Living at Whitman, there are enough options for eating on campus that many students rarely venture away from the convenience of the dining halls for a meal. But when the urge to eat off campus hits me, there are so many options to choose from. With over 60 restaurants in the Walla Walla, as well as nearly 20 others in the surrounding area, there is something for everyone. Recently, Walla Walla has added a new venue to its ranks of Asian eateries: Thai Bon Appétit.
Located on Spokane Street, a few doors down from the Cookie Tree Café and Bakery, Thai Bon Appétit was nearly empty when I arrived at 5:30 p.m. on a Friday. The front counter is wedged into a small café space that is reminiscent of a food court and adjoining it is a larger dining room with tables and softer lighting. At the front counter was a sweet woman who took our order and assured us that she’d bring our pot stickers out when they were ready. She yelled back into the kitchen, where her husband was cooking our dinner.
The à la carte options include pad Thai, Thai chicken and fantail shrimp. But for the most part, the dishes seem to fit under the title “Asian Fusion” rather than strictly Thai. Pad Thai was the only particularly Thai option on the menu. Even the Thai chicken on the menu is named “Thai (Teriyaki) Chicken.” You could find just about everything on Thai Bon Appétit’s menu on the menu at a Chinese restaurant.
Thai Bon Appétit may not be the best bet for vegetarians, as most of the à la carte options are meat entrees. The fried rice is made with chicken, but there are vegetarian egg rolls as well as fish options. Besides the à la carte options, other meal choices are available on the full menu, some of which are more vegetarian friendly. Anything on the menu, which is not currently out as an à la carte option, can be cooked upon request.
All orders come with a heaping pile of fried rice as well as chow mein. The Thai chicken comes as one large piece on a skewer and is essentially the same as teriyaki chicken. Their sweet and sour chicken is deep friend chicken sticks with the sauce on the side. All of the different dishes were light and flavorful, but not overwhelming. The egg rolls were made with cabbage, carrots and chicken with a slightly sweet flavor. The pot stickers were freshly made, hot and extremely good. They came with a tangy ginger soy sauce that was particularly delicious.
While Thai Bon Appétit is not the most delicious or authentic Thai food I’ve ever had, it was not terrible. For under $20 I could order enough food for two hungry people as well as free refills on soda. The service was extremely friendly, relatively fast and there were lots of options, although my vegetarian and vegan friends may have trouble finding enough entrees to fill their plate. I would highly recommend the pot stickers, which were delicious. The sweet and sour chicken, however, left me wondering if the chicken had come in a freezer box and if the sauce was a Thai version of marinara. Overall, I walked out full and quite satisfied with my dinner.
