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Chilly winter days make for the just-OK pairing of Thai food and Zinfandel.

Monday Dec 11, 2006.     By Zinny Fandel

Food Feed

I often feel like the bane of the wine shop employee's existence. At first glance, I'm the perfect pupil—direct, specific in my needs, friendly (I think). But once I open my mouth, I tend to find myself asking the helpful wine steward in front of me to commit pairing blasphemy.

My latest BYOB outing would prove to be no exception: I was meeting Steamer for dinner at Thai Village, 2053 W. Division, and logically knew that a German Riesling would pair fantastically and that a bottle of Rose would do us just fine. Instead, I stormed into Sam's Wines and Spirits and asked for a $10 red that would do wonders against the likes of pad see eiw.

Instead of being scowled at, I was swiftly marched to a row of American reds, handed a bottle of $9.99 Cline Zinfandel, and was told it would bring out spice. And that was that.

I met Steamer a few hours later at the oddly outfitted Thai Village. I had noticed it a few weeks earlier, peering in the window of what looked a bit like a German Brauhaus. But its dark wood, hardback booths and unstocked bar provided the backdrop for a cheap but spatzele-free meal.

A sucker for spring rolls, we kicked off the meal with an order, a pair covered in sweet plum sauce and sliced into bite-size pieces (which, admittedly, took away a bit of the dunking fun). The basil-light rolls weren't my favorite part of the meal, but they allowed us to nibble and sip while reading and rereading the lengthy menu.

The wine wasn't my favorite part of the meal, either. The Sam's man was right—the wine was fruity (dark cherry and the like) and not overly tannic, which is what my hasty reading has informed me is in order when pairing spicy ethnic cuisine with wine. And while I'm clearly no purist, there's just something so refreshing about pairing a crisp Semillon-Sauvignon Blanc with a honking-big spring roll. I'd have to settle with my poor man's version of the dream.

But I didn't have to settle for much going forward. After a persistent stop-by or two, our server realized that we were going to painstakingly order one dish at a time, turning a generally quick shove-down into a proper, two-hour meal.

After snagging the last (and, in all mathematical fairness, Steamer's) piece of spring roll, we ordered a papaya salad, a slightly fishy blend of the shredded eponymous fruit, tomato and green beans in a very tangy lime dressing. It was fresh, it was palate-cleansing, it felt like the islands in the summer.

Next up, a bit of the untried with the true: tofu pad thai and an order of gang mhoo tepo, a soupy tamarind curry with spinach, pork and coconut milk. The portions were large and I went to town. As an avowed sushi fiend, I came to Thai food a little late in the game, and while I certainly think there's better and worse, I have a hard time believing that a mixture of noodles and coconut milk could ever taste bad.

So it's with that disclaimer that I say that our entrees were delish. Chockfull of flavor, the spinach and pork curry reminded me that while I've never been a huge fan of spinach salad, the mushed version of the leaves, mixed with lentils or pork, places me smack dab in the middle of heaven.

The pad thai, a dish that I haven't ordered much since graduating from hazy, late-night college deliveries, tasted homemade, and better than I remembered. And at about $30 for the whole meal, it seems inflation hasn't touched Thai eateries since those late-'90s days.