Let's start with this: Any dish that has chef Mai Pham's name associated with it will be good. But some dishes are "more good" than others.
Yes, you can have tasty meals at her two Lemon Grass satellite "grill and noodle bars," but the original Lemon Grass is still the best of the trio.
Her newish Star Ginger specializes in the "street foods of Southeast Asia" (banh mi sandwiches, Thai shrimp green curry), fine for casual fare. An equally casual but different menu is at Lemon Grass Grill (pork noodle bowl, two kinds of pho), but the restaurant is a victim of location shock. Housed inside a La Bou Bakery Cafe, dining is a noisy, cafeteria-like experience.
Lunch at the more formal mother ship is always a flavor-laden journey of surprise, lunch pal Bruce Anapolsky and I agreed.
Bruce is CEO of the Julius Clothing specialty store in the Pavilions center. Appropriately, he was dressed in an Ermenegildo Zegna black-striped suit, black-and-white shirt with French cuffs and spread collar, and a pinkish silk tie.
"My shirt's a vintage Tommy Bahama," I offered.
"It's nice," he said with a straight face.
We chatted about Mangalitsa pigs, the Manhattan restaurant scene, the works of Mark Twain. Then we ordered a tureen of soup (lemongrass-infused coconut broth, chunky with tender chicken breast, mushrooms, tomato and basil, with balanced heat, $9.75); and a plate of garlicky prawns on top of rice noodles, all dressed up with herbs, carrots, mushrooms onions and peanuts ($13.50).
One daily special was grilled lamb salad, the best dish on the table. Skewers of tender marinated grilled lamb arrived with chopped cucumber, corn kernels, cherry tomatoes, cilantro and crisp greens, splashed with tantalizing tamarind vinaigrette ($14.95).
Flavors, textures, fresh ingredients – they all worked together in a first-rate way.
After we'd eaten everything in sight, I asked Bruce for his fall fashion forecast, as he had recently returned from a buying trip in New York City.
"The trend is toward the classic and elegant. Browns and charcoals will be very strong, and there won't be as much color or bold stripes," he said.
What's his role as a premier fashion consultant? "I want to steer people into taking a bit of a chance, so they won't look like everybody else and they won't look like they usually do," he said.
Hmmm. What would Tommy say to that?
Getting all pie-eyed
Master baker Teresa Urkofsky dropped by the office the other day, bearing a box full of sweet and savory mini-pies and looking for some feedback. After sampling the goods, a dozen randomly chosen tasters wanted to stand up and applaud.
Urkofsky teaches baking and pastry-making at American River College. Her new company, www.beckyjopies.com (916-217-5421), opened just three weeks ago, and she's working hard to keep up with the demand for her "hand pies" (crescent-shaped turnover size) and 9-inch "puffy pies."
We tasted five hand pies – all incredible – and a puffy pie heavy with nectarines and raspberries. The crisp, buttery crusts were croissant-like, and nothing was too sweet.
The pies are sold Fridays through Sundays at Corti Bros. Market, but the smart approach is this: Go to the website and order the pies in advance, then pick them up later. Hand pies are $4.99; puffy pies are $22.99.
"In September, I'll make chicken pot pie and salmon pot pie," Urkofsky said. We'll be waiting.
Corti Bros. Market is at 5810 Folsom Blvd.; (916) 736-3800.
LEMON GRASS
WHERE: 601 Munroe St., Sacramento
HOURS: Lunch is 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays-Fridays; dinner is 5-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, and until 10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays. (Star Ginger, 3101 Folsom Blvd., 916-231-8888. Lemon Grass Grill, 945 Howe Ave., 916-929-9888)
FOOD: 4 stars
AMBIENCE: 3 stars
HOW MUCH: $$
INFORMATION: (916) 486-4891, www.lemongrass.com
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