For THE FREE LANCE-STAR
She: When the venerable Lord Culpeper Hotel was built in 1933, its original owners could never have foreseen that gang pah and kra pow would one day be served under its roof.
But what might have once been considered a contradiction in terms--Thai Culpeper?--is now a fusion of Old Virginia architecture and Asian cookery.
He: Two friends had been pestering us to try Thai Culpeper ever since its doors opened last autumn.
He, a Vietnam vet who knows a thing or two about Asian food, sang the praises of the fresh spring rolls. She extolled its virtues as an establishment that caters to vegetarians, and although I've been known to jest that "vegetarian" is an Indian word for "bad hunter," we had been thinking we might be giving our noncarnivorous readers short shrift.
|
THAI CULPEPER Address: 401 S. Main St., Culpeper Phone: 540/829-0777 Hours: Open daily 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Prices: Appetizers: $3.95–$8.95 Soups and salads: $2.95–$6.95 Entrées: $6.95–$14.95 Desserts: $2.95–$3.95 Beer, wine and mixed drinks available. Atmosphere: Tasteful lighting and elegantly simple décor that is detail-oriented but uncluttered. Diners in parkas or suit jackets will feel equally at home. Nonsmoking and wheelchair accessible. Off-street parking available in adjacent lot. Payment: Major credit cards accepted.
|
She: Once the four of us were seated in the delicately lit dining room, two things were clear to me.
The first was that our vegetarian friend had not exaggerated. With the exception of a few chef's specials, every single entree in the multitude of offerings is available in a vegetarian version. In her words, Thai Culpeper "gets" vegetarians.
The second thing that was clear was that an artistic genius had a hand in making the tables. The rest of the decor is muted and simple, all the better to showcase gently sparkling tabletops that are reminiscent of tie-dye work wrought in shades of sapphire, sea foam and scarlet.
He: Nee Hopple, the daughter of owner Thipphawan Jaipayugton, explained that if you put any two of them together, they form a butterfly design.
I didn't see the butterfly, but I saw the look on your face that told me you were wondering if the tables were bolted down and if one would fit in the trunk of the car.
We started with the Thai sampler, an eye-pleasing arrangement of chicken satay, fried calamari, crispy rolls, kanom jeeb (small pork dumplings) and fried tofu ($8.95).
The well-seasoned, tender satay was a standout, and the calamari was in a league with the freshest I've had anywhere.
She: You even ate the tofu and pronounced it better than edible. Wonders never cease--the world continued to spin on its axis.
I was partial to the crispy rolls on the sampler platter. Devoid of grease and full of snap, the interior is a flavorful meld of vegetables and cellophane noodles.
A taste of our veteran companion's Vietnamese spring rolls confirmed that the jackets were soft and airy, and the crispy vegetables nicely offset the noodles and smooth tofu within ($5.95). The zesty peanut sauce was an enjoyable complement.
He: Our vegetarian companion recommended the coconut soup, of which she ordered the tofu version and I the chicken rendition ($5.95). The kitchen did not stint on the chicken in mine, and a soft hint of lemon grass underlay the creamy, somewhat sweet coconut broth.
My entree was one of the chef's specials, and 10 sizable, crisp-fried coconut shrimp arrived handsomely arranged on a colorful bed of zesty mango sauce ($14.95). This dish alone is worth the drive for those not in the immediate Culpeper area.
She: I'd comment on the shrimp, but someone hoarded them and I didn't get any. I instead tucked into the panaeng curry with chicken, which, after some discussion with our eager-to-please server, I ordered at a heat level dialed up to somewhere between American and Mexican ($8.95).
That sounds silly, but the menu specifies three levels of heat: American, Mexican, and Thai. The implication--and it's correct--is that full-on Thai seasoning may be more than the average American is accustomed to, and Thai Culpeper is wise to offer each diner a dish seasoned to preference.
The peanut-based curry was, as specified, pleasantly spicy without being torchlike, and the fresh basil leaves atop were a nice touch. I recommend the hoppy Thai brew Singha ($3.95) as a cooling go-with for any of the piquant dishes.
He: Also, I was pleased to note that the rice that accompanied our entrees was of the proper stickiness for those of us who choose to tackle Asian cuisine with chopsticks, which are cheerfully delivered upon request.
She: Mango, coconut and banana play leading roles in the restaurant's desserts, and we opted for banana in a blanket ($2.95).
Two slender deep-fried, honey-drizzled jackets encased warm banana slices, and it was a satisfying, not-too-sweet finish. Once again, the presentation was superb. It was part dessert, part edible art.
He: Last thoughts. Luck has come to the fore on two counts.
The increasingly cosmopolitan Culpeper area is fortunate to have an exciting new restaurant in its midst, and the owners' family members who remain in Bangkok all survived the recent tsunami. There is much to be grateful for.
She: Including the phone number of the genius who made those tables. I left with it.
Nancy Dearing Rossbacher and Stephen W. Sylvia publish a Civil War magazine together. She likes to cook. He likes to eat. To reach Rossbacher and Sylvia, e-mail them at editor@civilwar.com.