Thai Society

[February 1st, 2006] While doing "beverage research" at Binks on Alberta Street, I've often eyed the peculiar concrete building sitting empty next door. With odd antique details—high, arched windows and wrought-iron lanterns—the place quietly maintained an air of mystery and potential as new businesses sprung up around it. That is, until owner Paul Van Slyke and co-owner/chef Adrienne Inskeep transformed the former power station into Siam Society last November. True to the 1910 space's potential, they've created a Thai restaurant that is, give or take a few dishes and unfinished edges, very cool.

Soaring ceilings studded with electrical accoutrement, mostly bare concrete walls, and rather severe lighting by sconces and overhead halogens create a modernist vibe. Perhaps a bit too modern: As we eased into our stiff banquette seats, my companion quipped, "Feels exactly like we're sitting in an industrial power station."

The acoustics are similarly bare: There's little fabric or wood to absorb sound, which is jarringly noticeable when live musicians occasionally play in the adjoining bar. On a recent visit, my companion and I were forced to shout over a mediocre jazz band while we dined.

Fortunately, the cuisine is warmer than the furnishings, focusing on authentic Thai cooking. The quality of ingredients and technique merit Siam's prices—slightly higher than at mom-and-pop Thai restaurants—but don't insulate against the occasional less-than-breathtaking dish.

Choose well from the long menu and you'll dig into excellent dishes like "Sexy Beef" ($14), slices of flank steak in a fiery coconut broth that yield with just the slightest chew for a silken dish worthy of the name. A relatively unknown dish from the north of Thailand, the kao soy chicken ($14) is another epiphany. The Siam menu describes it as a spicy green curry, but in truth it's a noodle dish, with both soft and crisp-fried egg noodles. Big pieces of tender, boneless chicken thigh (a lovely change from the lifeless shards of chicken breast found in most Asian restaurants), salty, pickled greens and raw shallot nicely decorate a rich coconut broth full of the deep flavors of toasted cinnamon and mace. Likewise, the pad kee mao ($12-$14)—fresh wheat noodles, tender beef or tofu, red peppers and a very rich, dark sauce—is like fireworks on the palate: sour, slightly salty, then back-of-the-palate spicy. It may not be authentically spicy (it should be kick-your-ass-hot), but this rendition of "drunken noodles" could school other more white-bread versions around town.

Not all the dishes are gold stars. Peanut-sauce curry ($12) featuring gloppy angel-hair pasta and mixed vegetables under a too-tart peanut sauce is a total miss. The sautéed eggplant ($12) in curry coconut sauce was undercooked, rendering my mouth raw in two bites.

Siam Society seems to be striving to break away from the mundane Thai restaurant model, and mostly it succeeds. Fine-tune the decor, the acoustics and the odd dish, and this society has the potential to have a huge membership in no time.