much to make a big deal over a culinary trivial triviality (apologies to B. Fife and Mr. Jimmy).

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 representing King Market's phở, Thai Star gets a solid 8.5. If they ditch the celery and get some basil, they'll be knocking on the King Market's door ... knocking but not entering.

Thai Star Restaurant
63 East Thompson Lane
Nashville, TN 37211
615.833.1411

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Achnin Jerichite Magillicunt was his name and his presence was ill known amongst the peoples of the vast forest. He rode about in a positively ludicrous manner such that most tribes called him “the white ghost” or simply “white bark.” You see, Mr. Magillicunt had not much amour towards adequate garments. He prefered to spend most of the year in a leather flap that came nowhere close to covering his staff. It was as if he mocked the frightened peoples of the forest. Allowing the shlong to dang freely with nigh but a bloody string tied tightly about the head to cause purple bloating and painful swelling.
I’m sure you’re wondering what the string was for? Eh? Seems like a mighty strange thing to have wrapped around one’s shlong. It is unfortunate but the truth of the matter is that the forest warrior used it for a special and terrifying purpose. Magillicunt let the puss and foul leakings build up in his deformed dick. Then with a mighty pull of the string he would release the vile ejaculant into the mouth of his victim. Yes indeed at night Magillicunt would descend on the sleeping tribes people.
With a quick wipe of his ass the guards would be out and then Magillicunt would pick his victim. Snatch the immobilized guy or girl right out of their sleeping leaf nest and bring them to his lair, where he would do savage things to them before releasing the putrid torrent. Choking, gurgling, bubbling on the searing sauce they would die. Yes die. Or vomit up their own shit. It was hideous indeed.
Then of course Magillicunt would often take his fresh turds and use them to paint clown faces on his drinkers. He was quite a fiend indeed.
Then one day when Magillicunt was sleeping a brave lad from a nearby village that had been tormented by the Magillicunt came and tied a chain around a large tree then spiked the cuff through the shlong. Magillicunt squealed and a foul packet of rotten cheese exploded with frightening velocity. The lad ran back to town while Magillicunt dealt with his punctured unit.
He shook and tore so much at the wounded shlong that it eventually ripped from his crotch and lay leaking on the leafy forest floor. Clutching madly the flowing stump Magillicunt shot hot cream from his ass. It was as foretold in the Scroll of Dalrnitea.
Magillicunt crawled forward towards the lifeless meat and nibbled on the cold veins. Then he bit further until small pieces of flesh were in his mouth and rolling around on his tongue. He devoured the entire thing before the birds arrived.
Colorful shrieking parrots and other strange creatures of the forest tore into the howling body of Magillicunt. But they’d never get his shlong. For he shat it out before they could eat it. But then when the birds shat out all remains of Magillicunt the feces formed into an even more evil creature composed entirely of feces. This beast brought upon the peoples of the forest more plague and suffering than ever before. The worst of all was that the fiend continued to plunge his fecal cock into the many orifices of the forest dwellers. Shlong in mouth, shlong in cunt dripping, shlong in ass and shlong in eye. Dig new hole and discover new flies. That was something of the madness of Magillicunt.
But he went further in his terror of the land. Where once grew fertile plants now hot logs sprouted forth from the diseased soil. All cried for some person to come and save the people. Save us please! But nothing came and the horrible shit-dick plunged until all was destroyed.