Original Thai for lunch - $

When an Asian restaurant has an A-rating, it's always a little suspicious in my book. I mean, I'm Chinese. But, let's face it. My peeps don't keep the cleanest kitchens. Compared to what goes down in the motherland, I'm sure that even the worst C-rated restaurants here would be considered sparkling clean over there. So, when I see an A-rated Asian restaurant, I figure the "A" stands for Americanized.

Case in point, when I see brown rice on the menu, I know they're catering to a health conscious L.A. crowd because tried and true Asians don't care. Although, I did order the brown rice because I'm a tried and true Asian who's been raised in L.A.

Our guest Dinette was the one and only star traffic reporter of the skies - Ginger Chan. (aka Anna Chan - my sister.) She was very excited to be a guest Dinette and her boyfriend was super jealous, as he should be.

Free stuff: none. phooey.

Ambience: They've remodeled. It used to be the usual strip mall kitsch with pleather booths, unflattering overhead lighting, and pix of psuedo-actors on the wall. Well, they've upgraded! Ginger: "Borders modern/hip. It's probably better at night." The color scheme is earthy with browns, greens and beige. Ginger: "You know how some Asian places have that sort of hip nightclub look? It's like they're going for that." It works. But, we have to remember that we're in a 7-11 strip mall, and that always takes away from the ambience, no matter what. Still, a great date place. If it weren't next to the 7-11 and there wasn't a homeless guy camped out in the parking lot, this would be a great 1st date place. But, right now, it's better as a 3rd date. That is, for those of you who are dating. As for me, I ate with my sister and Laurie. But, that's another story. Anyway, ambience - 4 forks.

Bathroom: The actors' pix are in the hallway on the way to the bathroom. Nice bathroom. Freshly painted, beautiful oval mirror above the pedestal sink. They just need a coupla things - replace the cracked full-length mirror, and PLEASE please please install toilet seat covers. I know they don't really work, but I like living in my fantasy world. 4 forks.

Food: Lunch combos are $5.50 and come with soup or salad, egg roll, and entree. Laurie: Padsee yew with wonton soup, and brown rice. This was a carb lovers feast. She also had a thai iced coffee, which was de-lish for only $1.50! What a steal! 3 forks.

Ginger: BBQ chicken with brown rice. The chicken was a little dry, and her brown rice was a little mushy. Maybe brown rice isn't indigenous to Thailand, and they don't realize that it's supposed to be crunchier than white rice. We'll forgive. Thai iced coffee was "really good, especially for the price!" That's my sister! Good bargain shopper. 3 forks.

Me: Yellow curry with chicken, brown rice, and salad. Can we just hear it for Asian salad dressing? LOVE IT! There were potatoes in my curry, but they weren't cooked all the way. I mean, c'mon. Why make the rice mushy and leave the potatoes hanging like that? But, I had no problem with the mushy rice. Brown rice is too crunchy for my taste anyway. 3 forks. BTW, we all agreed that the egg rolls were really fresh. i.e. just got out of the oil and onto the plate!

Service: Excellent. Our water glasses were never half empty.

Overall rating: 3.5 forks.

Next stop on the Riverside tour of duty: Star Wok Chinese cafe. Gotta see what my peeps are cookin' up on the corner of Riverside and Lankershim.