by Paul Leschen

California Taqueria
Olive Vine
Thai Sky

 Here I am in North Carolina, on a two week working vacation to Wilmington. I hope they have some Vietnamese food or something down here…too much barbecue makes the food writer go blind.

Last week, two friends and I joined one of the two major demographic groups at the Tea Lounge on Union Street. No–none of us are young mothers discussing the pros and cons of semi-public breast feedings. Alas we are the guys with silver laptops, "working" from"home", on some kind of graphics "project."

After the morning is consumed by hours of difficult cutting and pasting, we generally go to lunch. On Monday, we hit the California Taqueria and ordered big Cali-style burritos. Mine was grilled chicken, and Zak got the pork stew. Our burritos were both Walmart-sized and tasty enough not to warrant any complaints. Except, well, maybe that there’s too much rice in there. And you can never get fresh tasting burrito-sized tortillas in NYC. We still love their flour-based chips and condiment bar, though.

Tuesday we ate at Olive Vine, which has moved about seven times in the last four years. Now it’s on the far north end of 7th Avenue. The garden is a delightful place for a "business" lunch. Our food, however, was a bit off from the Olive Vine of our early twenties. Out of the five choices on my salad plate, I only enjoyed the lentil salad and the smoky baba ganoush. The tabouleh was horrible–not enough parsley, and it tasted like it was made the day before. My foul was too lemony, I like this down-home fava bean dish to be more savory, more comforting- the benchmark for me is the version at the Kabab Cafe in Astoria. Olive Vine still has some of the finest fresh-baked pita bread in Brooklyn.

Wednesday, we "worked" at my friend’s apartment on 6th St, which is a far less stimulating work environment. We missed the jovial buzz of the Tea Lounge, and the associated toddler sing-alongs. On the upside, we had so many better lunch options here. Chip Shop would be nice; Kinara (excellent Indian place on 10th and 5^th) has a half-off lunch special. We chose Thai Sky,though, for their six dollar cheap as dirt lunch deal, and were glad we’d done so.

The waitress at Thai Sky was quite a character; we loved her and her hilarious one liners. The food wasn’t so bad, either. My fish cake appetizer was the single best version I’ve had, anywhere. Of course, I love fish cakes and fish balls. They’re like Asian Gefilte fish.

All of our dishes, chicken with garlic and black pepper, chicken with spicy basil, and tofu panang curry, were more than satisfactory for the price. The chicken slices, and I’ve experienced this here before, were too hard and dry. But the veggies are fresh and cooked right, and the sauces are about as interesting as a Thai place can get without offending the Western palate. If you want authentic Thai, head up to Jackson Heights where there are three or four great choices, including the well-known Sripraphai and the radically independent Zabb Thai on Roosevelt Avenue.

Thursday we abandoned the Slope’s lunch scene for the Veggie Castle of Flatbush. More on those guys later on…wish me luck on finding something decent to eat in Wilmington!