The
restaurant formerly known as Thai Flavors still has the old
name burning bright above the door, but the banner below spells out
L’Thai in fancy cursive, with a heart used instead of a dot
above the ‘i’. The new
concept isn’t about romance, however. Health is the hook and
freshness is the game in a business that describes itself as “the
Only Organic Thai Restaurant Outside of Thailand.”
The owner, who dresses more like a businessman
than the operator of a food outlet, admits to being 52 (he would
probably disclose his cholesterol level as well if you asked) and
attributes his current state of health to following an organic
diet. L’Thai may overstate its case when it
comes to some of its seafood and perhaps poultry (who ever heard of
organic mahi-mahi?), but there is no doubt whatsoever that its
phenomenal brown rice mixed with red rice is a very special product
or that its tom-kha coconut soup with tofu or chicken is the
best and the freshest in the whole Atlanta area. Described as a
two-step process (steeping and last-minute finishing), the
preparation focuses on keeping the beneficial enzymes and achieves
a stunning balance of clear, fresh flavors. Other
exceptional dishes include a pad Thai with tofu that hasn’t been
gunked up with usual sweetish sauce, a novel variation of
tod-mun (fishcakes) made with shrimp and chicken finely
minced and bound with red curry, and tiger shrimp served on
eggplant pedestals topped with a piquant clear sauce.
The duck (boned, pressed, crisped, and seasoned with fine-ground
peppers, in a sauce with Thai basil and bell peppers) looks and
tastes like something a fabulous French chef would do. The seared
mahi-mahi is pretty sumptuous, too, and far better than many an
Asian-fusion dish. Vegetarians
have a lot to choose from at L’Thai. The tofu-tod
appetizer (crisp-fried bites with sweet chili sauce and crushed
peanuts) is pretty average, but the basil Portobello topped with
sautéed onions and strips of bell pepper is a stunning “meaty”
entrée. Carnivores will enjoy the moderately
tender basil lamb chops with grilled vegetables and the
ka-nom-jeep dumplings stuffed with minced pork and water
chestnuts. There are
some mysteries you may not want to get into (the je-on
grouper is described as “toothsomely seared fried sea bass”), and a
few of the dishes are either not available (no green papaya salad,
no durian with sweet coconut rice), too sweet (the lime juice
seasoning for the yum woon sen--glass noodles with tiger
shrimp, cilantro, and hot chili--has been cut with too much palm
sugar), or ill-conceived (the jackfruit bits in the homemade
coconut ice cream are frozen solid), but on the whole, we agree
with the judgment call made by one of our beloved charter
subscribers: L’Thai is a special place.
Where else could you have a choice of Starbucks or organic coffee
with a dessert made of Thai custard over sweet rice bathed in
coconut milk? You will want to linger in the
dining room long enough to appreciate the décor (tangerine walls,
charming but uncomfortable little banquettes, big fake tree in the
middle), the people, and the food.< | 
