Art Show | Tucson Citizen | Best of Tucson | Best Thai in Tucson | Restaurateur-Activist | Vila Thai | Asian Influence

Match Fave Protein to Noodle, Curry or Stir Fry
Vila Thai is a great example of why the number of Chinese food joints in New York City and other U.S. cities is on the decline.

Thai and Vietnamese restaurants have begun to usurp the longstanding Americanized Chinese paradigm as more and more customers opt for the lighter, healthier touch and fresh, vibrant flavors of these emerging cuisines.

Vila Thai opened in December at what has been a challenging spot for restaurants, a space upstairs in Main Gate Square on East University Boulevard near Park Avenue.

As happens at most fledgling eateries, we encountered a few little bumps in the road on a recent visit. Still, the restaurant's refreshing, carefully prepared fare easily overshadowed those glitches.

We started with the Thai Shrimp Cocktail ($6), 10 medium-sized shrimp encircling a small bowl of mango cocktail sauce. Though some might see using the smaller shrimp as skimping on the restaurant's part, my companion and I enjoyed the smaller shrimp, which were much more tender and flavorful than the stiff jumbo shrimp we often encounter in shrimp cocktails.

The Vegetarian Spring Rolls ($6), featured six good-sized fried rolls that featured a unique character - the taste of air - a quality that brought to mind the zen koan, or riddle, about the sound of one hand clapping. Rather than being stuffed full of vegetables, these rolls featured fillings that were surprising spartan - almost hollow - that gave them a clean and interesting taste. The accompanying sweet spicy sauce featured a sesame and rice vinegar base bejeweled with fine-diced red onions and carrots. The sauce's light but powerful acidity and sweetness stood in stark contrast to the gummy, cloying sweet and sour sauce ubiquitous to old-school Chinese joints.

Vila Thai's menu allows you to match your favorite protein to any noodle, curry or stir fry entree. Tofu and chicken selections generally run from $8.25 to $9.25, with beef tenderloin and shrimp entrees going for $10.25.

This is one of those rare places - and I do mean rare - where I would go the vegetarian route. The Phad Thai Noodle ($10.25) was so enjoyable with its fresh-made rice noodles, green onions and beans sprouts in a stingy, deeply flavored tamarind sauce that the chicken almost detracted from the dish's power.

The beef tenderloin wasn't quite so overarched by the rest of the characters in the Ginger Garden stir fry ($10.25), but as with the Phad Thai, the carrots, mushrooms and other vegetables in this dish were so carefully cut, cooked and complemented by the chilé, oil and ginger sauce that they'd have been just fine sans protein.

Vila Thai's smallish dining room is nicely appointed with Asian touches and a wall of paintings done by local artists. The owners have somehow managed to squeeze quite a few tables and chairs into the room without making it feel cramped.

Service was a tick slow on this Thursday evening, primarily because there was only one server working the seven or so tables of customers, but she was pleasant, very knowledgeable about the menu and displayed a genuine enthusiasm for the restaurant's fare.

She was particularly enthusiastic about Vila Thai's house-made Mango Sticky Rice Dessert ($4) until we ordered it, at which time she regretted to inform us that they were out of it. They were also out of the Black Rice Pudding ($3), so we opted for a dainty little slice of good-tasting but rather pedestrian cheesecake ($3).

As Vila Thai gathers momentum - and there's no reason it shouldn't - its unique style of "Fine Thai" cuisine should attract more than enough business to smooth out some of the bumps in service and 86'ed menu items.

Tucson Citizen