Denton Cool: Andaman Restaurant
Having bragged a time or two about not having advertising at The Carnival of Horror, it was inevitable an ad would appear and I would feel compelled to provide an explanation.
Cool is word I love and use as much or more than anybody else, but, damn, is it ever a corrupt one thanks to the evil genius of Madison Avenue's heirs. No one-syllable word worth a damn can survive the vultures of advertising, but cool was probably the first really great one to be co-opted and rendered virtually - but not completely - meaningless.
There are so few genuinely cool places in Denton, Texas, that I shout it from the rooftop when I encounter one. Such is the case with Andaman Thai Restaurant located downtown.
People living in Denton County (and Aubrey, Texas, in particular) occasionally encounter The Carnival of Horror - and there can be no doubt they're mostly mortified, offended and apoplectic with rage after a cursory look around. Nevertheless, I suspect a few of the more worldly ones (not a good choice of words, but "slightly more sophisticated" sounds really condescending) either like Thai cuisine or might be adventurous enough to give it a try. So I thought, what the hell, I'll throw 'em a bone and hope to Buddha I don't have to listen to 'em yammering at an adjacent table the next time I get a craving for Thai.
Mrs. Hill and I have eaten at two other Thai joints in Denton, but neither holds a candle to Andaman, an unassuming little place - at least from the outside - which opened a couple of months ago.
We often find ourselves dining out during the weekend between the lunch and dinner hours, and, for the most part, it's deserted no mattter where we go. Typically, we're either ignored by the staff and left to die by asphyxiation and dehydration, or we're unnecessarily rushed. Not so at Andaman, where the servers are attentive yet wonderfully laid back and friendly. I actually remember their names, and I can barely remember my own, so suffice to say the service is noteworthy.
I'm not the most extravagant carnie in the world, but I do appreciate a nice atmosphere when dining out; nothing too stuffy and nothing too sterile. I'll overlook ambience for good food, but it's always a relief not to have to make the sacrifice. Cool colors abound in this perfectly cool climate. Part of that ambience comes from the incredible music, which, as Carnival readers will surmise, is no small thing for a fading hipster like me.
Rather than playing the same damn warbly Thai pop tunes over and over again, the staff provides a playlist that is the envy of cool music afficionados. At the risk of spoiling the surprise, let me just say I have never eaten Thai - nor did I ever expect to eat Thai - while listening to Lou Reed serenade me with Taste the whip, and bleeeeeeed for me. I looked at Mrs. Hill, who is also cool, though not as cool as me, and said "Can you fucking believe this? Velvet Underground!" It's not all mad crazy - Tori Amos, Belle & Sebastian and The Smiths were as refreshing as the mango tea - but taken as a whole, the music adds much to an already great experience.
The food? Hands down the best Thai I've had anywhere. Spicey hot to perfection (there are entrees for those who can't take the heat, and the chef will happily turn the fire down on request). The vegetables taste as though they were harvested within seconds of being sliced and diced and folded into a vortex of classic Thai flavors which all simultaneously compete for the attention of your taste buds. Despite the generous portions, there won't be anything left by the time you're finished because it's nearly impossible to stop eating when the food is this good.
I'm embarassed to admit I've ordered the same damn thing all three times I've been there and have taken an oath to Zeus to try something different next time. Don't miss the crab cakes, which are indisputably the best I've tasted anywhere (easily deserving of a paragraph to themselves). Pity the fool with a peanut allergy, as the tangy dressing which comes with the crab cakes and house salad is off the charts. Thai Sweet Basil Chicken, or Kra Pow (also available with pork or beef) - the entree of my addiction - is the perfect blend of sweet basil, green bean, Thai chile pepper, ground chicken and garlic sautéed in a blissfully spicy sauce, with a cone of jasmine rice on the side. Mrs. Hill had the Pad Kee Mau with chicken and confirmed it was nothing less than sublime. Unlike me, she ordered a different entree each time and always proclaimed them the best ever. We each drank a gallon of tea, but I'm thrilled to report beer and wine is served - and, damn, does beer ever taste good with Thai (unfortunately, I can only rarely drink beer because of my problem with chronic headaches - woe is me). Considering the soundtrack and cool vibe, I would love to park my ass at a table for a whole evening and drink myself silly. Maybe I'd even get around to ordering dessert.
I always lack room for dessert by the end of the meal but tremble at the prospect of satisfying my sweet tooth at Andaman. On the second visit, our server, Sheryl, intimated the goodies are to die for. Our server on the last visit, Brista, could barely speak the words "poached banana in coconut cream" with her eyes open. (The staff is visibly infatuated with the entire menu, and you know I can spot a fake from a mile away). The next time I'm in Denton on a semi-full stomach, I have every intention of dropping in just for dessert.
Prices, as you can see from the link, are a bargain anywhere, but for a restaurant this good, they're pretty much unheard of. Considering the more than reasonable cost in light of everything else at Andaman, the patron who doesn't leave these cool servers a hot tip of twenty percent minimum is paving his or her own path to Hell. Being a den of Republicanism, there is no shortage of cheapshits Denton County, so I take some perverse pleasure in contemplating their fate.
Words cannot convey how cool it is we don't have to drive to Dallas or God forbid, Frisco or Plano, to subdue our cravings for fine Thai cuisine. It's almost enough to make me feel sorry for the Red State pods in those wretched places. Well, to be fair, Dallas has a cool neighborhood or two - but, despite many fine Thai restaurants, nothing on the level of Andaman.
So now you can see why I decided to break the rule about advertising on my horrific blog, and even went as far as designing a custom graphic incorporating Andaman's logo and adding a worthy tagline. Granted, it's not paid advertising - a restaurateur would have to be insane to advertise on this iconoclastic hellhole - but when real Cool makes itself known, it is not something one cares to part with - ever.
