Restaurant Review: Jasmine Thai Restaurant

Last Saturday, J10X & I popped into the new Jasmine Thai restaurant at Columbus Corner in New London for lunch. It's a nice improvement on the horrid retaurants that had recently occupied that spot!

The retaurant was fairly quiet as it was 2 PM, but the staff are very nice, the place is clean and nicely decorated, but bring your own atmosphere- it's been a bit Americanized, so you get Muzak instead of some nice SE Asian music. Oh, and a nice view of the Colombo statue.

The menu has many choices, and the prices are very fair. Appetizers & desserts are in the $4 range, lunches in the $6-$10. There are plenty of vegetarian options, as to be expected. They also have a sushi bar, so we may have to try that next time.

J10X & I tried the steamed dumplings and spring rolls to start- excellent, beautifully served but not extraordinary. I orderd the massaman curry with shrimp , and J10X had the pork Four Companies. Both dishes were delightful, and the portions not immense, which is just great. They each came with the standard bland Thai salad of iceburg lettuce & peanut sauce and a mound of rice. I orderd my curry 'hot', and it was delightfully zippy, but not blister-inducing. I'm not sure if the 'extremely hot' would be much hotter, but the food was very tasty, so there was no need to mask it with the taste of my own burnt tongue. I had also ordered an Sweet Thai Iced Coffee, which may have been a mistake- I think it contained a whole can of condensed milk, plus the curry had plenty of coconut milk in it, and the rice sort of poofed everything up.....I was nauseatingly full by the time I was 2/3 of the way done. I should have skipped the spring rolls!

It's nice that a second Thai place has opened up (Bangkok City is getting tired) and while this is a good place, I think Thai Sawasdee in Groton has food that is much more exquisite.

And as an extra added bonus, J10X actually had green tea ice cream! Anytime that the green tea ice cream order is made a reality is a good day- he has a looong history of being bilked out his ice cream in the past. Even funnier, they served it with chocolate sauce, whipped cream & a cherry....

Coupla Pix from the Previously Mentioned Show at the El 'n' Gee

Credit goes to Meghan Killimade and her honey, Adam!

Wonder Woman Day!

GREAT HERA! WONDER WOMAN DAY III
Is coming to Portland OR & Fleminton NJ, raising money and awareness for Domestic Violence shelters and a Women's Crisis Line!

*** Over 150 pieces of original art for auction and cool collectibles! ***

Check it out here......

Long weekend, Providence, Roadshow Bands & Auto Clubs...

Even though Monday was not a day off, I scored a day off Sunday so I could enjoy the fruits of a long weekend....so, I did nothing on Friday, and merely moved my entire library on Saturday. If I ever say 'I really don't have that many books' to anyone, slap me - I couldn't believe how long it took me to move everything and how many damn books can fit on a shelf! I did manage to weed 8 more books....and would anyone out there like my card catalog? I'm getting rid of it. Man, I was pooped after that, so I had to spend some restorative time at the Aloha Alcohula*.

Sunday, J10X & I journeyed to Providence to attend a friend's 40th birthday party - it was for my friend Shawn, who I used to work with at the Pequot Museum & we hadn't seen him in ages! He also has apparently become the Director of Education at Sturbridge Village where he used to work as 'Farm Boy #3' when he was younger. It was a lovely little get-together with friends and family at his charming house.....however, I was cornered at one point by a Career Librarian who wanted to 'talk shop' - aaiiieee!

We came home and put on our glad rags to see a show at the El 'n' Gee - or whatever the hell they're calling it now - The Backstage Pass, or, even more unsavory, Jinks. That just sounds like a creepy "gentlemen's club"....the decor has been changed & the annoying wall around the bar is mercifully gone. Joan Jett is painted on one bathroom door & Johnny Cash on another- this had led to such entertaining exchanges such as 'Have you seen Meghan?' 'Um, I think she just went in the Joan Jett...' 'I gotta visit the john....ny Cash...'

The bill last night consisted of three bands: Gone for Good, Paul Brockett Roadshow Band & Slim Cessna's Auto Club. I was a little panicky that the show might be sold out, but, sadly, the place was only about half full. The nice part is, it was half full of the Good People of New London.

We went of to another place to have a quieter first drink- the El 'n' Gee's sound system is still overbearingly loud, and Gordy from the Bank St Cafe was doing the sound, so.....we only wanted to be mostly deaf by the end of the night. Funny thing, New London is D-E-A-D on a Sunday night! The Dutch Tavern was closed, several other places, too, and so we ended up at the Roadhouse.

Then back to the El 'n' Gee to see a rip-roarin' set by PBRB - with the added pleasure of seeing Mr. Joey Royale (of the former Royale Brothers) get on deck to sing a few songs.....there was a lot of love for everyone onstage happening in that place! And Joey is still freakin' magic, no matter how long it's been.

After the PBRB set, we all caught our breath in time for the Auto Club to hit the stage - anyone who knows me knows my deep, everlasting love for these guys. Even though the place wasn't packed, they still put on an amazing, energetic show. There were a few different people on the stage this time- some Tony Soprano-type playing keyboards and an incredibly hot young man on the drums.....really incredibly hot. Did I mention the drummer was hot?

So, the next hour and half was spent jumping around and gettin' religion, SCAC style. Thank goddess they had ginormous Newcastle beers to fuel my sweaty self! The show was over too quickly, as always, but it was full of fun, energy and excellent songs. I liked the new songs far better live than on the new album, which is just a little too slick for my taste.

J10X scored a couple of t-shirts for us, then we reeled out of there, happily tired & with ears ringing like crazy......

*Best DAMN tiki bar in CT