December 12, 2011 at 12:31pm
FIRST BITE AT CAFE BANANA IN LAKEWOOD >>>
In more than a decade of writing for the Weekly Volcano, I've come to depend heavily on restaurant leads from its knowledgeable readers. I can't be everywhere at once, and feedback from readers has frequently led me to restaurant gems that I might not have unearthed on my own. But in that decade-plus, I've never gotten more encouraging reviews from readers about a restaurant than I've received in the past month or so about Café Banana, the new Asian bistro where once Goodfellas Steakhouse anchored the Great American Casino in Lakewood.
Where a lot of restaurateurs would probably be happy just throwing a few posters from Thailand on the walls and a bronze Buddha in the corner, owner Tony Wen dims the lights, giving the bamboo wallpaper and Asian cultural décor a more mystic feel.
The menu at Café Banana shines with five appetizers, five curry dishes, five noodle dishes, three satays and four entrees, including a crispy red snapper. It's reasonably priced, with most dishes ringing in less than $10.
So how do you decide between the red curry with coconut milk, bamboo shoots, bell peppers and Thai basil and the green curry with coconut milk, bamboo shoots, bell peppers, snow peas and Thai basil? Well, since the flavors at Café Banana are clean and wonderful, it doesn't really matter which dishes you choose.
There are a handful of menu items I'd highly recommend such as the Massaman chicken and cashew chicken. I tend to judge Thai restaurants on their Pad Thai; I figure if that classic Thai noodle dish isn't up to par, then there's no reason to think anything else will be. Café Banana's Pad Thai ($9.95) definitely wins "Best Of" status in my book. It's exceptional.
Several curry and noodle dishes are offered as $7.95 lunch specials with choice of soup or a mixed baby green salad.
With a full bar of boozy goodies and extra-friendly service, this new restaurant is top banana in my book.
[Café Banana, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 1-11 p.m. Saturday, 1-9 p.m. Sunday, happy hour 4-7 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 10115 S. Tacoma Way, Lakewood, 253.589.4678]
News and entertainment from Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s most awesome weekly newspapers - The Ranger, Northwest Airlifter and Weekly Volcano.
Thanks for posting! But I want say that Walkie Talkies are really required while organizing fun...
Really nice album. I have already purchased Vedder's Album. Listening to the song of this album,...
about Eddie Vedder’s "Ukulele Songs" available today - and I don’t hold a candle to that shit
Your post contains very beneficial content. Kindly keep sharing such post.
Vedder's album is really nice. I have heard attentively
about Eddie Vedder’s "Ukulele Songs" available today - and I don’t hold a candle to that shit
amazing information for getting the new ideas thanks for sharing a post
about 5 Things To Do Today: Art Chantry, DIY home improvement, "A Shot In The Dark" ...
446th Airlift Wing, 5 Things To Do, 62nd Airlift Wing, 7th Infantry Division, Air Force, All Ages, Army, Arts, Awards, Benefits, Best of Olympia, Best of TAcoma, Bobble Tiki, Books, Business, Camp Murray, Ceremony, Chainsuck, Classical Music, Comedy, Comment The The Day, Community, Concerts, Condemn or Allow?, Contest, Day Tripper, Deals, Defense Department, Deployment, DJ/Electronica, Events, Facebook, Fashion, Federal Way, Fife, Fircrest, Food & Drink, Future Things Are Coming, Games, Gay Rights, Genius, Gig Harbor, Green Crush, Happy Hour Hug, Health, History, Holidays, Honors, I Corps, In Their Words, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Judging by the Trailer, Keeping Up With The Coffeehouses, Kids, Lacey, Lakewood, Legislature, Madigan Army Medical Center, Marines, McChord Field, Media, Memorial, Military, Milton, Morning Joe, Music, National Guard, Navy, Nerd Alert!, New Beer Column, News To Us, Night Moves, Not Cool, Olympia, Outdoor Addict, outdoors, Photo Hot Spot, Podcast, Pop Culture, Poster of the Day, Puyallup, Radio, Rangers, Retail, Rocket Science, ROTC, Ruston, Schools, Screens, Sex, Shout Out, South Sound Sidekick, Spanaway, Special Forces, Sports, Steilacoom, Strykers, Summer Tip, Sumner, Tacoma, Talking Shop, The Mouth, Theater, Tightwad, Tournament of Burgers, Tournament of Mac and Cheese, Training, Travel, Twitter, University Place, USO, Veterans, Video Hot Spot, Volunteer, Web/Tech, Word, Wounded Warrior
Read Comments