Sweet Basil Is a Sweet Lunch Spot

One of Solano Avenue's smaller and more elegant restaurants, Sweet Basil offers an extensive Thai menu and a quiet, pleasant atmosphere.

Lunch comes with a small salad, but because I had experienced some disappointing salads on earlier excursions to other Asian eateries on Solano, I asked about the dressing in advance this time. Our charming waiter brought me a salad with a wonderfully tart vinaigrette that I quite liked. Yay! We also got complimentary soup, which was simple and light—a nice warm treat while we waited for our appetizers.

Both George and Dave ordered the lemongrass tea, but I splurged and got a Thai iced coffee, which was delicious of course. (Never mind the calories...)

Their spiced corn cakes at $7 were tasty, but their fresh spring rolls ($6) were excellent. The satay was a perfect starter for either an indecisive diner or a group who liked different kinds of satay. An order is six skewers for $7 that you can mix and match from pork, chicken, mushrooms, and eggplant.

I ordered grilled skirt steak served over a bed of spinach and topped with lots of yummy peanut sauce, because you can never have too much peanut sauce. (Diet be damned!) George got the roast duck with tomatoes and pineapple in red curry and liked it quite a bit. (I tried it, but I'm never a big duck fan, so I'll refrain from voicing my opinion of any duck dish unless it tastes like something other than duck.) Dave's eggplant basil was good, and I don't usually like eggplant.

While we dined, I enjoyed the selection of mostly Motown hits playing quietly in the background. Aretha's "R-E-S-P-E-C-T" is welcome accompaniment anywhere, and I admit to engaging in a bit of rocking out while consuming all that peanut sauce.

The bathroom was almost dark enough to rival Kirin's, but without the sad dead flowers.

It wasn't a cheap meal, but that was mostly because we'd ordered a lot of food. I think the prices were perfectly reasonable. The nice thing is that Sweet Basil accepts Solano Avenue Association cards, and I had $70 worth, so I treated.

I was so proud of myself for remembering to take lots of pictures this time, but after doing so, I set my iPhone down on the seat next to me and then left it behind! Luckily, our charming waiter ran after me as I was crossing the street. Whew!

Thank you, Sweet Basil, for a lovely meal and for reuniting me with my phone. For more info on the restaurant, go to http://www.sweetbasilberkeley.com/  For more of Tanya's musings, check out For Words.