Episode 27: Thai and German

I had kind of hoped that Vientiane Market, where the Little One and I had lunch yesterday, would have some sort of obscure Laotian specialties available. It is, after all, named after the capital of Laos. However the owners and kitchen staff are apparently a mix of Thais and Laotians, and they seem to have opted in their limited take-out kitchen (with a few Formica tables for those who prefer to eat in) mostly for known crowd-pleasers from the Thai side of Mekong River. Though there is larb/laap, a spicy meat salad that is popular both in Laos and in the northeastern sections of Thailand bordering it. When summer comes, I will return to order it.

The most wintry thing on the menu had to be Massaman curry, which I ordered with beef. It was one of the best examples of the dish I have hard, peanutty and coconutty and fragrant with turmeric, lemongrass and red chili. LO wanted noodles, so we got her pad thai. She seemed to enjoy the dish, but it seemed to me to be lacking something--perhaps fish sauce, or lime juice, maybe both. We brought home a bottle of Sriracha, a household staple whose purchase was long overdue.

With the strong reputation of Portland's Thai restaurants, I wasn't amazed enough by Vientiane for it to have won my eternal allegiance--yet. But I will return.

Today's family lunch was our first brunch at Schulte & Herr. There's not much that I can say about it that hasn't already been written at Edible Obsessions. Hot Librarian had the Bergmannkiez, out of nostalgia for the many excellent breakfast spreads we had on our last visit to Germany. LO got a kick out of being able to have latkes with sour cream and apple sauce for lunch--"It's like Hanukkah!"--though I think she got a good deal of her caloric intake from pieces of ham, salami and cheese off of HL's plate. As for me, I could not resist the lox and horseradish sauce as toppings for my potato pancakes. My only complaint is that for brunch they served it in same size as they offer for appetizers at lunch or dinner during the week. I would have gladly payed proportionately more a larger serving. As it was, the perfectly seasoned side dish of roasted beets that I ordered--and a bit of HL's Bergmannkiez--filled the hole. For now, it's BYOB--and had I known, I would have budgeted time to grab some beer en route. When this place gets its liquor license and can offer German and/or Austrian beers and wines, they will be an unstoppable juggernaut.