Organic and OTP: L'Thai

Maybe it's all this talk about house hunting, but something's got me thinking about the suburbs (otherwise known as the area Outside the Perimeter, or OTP, here in ATL).  Some of my favorite places in Atlanta are its quirky, hole-in-the-wall, off-the-beaten-path, intown eateries.  Would I miss out on such indulgences if I moved OTP?  Well, thanks to Scoutmob, I recently learned that good food exists in Suburbia, too!  Oh Scoutmob, you've never steered me wrong!

Dave and I took my dad out to dinner for his birthday at L'Thai, an organic Thai restaurant.  The original L'Thai is located in Tucker, but this particular location is part of Smyrna's West Village.  West Village, by the way, is super cute.

 {image via Smyrna Vinings}

My dad works for a large hotel company, and has enjoyed conducting training sessions for fellow employees all over the country.  Occasionally, training has taken him abroad.  Some of his fondest travel memories took place during his trip to Bangkok, and he often speaks of Thailand with a tinge of nostalgia in his voice.  When we told him we were taking him to try a new Thai place right near his suburban home, he was pretty psyched.

L'Thai is apparently the only organic Thai restaurant outside of Thailand.  I know!  I was surprised, too!  I believed that claim as soon as we stepped inside the restaurant.  Traditional details met modern decor, and every smell we encountered confirmed that this place was legit.

We were served promptly, and often.  In fact, several different waiters and waitresses visited our table intermittently.  Though they were checking on us pretty consistently, it never felt intrusive...just attentive.  The owner of the restaurant stopped by a couple of times just to chat, and he could not have been more charming.

We started off with basil rolls, which were different than I expected.  I'm accustomed to basil rolls that look like this:

{image via Thai Pavilion}

The basil rolls at L'Thai looked like this:

Don't get me wrong, both versions are delicious, but they are different dishes.  The basil rolls typically found at thai restaurants consist of rice paper filled with shrimp and pork, rice noodles, and basil.  The basil rolls at L'Thai were all veggie and much lighter, yet somehow still just as flavorful.  Plus, I really liked the presentation.  Bite-size pieces were perfect for sharing!

For my entree, I had the Pra Ram Long-Song.  This was a chef specialty consisting of lean, grass-fed beef smothered in peanut curry sauce and served on a bed of spinach and broccoli.  It was big enough to turn into two meals, but good enough not to. (And possibly healthy enough?  Maybe?  There was green stuff in there!)  Okay, okay, I ate the whole thing!

We had turned in our dessert menus, assuming that we were too stuffed after our delicious dinners.  But then, my dad started up with the nostalgia again, this time about some mango sticky rice dish.  I told him to ask the waiter if they had such a thing.  My dad asked, almost apprehensively, hoping that just maybe it would live up to his expectations.  They waiter smiled, and said that of course they had it!

When they brought over our dessert, I was a little surprised by the appearance.  Shouldn't rice look like rice?

Apparently, this appearance is normal.  The sticky rice looks that way because of all of the brown sugar. *drools*

It was an excellent meal.  I learned a lot about Thai food, I had a great time, and it was a pretty good deal thanks to Scoutmob.  What's your favorite Thai dish?  Do you have a favorite Thai restaurant?