Garlic: Thai Paradise

Let's start off with this: I am a sucker for Thai food, good Thai food that is. The flavorful curries, beautiful sauces and the balance of sweet, sour, savory and spicy. It doesn't get much better than that in my book. A nice warm curry sounded fantastic. I'm sure I'll come off as if I own the place by the end of this post, but when I want seriously good Thai food, Garlic in Decatur is the only choice.
A nice warm curry sounded fantastic. It was the first cool and rainy day we've had here in Atlanta in what seems like decades. I seriously don't understand how people truly enjoy the oppressive heat that Georgia so often gives to us. Anyway, enough about the weather, on to the important bit, the food!

I've been to Garlic at least five times and never once have I even been remotely disappointed. The service is excellent, the atmosphere is modern and comfortable and the food, well frankly, words don't really do it justice. My personal favorite thing on the menu is the Panang Curry. I usually get this with tofu, despite the fact that I'm not a vegetarian. I just feel it absorbs the flavors of the delicious sauce a little bit better than chicken or beef. Speaking of sauce, the Panang base is made from coconut milk, peanuts, shallot, lemon grass and various chilies. It isn't a particularly hot curry, just enough to let you know what's in there and keep your taste buds on their toes. The flavors that really shine through for me are the Kaffir lime leaves and the purple basil that they add. That really brightens up the flavor and gives it a wonderful citrus note.

My friend Elise had the quintessential Thai noodle dish, Pad Thai. What seems to many as the Thai version of lo-mein is much deeper than that. The flavors are a wonderful balance of sweet and sour while the textures from the different meats and ground peanuts give the dish so much balance. After all, that's basically what Thai food is all about, balancing flavors and textures. I think that's why I like Thai so much; it's entertaining. Some food (Italian, Chinese, among others) can come off as bland and ubiquitous, but I think Thai flavors are new enough to the American palate that it remains exciting.
Regardless of whether or not you agree with my mediocre analysis of Thai food, you should absolutely check out Garlic. Your taste-buds will thank you and I'm sure you will find yourself going back again and again for consistently good curries, noodles, and all the other wonderful flavors they have to offer!