Blue Orchid (Lincoln)
A bit of a minor miracle happened recently at the Blue Orchid: I had very good food and acceptable service. Those of you who’ve read my reviews in the past know that I’ve been greatly disappointed with both the food and service on four separate visits. But this time, everything was actually very good and I’ll be interested to return to see if it’s a trend.
A surprising delight of basil tofu.
We ordered some Thai rolls and spring rolls, both of which were very good and savory. The fried Thai rolls are something like human Scooby snacks, and also good for hangovers. I’m still not pumped that the spring rolls are steamed and thus served hot, but the flavor was very good.
I then had the basil tofu, which was a slightly spicy dish which didn’t seem like much food a first, but was ultimately more than I could finish. The dish does not have any coconut milk, so it was a lighter affair, and the flavor was complex and enjoyable. The only criticism I have is that they cut the tofu into rather large chunks before frying, so there’s a lot of soft bean curd in the middle compared to fried edges. It’s a bit unappetizing to bite into a mouthful of just plain tofu after the crispy edges are gone.
The service was good enough, with the only gaffe being that the white wine we ordered turned out to be a 2005, a bit past its prime, and so we had to send it back.
But one good experience out of five is better than zero out of four. Hopefully it will be two out of six next.