Cool is word I love and use as much or more than anybody else, but, damn, is it ever a corrupt one thanks to the evil genius of Madison Avenue's heirs. No one-syllable word worth a damn can survive the vultures of advertising, but cool was probably the first really great one to be co-opted and rendered virtually - but not completely - meaningless.
There are so few genuinely cool places in Denton, Texas, that I shout it from the rooftop when I encounter one. Such is the case with Andaman Thai Restaurant located downtown.
People living in Denton County (and Aubrey, Texas, in particular) occasionally encounter The Carnival of Horror - and there can be no doubt they're mostly mortified, offended and apoplectic with rage after a cursory look around. Nevertheless, I suspect a few of the more worldly ones (not a good choice of words, but "slightly more sophisticated" sounds really condescending) either like Thai cuisine or might be adventurous enough to give it a try. So I thought, what the hell, I'll throw 'em a bone and hope to Buddha I don't have to listen to 'em yammering at an adjacent table the next time I get a craving for Thai.
Mrs. Hill and I have eaten at two other Thai joints in Denton, but neither holds a candle to Andaman, an unassuming little place - at least from the outside - which opened a couple of months ago.
We often find ourselves dining out during the weekend between the lunch and dinner hours, and, for the most part, it's deserted no mattter where we go. Typically, we're either ignored by the staff and left to die by asphyxiation and dehydration, or we're unnecessarily rushed. Not so at Andaman, where the servers are attentive yet wonderfully laid back and friendly. I actually remember their names, and I can barely remember my own, so suffice to say the service is noteworthy.
I'm not the most extravagant carnie in the world, but I do appreciate a nice atmosphere when dining out; nothing too stuffy and nothing too sterile. I'll overlook ambience for good food, but it's always a relief not to have to make the sacrifice. Cool colors abound in this perfectly cool climate. Part of that ambience comes from the incredible music, which, as Carnival readers will surmise, is no small thing for a fading hipster like me.
Rather than playing the same damn warbly Thai pop tunes over and over again, the staff provides a playlist that is the envy of cool music afficionados. At the risk of spoiling the surprise, let me just say I have never eaten Thai - nor did I ever expect to eat Thai - while listening to Lou Reed serenade me with Taste the whip, and bleeeeeeed for me. I looked at Mrs. Hill, who is also cool, though not as cool as me, and said "Can you fucking believe this? Velvet Underground!" It's not all mad crazy - Tori Amos, Belle & Sebastian and The Smiths were as refreshing as the mango tea - but taken as a whole, the music adds much to an already great experience.
The food? Hands down the best Thai I've had anywhere. Spicey hot to perfection (there are entrees for those who can't take the heat, and the chef will happily turn the fire down on request). The vegetables taste as though they were harvested within seconds of being sliced and diced and folded into a vortex of classic Thai flavors which all simultaneously compete for the attention of your taste buds. Despite the generous portions, there won't be anything left by the time you're finished because it's nearly impossible to stop eating when the food is this good.
I'm embarassed to admit I've ordered the same damn thing all three times I've been there and have taken an oath to Zeus to try something different next time. Don't miss the crab cakes, which are indisputably the best I've tasted anywhere (easily deserving of a paragraph to themselves). Pity the fool with a peanut allergy, as the tangy dressing which comes with the crab cakes and house salad is off the charts. Thai Sweet Basil Chicken, or Kra Pow (also available with pork or beef) - the entree of my addiction - is the perfect blend of sweet basil, green bean, Thai chile pepper, ground chicken and garlic sautéed in a blissfully spicy sauce, with a cone of jasmine rice on the side. Mrs. Hill had the Pad Kee Mau with chicken and confirmed it was nothing less than sublime. Unlike me, she ordered a different entree each time and always proclaimed them the best ever. We each drank a gallon of tea, but I'm thrilled to report beer and wine is served - and, damn, does beer ever taste good with Thai (unfortunately, I can only rarely drink beer because of my problem with chronic headaches - woe is me). Considering the soundtrack and cool vibe, I would love to park my ass at a table for a whole evening and drink myself silly. Maybe I'd even get around to ordering dessert.
I always lack room for dessert by the end of the meal but tremble at the prospect of satisfying my sweet tooth at Andaman. On the second visit, our server, Sheryl, intimated the goodies are to die for. Our server on the last visit, Brista, could barely speak the words "poached banana in coconut cream" with her eyes open. (The staff is visibly infatuated with the entire menu, and you know I can spot a fake from a mile away). The next time I'm in Denton on a semi-full stomach, I have every intention of dropping in just for dessert.
Prices, as you can see from the link, are a bargain anywhere, but for a restaurant this good, they're pretty much unheard of. Considering the more than reasonable cost in light of everything else at Andaman, the patron who doesn't leave these cool servers a hot tip of twenty percent minimum is paving his or her own path to Hell. Being a den of Republicanism, there is no shortage of cheapshits Denton County, so I take some perverse pleasure in contemplating their fate.
Words cannot convey how cool it is we don't have to drive to Dallas or God forbid, Frisco or Plano, to subdue our cravings for fine Thai cuisine. It's almost enough to make me feel sorry for the Red State pods in those wretched places. Well, to be fair, Dallas has a cool neighborhood or two - but, despite many fine Thai restaurants, nothing on the level of Andaman.
So now you can see why I decided to break the rule about advertising on my horrific blog, and even went as far as designing a custom graphic incorporating Andaman's logo and adding a worthy tagline. Granted, it's not paid advertising - a restaurateur would have to be insane to advertise on this iconoclastic hellhole - but when real Cool makes itself known, it is not something one cares to part with - ever.
posted by Arvin Hill at 4/07/2005 03:28:00 PM
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