You May Not Know What It Is, But You’ll Know What It Looks Like

The reason diners don’t see pictures of entrees on more menus is that photos of food can be downright unappetizing. Under the unforgiving gaze of the camera, a perfectly delicious dish might end up looking like a plate of goo.

Happily, that’s not the case with the new menu at The Asian Cafe. It’s filled with gorgeous pictures of Laotian homemade noodles curry, the hot and spicy crab and the seafood combo saute, which are just a few of the items added to the revamped bill of fare.

The photos can be a real service to customers unfamiliar with Laotian food. Pia Phothivongsa, who runs the restaurant with her husband, Manh, described the cuisine as “more like Thai than Vietnamese, but different.”

Laotian cooking shares ingredients such as coconut milk, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and fish sauce with Thai cuisine, but the combination of those elements differ subtley.

Some of the Laotian dishes bear a resemblance to Chinese food, too. For instance, there’s Laotian almond chicken or chicken in black bean-garlic sauce stir-fried with bell peppers, mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and green onions.

Among the new dishes served at The Asian Cafe is a Laotian house soup - a specialty that is served with broth and steamed rice alongside a plate heaped with beef, squid, shrimp, fish balls, cabbage, bean sprouts, tomatoes and a special sauce, giving diners the chance to essentially make their own soup at the table. The generous portion serves eight people as a first course or four as a main dish.

Also joining the lineup is a green papaya salad, a house seafood special in lime juice, a seafood saute, baked green mussels and spicy fried rice. The new hot and spicy stir-fried crab is served only on Fridays and Saturdays, and only when crab is in season.

I like the food so much at The Asian Cafe that I’m determined to make my way through the entire menu. So far, I’m hooked on the golden pumpkin curry, the Laotian special peanut sauce that smothers steamed carrots, broccoli and seasoned chicken, and the chef’s special stir-fried noodles.

The Asian Cafe is located at 14th and Lincoln. Phone 747-4344 for take-out orders.

Spud sighting

I was thoroughly impressed with a blackened trout special I ordered for dinner last week at Fugazzi. The fish was spicy but not overpowered and the dish was beautifully presented.

But what has stayed with me long after the meal was the memory of a perfectly wonderful side dish - a heaping bowl of garlic mashed potatoes. The steaming spuds were garnished with a healthy drizzle of hot chili oil. Yum.

Apparently, other diners share my passion for Fugazzi’s whipped potatoes. Our server told us that some customers come in and order just a salad and the spuds.

Talk about your discriminating diners.

Winestein’z massages its menu

After a rather rocky start, with plenty of personnel changes in the kitchen, Winestein’z has come out with promising new lunch and dinner menus.

Billing itself as an American bistro, Winestein’z offers a collection of Old World food with American touches. For lunch, there’s a beef bourguignon served in a bread bowl, penne pasta tossed with marinara sauce and three types of cheese, chicken sauteed with lemon juice, herbs, mushrooms and chardonnay and a Caesar salad that can be served with either chicken or shrimp. There’s also a lineup of soups and sandwiches. Everything is under $8.

In the evenings, the prices go up and the menu expands to include crabcakes served with chipotle aioli sauce, several types of steaks, including a pork porterhouse and pasta dishes. A couple of the seafood entrees have a southwestern touch, including grilled prawns marinated in citrus juice, garlic, peppers, tequila and cilantro.

Dinner prices range from $10.95 to $17.95 for the filet mignon.

A selection of filling appetizers are served from 2:30 p.m. until closing. Tempting tapas include clams or mussels steamed in beer, jambalaya, a couple of sandwiches and the perennial bar food favorites like spicy chicken wings, chips and salsa and chicken fingers.

Winestein’z is located at 11003 E. Sprague, west of Pines Road. For reservations, call 891-8466.

Think locally, eat globally

Hotel menus can be a little staid, but the new offerings at The Ridpath’s Silver Grill read like a regular roadmap of the trendiest ethnic eats.

For instance, there’s a Thai seafood salad, Italian stir-fry beef, Cajun shrimp sandwich, black bean quesadilla, southwestern-seasoned trout and Sicilian pasta. The grouping gives new meaning to the term “melting pot.”

Along with the eclectic fare, there are also old-fashioned faves such as grilled salmon, steak, cheeseburgers and biscuits and gravy.

The Silver Grill serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. It’s located at 515 E. Sprague.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Hot off the grill Jumpin’ Jehosaphat! Leaping lizards! There’s a Coeur d’Alene restaurant serving up frog legs. The Thai Palace offers the amphibian delicacies two distinctive ways - with garlic or with a basil and hot pepper sauce. Apparently, the little legs taste something like chicken. Naturally.