A fair while back, in a time long, long ago, my university awarded its fervent, hard-working students a well-deserved break. That ancient holiday was known as, “Fall Break,” and over its course I ventured to many a creative venue in search of sustenance.
Alas on the third day, a Sunday, as I recall, a friend and I traversed to the Atlanta neighbourhood of Midtown to partake in the Atlanta Pride 2011 festivities. The parade petered out at the end of 10th Street by the entrance to Piedmont Park, leaving my friend and I with the rest of the afternoon to explore the vibrant, bustling, gay-friendly lane. The conclusion of our travels led us to a quaint little Thai restaurant, adorned with rainbow banners, streamers and flags, appropriately named “The Tenth.”
On my first real visit to Atlanta I remember accidentally ending up at this very same restaurant with my father in tow. Even though I have forgotten exactly what I ate that day, I do remember the meal was very good. So I was more than pleased when my friend and I managed to get a table despite the hustle and bustle of the festive day.
The interior of the restaurant had a fairly relaxed ambiance, which was a nice contrast to the excitement outside. The layout was fairly simple; not very remarkable nor very Thai but nevertheless pleasant. The food is where this restaurant capitalizes. And of course, there was no shortage in the seafood that I perpetually crave.
We started the meal by ordering the Fried Wonton appetizer. It consisted of a long, thin fried dumpling of sorts, stuffed with ground shrimp, chicken, garlic, Thai pepper and served with Thai sweet chili sauce. The thing that shocked me the most about this dish was the unique shape of the wonton. Traditionally, Asian wontons are small, thick and fat while these were long and tube-like – think a ‘Pirouette’ biscuit. (Unfortunately I did not get a photo of the appetizer because I was famished and forgot to take out my camera before digging in.) The fried rice paper exterior was flakey and crunchy at the same time and the filling was peppered just right. Unfortunately, it was difficult to differentiate between the tastes of the pork and the shrimp, but regardless, the chili sauce accompaniment was a perfect blend of sweet, tangy and spicy. For me, the exterior skin was also a little too thick in proportion to the filling. Even though the flavours all melded together, they blended well and the dish was delightful overall.
For my main course I ordered a dish called “Kra-Prao Seafood” which was comprised of shrimps, calamari, mussels and mixed vegetables stir-fried in a chili-basil sauce and served with sticky white rice. The dish was very tasty and the spicy/peppery sauce worked well with both the seafood and the vegetables. I don’t have much to say in terms of criticism except that I wish there had been a little more sauce so my rice would have been able to get doused in it too!
My friend however, ordered a dish that left me completely jealous and re-thinking my meal option! He opted to try a dish called “Spicy Catfish” which was sautéed catfish filet with green beans, mixed in with a red curry paste and basil sauce. First off, one of the most important aspects of food for me is texture. And whereas I ordered a dish with a fair amount of chewy components (i.e. the calamari and mussels), the texture of the catfish was unlike anything I had tasted in a long while. The meat was fresh, juicy, hot and absolutely succulent. It was amazing, because even though the exterior was coated in the curry/basil sauce mixture, the fish itself managed to maintain the unique catfish flavour. In addition, the sauce was better than the one on my meal too! The curry paste gave the dish a surprisingly sweet and smoky taste, and the basil sauce spiced things up. There was also a very distinct pepper source, which tasted to me like red, hot chilies even though the menu description didn’t state anything in particular. Plus, as an added bonus, the green beans were plump and crisp.
And finally, to top it all off, we decide to share the dessert platter. The platter was comprised of “Fried Banana w/ Coconut Ice Cream”, “Blueberry Cream Cheese Spring Rolls” and “Fried Green Tea Ice Cream.” I was a little disappointed after the meals when I ate the desserts. Everything was mind-blowingly tasty, but the textures were poor at best. The coating of the fried ice cream was actually dreadful. It was rubbery, chewy and cold – as if it had been put out or cooked for a while. The blueberry cream cheese and fried banana were just fillings inside more of those aforementioned rice paper skins. Except this time, the exteriors were tough instead of crunchy. Yet as I said, the mix of flavours was spectacular. Plus, the presentation was fun and aesthetically-pleasing. My favourite part of the dessert platter was probably the plain ol’ coconut ice cream, because it was the right mix of milky and icy and the flavour was on point.
My friend was also feeling ambitious and ordered “Fresh Mango w/ Sticky rice” as another dessert, but I was too bust pulling my weight through the dessert platter to try it out. But here’s a picture anyways:
(He said it was delicious!)
The service was quick and the servers were friendly and patient. In my opinion, the pricing was a little out of range for the average college student. But my hefty bill could also be because I indulged in a three-course meal knowing full-well that this occasion would be my splurge of the month.
All in all, I whole-heartedly recommend you go pay “The Tenth” a visit. 10th Street is really enjoyable to explore while you’re there too!
Alas on the third day, a Sunday, as I recall, a friend and I traversed to the Atlanta neighbourhood of Midtown to partake in the Atlanta Pride 2011 festivities. The parade petered out at the end of 10th Street by the entrance to Piedmont Park, leaving my friend and I with the rest of the afternoon to explore the vibrant, bustling, gay-friendly lane. The conclusion of our travels led us to a quaint little Thai restaurant, adorned with rainbow banners, streamers and flags, appropriately named “The Tenth.”
On my first real visit to Atlanta I remember accidentally ending up at this very same restaurant with my father in tow. Even though I have forgotten exactly what I ate that day, I do remember the meal was very good. So I was more than pleased when my friend and I managed to get a table despite the hustle and bustle of the festive day.
The interior of the restaurant had a fairly relaxed ambiance, which was a nice contrast to the excitement outside. The layout was fairly simple; not very remarkable nor very Thai but nevertheless pleasant. The food is where this restaurant capitalizes. And of course, there was no shortage in the seafood that I perpetually crave.
We started the meal by ordering the Fried Wonton appetizer. It consisted of a long, thin fried dumpling of sorts, stuffed with ground shrimp, chicken, garlic, Thai pepper and served with Thai sweet chili sauce. The thing that shocked me the most about this dish was the unique shape of the wonton. Traditionally, Asian wontons are small, thick and fat while these were long and tube-like – think a ‘Pirouette’ biscuit. (Unfortunately I did not get a photo of the appetizer because I was famished and forgot to take out my camera before digging in.) The fried rice paper exterior was flakey and crunchy at the same time and the filling was peppered just right. Unfortunately, it was difficult to differentiate between the tastes of the pork and the shrimp, but regardless, the chili sauce accompaniment was a perfect blend of sweet, tangy and spicy. For me, the exterior skin was also a little too thick in proportion to the filling. Even though the flavours all melded together, they blended well and the dish was delightful overall.
For my main course I ordered a dish called “Kra-Prao Seafood” which was comprised of shrimps, calamari, mussels and mixed vegetables stir-fried in a chili-basil sauce and served with sticky white rice. The dish was very tasty and the spicy/peppery sauce worked well with both the seafood and the vegetables. I don’t have much to say in terms of criticism except that I wish there had been a little more sauce so my rice would have been able to get doused in it too!
My friend however, ordered a dish that left me completely jealous and re-thinking my meal option! He opted to try a dish called “Spicy Catfish” which was sautéed catfish filet with green beans, mixed in with a red curry paste and basil sauce. First off, one of the most important aspects of food for me is texture. And whereas I ordered a dish with a fair amount of chewy components (i.e. the calamari and mussels), the texture of the catfish was unlike anything I had tasted in a long while. The meat was fresh, juicy, hot and absolutely succulent. It was amazing, because even though the exterior was coated in the curry/basil sauce mixture, the fish itself managed to maintain the unique catfish flavour. In addition, the sauce was better than the one on my meal too! The curry paste gave the dish a surprisingly sweet and smoky taste, and the basil sauce spiced things up. There was also a very distinct pepper source, which tasted to me like red, hot chilies even though the menu description didn’t state anything in particular. Plus, as an added bonus, the green beans were plump and crisp.
And finally, to top it all off, we decide to share the dessert platter. The platter was comprised of “Fried Banana w/ Coconut Ice Cream”, “Blueberry Cream Cheese Spring Rolls” and “Fried Green Tea Ice Cream.” I was a little disappointed after the meals when I ate the desserts. Everything was mind-blowingly tasty, but the textures were poor at best. The coating of the fried ice cream was actually dreadful. It was rubbery, chewy and cold – as if it had been put out or cooked for a while. The blueberry cream cheese and fried banana were just fillings inside more of those aforementioned rice paper skins. Except this time, the exteriors were tough instead of crunchy. Yet as I said, the mix of flavours was spectacular. Plus, the presentation was fun and aesthetically-pleasing. My favourite part of the dessert platter was probably the plain ol’ coconut ice cream, because it was the right mix of milky and icy and the flavour was on point.
My friend was also feeling ambitious and ordered “Fresh Mango w/ Sticky rice” as another dessert, but I was too bust pulling my weight through the dessert platter to try it out. But here’s a picture anyways:
(He said it was delicious!)
The service was quick and the servers were friendly and patient. In my opinion, the pricing was a little out of range for the average college student. But my hefty bill could also be because I indulged in a three-course meal knowing full-well that this occasion would be my splurge of the month.
All in all, I whole-heartedly recommend you go pay “The Tenth” a visit. 10th Street is really enjoyable to explore while you’re there too!
Taste: *****
Texture: **½
Tummy Happiness: ****½
Texture: **½
Tummy Happiness: ****½
I love the attention to texture! It's easy to forget how important that is. And catfish is one of my all time favorites, and I've never imagined it Thai style. I will have to give this place a try when I have a little extra cash. Nice work!
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